The usefulness of information to consumers
Information about products and their prices is very important to all consumers in any economy. Government has a great role to play in ensuring that information flow as fast as possible so as to enable consumers to make wise buying decisions. Ireland is one of the countries whose government strives to ensure that consumers get relevant information on products and prices. The Ireland government has regulations that govern most traders and they are aimed at protecting consumers from adverse effects that they may suffer from free trading. Traders take advantage of the innocent customers who are not aware of the actual prices of products for their financial gain (Dawn, 1998)
Role of Government
The government, through its National Consumer Agency, has provided consumers paramount information about the prices of different products and their quality.
The government has helped consumers get relevant information on products prices and their quality through consumers’ laws which govern all traders and other trade unions. Under the consumer laws that have been put in place by the government, all traders must provide consumers with detailed information on the product quality, the use and more so about the prices of the product. Traders have an obligation to display the selling price of each and every item that is deemed for human consumption that is being traded. It is also mandatory that the original owner of the products has to clarify what particular item the price relates to. Regulations have been imposed about the claims that a trader can make on particular prices charged. It is the duty of the trader to truthfully give information on actual prices, previous prices and recommendations of his or her products. Under these consumer laws, the trader has to display the final price of the products indicating all discounts and other privileges that are accrued to the consumer. This effect enables the consumer to get the correct information about the products so as to budget for them. The laws also govern reduced prices on the sales. The sellers are supposed to put the products on offer before reducing the prices of these products. They should offer these products at advertised original prices for a period of time before reduction of the price.
The government has done a great job in ensuring that there are no hidden extra prices on products to be sold to consumers. The price of the products should be tax inclusive and that the final price should be total prices. It is noteworthy that the prices of the products should not be more than the total prices by avoiding extra charges such as VAT or other taxes. The government, through consumer laws, allows wholesalers who sell goods to other traders with extra taxes such as VAT. These traders are permitted to display the prices in exclusion of VAT element for their products (Spulber, 1998).
The government of Ireland, through its programs of National Executive, is devoted to protecting the consumers by providing the right information at the right time for the mutual benefit of all. The Northern Ireland Executive is committed to strategizing a way forward of ensuring that consumers get the right information for decision-making. The consumer strategies have certain principles that govern all traders and sellers. These principles include:
- It enables the consumers to have confidence in products that traders are selling at any time. The consumers are in a position to drive up business activities and competitiveness.
- Consumers’ expectations are met and that all businessmen benefit from disseminating vital information about their products. Consumers should be represented and protected by these consumers’ strategies (Cagno, 2001).
The government is very committed to ensuring that consumers access the top-quality information about the products that the sellers are trading with. The Consumer Strategies of Northern Ireland ensures that consumers access advice on range of issues concerning the products being sold in the market. These strategies have gone further to educate the consumers on their rights and responsibilities as consumers. They also impart information on the necessary actions to take whenever consumers are faced with problems with the prices and quality of the products. The place and the authorities to seek help from are stipulated by the Consumers Strategies to enable the final consumers to be assisted by the relevant persons. The most vulnerable persons are protected from the adverse effects of inaccessibility of the vital information on prices and quality of the products (Cagno, 2001).
There are laws that govern all petrol stations in the government of Ireland. All petrol stations are required to display price notices on their premises. This law was enforced by National Consumer Agency in 1997 and it is known as the Retail Price Display Order. All petrol stations were mandated to display the prices of their products and it should be legible and visible from far. Customers who are passing by the road should be able to see displayed fuel prices. All petrol stations should:
- Display the price of their petrol and diesel per liter.
- The actual price charged should be the same as the price displayed.
The government also monitors business activities in all licensed premises such as pubs, wine bars, hotel lounges and others. It is mandatory for this kind of business to display specified drinks price lists for their goods inside the premises and these do not apply to any off-licenses premises. According to this law, all licensed premises are notified to have two price lists displayed:
- Any pub, hotel lounges and wine bar should have a comprehensive price list of all drinks on sale and displayed within the drinking area.
- A sixteen item list contains information about the prices of specified drinks and it is mandatory that the list should be placed immediately outside or near the entrance of the premise.
