CAC Urges Reasonableness in Christmas Delivery Expectations

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) is urging consumers to be reasonable in their expectations for timely delivery of goods and services during the busy yuletide season.

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, Director of communications at the CAC, Latoya Halstead, said that one of the headaches consumers face at this time of the year is the non-delivery of items.

She noted that while the CAC works to ensure that the marketplace is as free as possible of transactions that leave consumers dissatisfied, persons must do their part by planning ahead to avoid disappointment.

She said that consumers expecting deliveries for Christmas should have placed their orders or made arrangements from as early as October to ensure timely receipt.

“So, if at this point in time or even in November, you went ahead and you tried to engage, for example, a furniture maker because you wanted something custom-made, you have essentially set up yourself to not get your goods delivered,” she noted.

Ms. Halstead is also urging reasonableness when dealing with tradespersons and stores that may be experiencing a backlog at this time of the year.

“When you are dealing with our tradespersons, you have to ensure that you think about reasonableness. They would have already had a lot of orders; you will have to wait behind all those other persons. It makes no sense to place an order, you do not receive it based on the timeline and then you come to the CAC, or you go to the police and say ‘I have not received this order’ [when] the fact is, you did not ensure that this was possible,” she noted.

“If you do have an issue where, during September, you made an order and this has not been delivered, you have a case. But if you just did it right on the cusp, you have not given that tradesperson or the store enough time to have your goods delivered,” she pointed out.

Consumers who placed orders in October or earlier and have not received their goods are advised to contact the CAC by calling 1-876-906-5425 or 1-876-619-4222 or contact the police.