The Consumer Council of Fiji is currently investigating a mobile electronics retailer in Suva after two cases involving significant purchases of Apple gift cards were reported, where the buyers have not received the full value of their orders.
In a statement, the Consumer Council of Fiji says these incidents highlight potential issues in the handling and delivery of such transactions, prompting an urgent enquiry by the Council.
They say in the first instance, an individual intended to purchase Apple gift cards and paid FJD$5000 for cards valued at USD$1600.
The Council says the order was placed on June 21, 2024, however, the buyer received only a gift card worth USD$500, and despite repeated requests, the remaining gift cards worth USD$1100 were not provided, leading the buyer to seek assistance from the Council.
In a separate case, another individual purchased Apple gift cards worth FJD$7000 on June 14, 2024.
The buyer was promised prompt delivery of the gift cards post-payment.
Despite numerous attempts to contact the seller, the buyer did not receive the cards, facing call diversions and unresolved engagements.
Consumer Council CEO Seema Shandil says these may be isolated cases or part of a bigger pattern and what's concerning is the amounts associated with these purchases.
Shandil says people should be careful when spending such large amounts of money on such items.
She says verifying that vendors are authorized retailers is essential to protect consumer rights and during the Council's investigation, it could not be determined whether the trader is an authorized dealer, as they have not provided any evidence of being an authorized retailer of Apple products.
She adds this raises questions about the legitimacy of these gift card sales and other repair services they are providing.
Shandil says whilst they are actively investigating these matters to ensure consumer rights are protected and to prevent such occurrences in the future, consumers are also encouraged to exercise vigilance when making large transactions.
The Council is urging the consumers to report any discrepancies and suspicious activities in relation to scams/frauds to the Consumer Council of Fiji for immediate assistance, via complaints@consumersfiji.org, or by calling the National Toll-Free Helpline 155.