It is mandatory that all these premises should display notices that are legible and up-to-date failure to which amount to a breach of law. The law further stipulates the size of the writings used in the list. The prices that these premises charge should be same as those displayed in the pricelists. Any failure to display price list is an offense. Any changes in prices of the goods that occur in the course of the day should be indicated and that prices should be constant other than the specified time. E.g. if the prices of wines in a wine bar change after 10 pm, no price above the normal price should be charged before 10 pm. Any changes other than those indicated in the comprehensive list are a breach of consumer law hence investigation should be carried out by National Consumer Agency.
Any failure to observe the regulation stipulated by National Consumer Agency amounts to a breach of law hence one should be sentenced. The agency also governs product pricing in all petrol stations. Stations are required by law to display the final price of their goods in euros and this price should include VAT and any other extra taxes. Hidden charges should be not part of the final price that consumer pays for the product.
Ireland’s government has firm regulations on honest falsification of prices by shops. Shops often make honest mistakes about the price they display. The government of Ireland has protected its citizens from any form of exploitation in terms of prices by the household firms. It has designed an official measure of inflation called the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It is designed to monitor any change that occurs in the price level of goods that are purchased by consumers. There is Central Statistic Office established by the government and it collects the prices of a fixed representative group of goods and services every month. Comparisons are done between the collected prices and the prices of the previous month hence the index is compiled. Goods that are consumed more frequently will have greater weight than goods and this is determined mainly by finding weekly average of expenditure on the product (Cagno, 2001).
The government has the Consumer Act which protects the consumers from any form of exploitation and ensures that they receive correct information for specified goods and services at the right time. Within the Consumer Act is a credit intermediary who offers credit or let goods in return of a fee, payment or consideration. They do so in the course of their business and include garages and high street retailers who are leasing goods or selling on credit or arranging credit finance offered by the credit institution. The government has also done recommendable work in regulating credit sales advertisements made by household and other private firms. There are very strict rules that govern how sellers and other traders advertise their credit sales. The stipulated rules state that advertisements must conform to the Consumer Act 1995 and these are:
- One should state the period over which payments are required.
- One should display the credit sales with an annual percentage rate. One is not allowed to use any other rate of interest other than the prominent APR.
- Indicate the total cost of credit.
- The advertisements should include the details pertaining the deposits required.
- One should indicate whether the payments are to be made monthly, quarterly or on yearly basis.
- The total number of payments that one is required to make.
- An indication of any restriction that applies to the availability of credit.
The act also has specifications on hire purchase and that it is mandatory that any consumer hire deals have to be advertised (Adriana, 2000).
The Ministry of State at the Department of Enterprise amended some parts of the Price Acts and cited the Retail Price Display Order in 1999 which was operational from October the same year. The order stipulates the regulations that every person who engages in activities of selling intoxicating liquor by retail to final consumers should follow failure to which amounts to breach of law hence investigation were to be done by National Consumer Agency. The rules of these order state that owners of these premises shall display notice inside the premises specifying:
- All kinds of beverages that are sold at the premises indicating their respective quantities, measures. The reference to which prices are charged should be indicated.
- Should also indicate the substitute of the products with their respective prices.
There are other government organizations such as The Competition Authority which play a very important role in ensuring that consumers get relevant information on the prices of goods and services in a competitive market. This body ensures the Irish competition law is put into practice hence benefiting the consumer. The body is responsible for investigating into the complaint that arises from practices that are against the law such as price-fixing. The Citizens Information Board is another recognized governmental organization in the Ireland government that has assisted consumers. It is a national support agency that provides information, advice, and advocates for social services by business organizations. The body provides:
- Citizens information for the general public.
- Conducts research and formulate policies that govern social services.
- Ensures that there are voluntary and statutory organizations that support the consumers through information provisions (Adriana, 2000).
In conclusion, the Ireland government has helped consumers get relevant information about product prices through various bodies. The government has also established the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) which is the concerned with ensuring that consumers are satisfied with the prices of certain goods and services (Adriana, 2000).
References
Adriana, R (2000). Role of Government in Business. 120-146.
Cagno, D (2001). Business Regulation by Government. 130-167.
Dawn, M (1998). Economic of Social Problems: An Exploratory Study. 104-165.
Spulber, J (1998). The Economy of Ireland and Market Regulation. 78-90.