Globally, and certainly in the Caribbean region, there is an appreciation of the need for robust consumer rights and protection mechanisms. Further, as increasingly, consumers purchase more goods and services online, it is readily assumed that the consumer protection framework can be automatically extended to cover that medium. That is not necessarily the case in the Caribbean region, as several challenges do exist.

 

In an article published last week, and included in our week news roundup, which could easily have been overlooked, the Minister with responsibility for Consumer Affairs in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Lindsay Grant, expressed the view that there is a “need for the protection of consumer rights in this digital era”:

This data solidifies the fact that there is a large number of persons within the Federation who have access to the online shopping community and may engage in e-commerce…

These online shoppers are also exposed to internet fraud and identity theft.

(Source:  ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation)

Minister Grant’s statements had been made to commemorate of World Consumer Rights Day, which is held on 15 March. This year, the theme was ‘Trusted Smart Products’, where the emphasis should have been on devices, such as smartphones, wearable fitness trackers, smart television and voice-activated assistants. However, the Minister sought to focus on consumer rights with respect to the Internet and electronic (e-)commerce, which to a considerable degree, is a current and legitimate concern across the Caribbean region.

As was noted in our most recent Community Chat podcast episode, which was released earlier this week, Caribbean people have been ordering extensively and directly from the United States (US), particularly from stores, such as Amazon, Walmart and Target. Many of the products purchased cannot be shipped directly to Caribbean countries, and are frequently sent to mail forwarding services in the US, which also have a presence in the region, to facilitate their delivery to specific countries.

However, in having that work-around to get goods to the Caribbean that are specifically targeted to US-based consumers, several issues become evident. Five are outlined below.

Costly return and remediation

First, if products imported into the region are faulty, or have been misrepresented in the advertising, for example, although the seller might be prepared to issue refunds, or otherwise make good on customer complaints, it can be costly to return the products from the Caribbean to the seller.

Although the rates charged by mail forwarding services might be attractive, their services tends to operate one way – from the US (for example) to a Caribbean country. Hence, Caribbean customers may need to rely either on their local post office or a courier service to return goods, which is likely to be not only expensive, but also depending on the service used, timely delivery is not guaranteed. As a result, many Caribbean customers may be more inclined to just absorb the loss, and chalk it up to a bad experience.

Hazards abound on the Internet

Second, if you look hard enough, you are likely to find a new report almost every week on a network being breached and data being stolen. Moreover, some of the organisations that are experiencing such incidents, arguably, have the resources to implement the latest and most advanced security systems and practice. It thus means that for all intents and purposes, no individual or organisation is completely immune from the hazards that abound on the Internet.

Hence, there could be scope for more consumer awareness initiatives, as consumers may need to be better educated – and continually reminded – about the dangers that they could attract online, and consequently to be more prudent.

There is also an onus on customers to be vigilant

Third, and following from the previous point, to an appreciable degree, some of the incidents individuals experience, are due to their own lax practices and behaviour online. For example, passwords are not made long or complex enough, or they being repeated on several accounts. Further, with our penchant to connect to free Wi-Fi, we have no idea who else, or what nefarious activities might be occurring whilst we are connected.

Again, Caribbean consumers need to take some responsibility for some of the incidents they experience, cognisant of the freedoms we enjoy, such as limited censorship, or other restrictions being placed on the websites or online services we access.

A question of jurisdiction

Fourth, as much as Minister Grant in Saint Kitts and Nevis might want to be enforce consumer rights and protection on activities occurring via the internet, most of those transactions are occurring internationally. As it currently stands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as other Caribbean countries, may have little or no jurisdictions to properly investigate, or even to prosecute, online incidents that might be affecting their residents.

Further, it ought to be appreciated that website hosting and configuration, along with the product logistics and distribution arrangements, can be quite complex. So for example, the version of a website on which a particular product is purchased, may be in a completely different jurisdiction from where orders are fulfilled and shipped, which in turn may be a different jurisdiction from where the parent company is headquartered. Hence, trying to seek redress from the Caribbean region, might be easier said than done.

E-Commerce is still underdeveloped in the Caribbean

Finally, we ought to highlight the elephant in the room: the structures to support e-commerce in the Caribbean is still woefully underdeveloped. Many countries still have not passed and brought into effect legislation that support e-commerce and digital signatures, for example, although there was a major project several years ago, the HIPCAR Project, to develop model legislation for several important telecoms and ICT issued. Since the project ended (around 2013), many of those pieces of legislation have been languishing in individual Caribbean countries, and are most likely dated, based on how fast technology and our societies have been evolving.

Having said this, and as the saying goes, ‘nature abhors a vacuum’. So, instead of e-commerce from Caribbean-based businesses flourishing across the region, Caribbean consumers are buying online from overseas stores and platforms, in significant numbers, thus going full circle and bringing the associated consumer rights challenges right back to the fore.

 

 

Image credit:  Elaine Smith (flickr)