The Consumer Council of Fiji’s Consumer Advisory Services

January 19, 2023

This special edition by the Consumer Council of Fiji highlights the common queries which were raised by consumers in 2022 and advise given to them. This is in line with the Council’s efforts to foster solidarity and create confidence in consumers to freely raise issues with the Council.

Being in operation for almost 44 years, the Consumer Council of Fiji (CCoF) has become a household name and is widely perceived as the principal agency on consumer rights and interests in Fiji. The core functions of CCoF includes consumer rights advocacy, mediation, policy recommendation, advisory and information. One of its main daily functions is advisory services to consumers. This service allows consumers to reach out to the Council via social media, helpline or face to face in order to seek clarification and advice on consumer issues. This ensures that consumers receive clarification on issues and make informed decisions. In 2022, the Council issued a total of 1,800 advisories however, this year we hope that more consumers reach out in order to seek advisories and clarifications. The dedicated team of complaints officers at the Council continuously strives to provide the best advice and guidance to Fijian consumers.

In order to shed light on the types of queries consumers can raise, some of the common advisories provided in 2022 is provided below.

  1. Issues pertaining to Landlord/tenancy were at the top of the list with a total of 489 queries.

2. A total of 156 consumers posed questions in relation to food and drinks. Some common queries include?

3. Issues pertaining to public transport accounted for 100 consumer queries. Instances include:

4. There was a total of 58 queries with regards to financial services such as MPaisa.

Exercise you consumer rights

Just like the 1800 assertive and inquisitive consumers who reached out to the Council in 2022, we are urging other consumers to do the same if they are ever confused about a product or service or would like independent feedback on consumer issues – free of any cost. You can even save your phone credit by using the toll-free number 155.