More angry customers flock CAK

More Kenyans have turned to the CAK to resolve complaints which have ranged from the supply of ineffective goods to wrongful deduction of funds. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has become the go-to regulator for consumers seeking redress for all manner of disputes with companies in diverse sectors including retail and financial services.

More Kenyans have turned to the competition watchdog to resolve complaints which have ranged from the supply of ineffective goods to wrongful deduction of funds.

Data from the CAK covering its financial year to June 2022 shows the number of consumer complaints handled rose by 28 percent to 401 from 314 cases investigated in the prior year.

Interventions by the watchdog yielded Sh6.9 million in consumer refunds, a 114 percent increase from Sh3.2 million previously.

The CAK has attributed the growth in output from its consumer protection mandate to increased consumer awareness of the watchdog’s role.

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“Since the authority’s inception, the number of consumer cases handled has been increasing exponentially, on the backdrop of increased interventions and awareness creation activities,” stated CAK.

The wholesale and retail trade sector posted the highest number of consumer cases handled in the period at 120 while complaints on manufacturers and finance and insurance intermediaries stood at 105 and 99 cases respectively.

The CAK has documented consumer protection cases from which consumers received compensation upon the authority’s intervention.

Fridah Wekhomba, for instance, filed a complaint alleging that Metropolitan Sacco had continued to deduct loan instalments from her payslips even after she had cleared her debt.

The Sacco was forced to refund Sh65,000 to Ms Wekhomba after the intervention of the CAK.

On her part, Tracy Akinyi raised a complaint stating that after investing Sh112,365 for a piece of land offered by Safaricom Investment Cooperative, the firm failed to meet its obligation under the sales agreement.

After the CAK sent a notice of investigation to the company, Safaricom Investment Cooperative offered a refund to the complainant.

Nevertheless, not all complaints brought to the watchdog have yielded compensation over the course of CAK’s investigation.

Cyrus Maina, for instance, alleged that Skyhost Limited had been billing him for services transferred to a different service provider.

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Investigations revealed the complainant had breached terms and conditions in the agreement with Skyhost, prompting CAK to close the case after the complainant failed to provide additional information as requested by the authority.

Of the 401 consumer cases investigated, 64 percent or about 257 of the cases were finalised.

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