The Joint Operations Room for Consumer Protection held its weekly meeting at the Ministry of Commerce and Investment in Riyadh, attended by representatives of (19) governmental bodies.
The attendants reviewed the field control efforts of various government sectors, participating in the joint campaigns for consumer protection. They also reviewed the media monitoring report of the public opinion on the current economic reforms, and the most topics discussed through the social media and press.
The joint operations room confirmed the integration of efforts among all relevant authorities in term of the action taken and dealing with complaints according to the competence of each party, also the coordination and support among all parties.
The joint operations room was briefed through the presentation of the Unified Consumer Protection Call Center (Bayyenah), which was found by the Council of Ministers decision. This proposal aims to help the consumer to inquire and lodge his complaints through a toll free number, as well as to protect and preserve his rights at all relevant sectors, in addition to stop the interfere or conflict among different government authorities, besides following up the performance of such authorities related to addressing the consumer’s complaints, more over achieving the integration of efforts for consumer protection.
The Consumer Protection Call Center (Bayyenah) is linked to all government agencies, and includes a control panel to follow up and monitor the performance of all relevant parties, and for issuing the periodic reports. All that would contribute to the improvement of services provided to consumers.
During the meeting, the General Authority for Statistics presented a comparative report on prices of goods and services up to 20 January 2018, which covers all regions of the Kingdom and aims to follow up the prices.
It is worth mentioning that the Standing Committee for Consumer Protection, which was established by a decision of the Council of Ministers, oversees and supervises the Joint Operations Room. This standing committee consists of 19 governmental bodies including: Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Commerce and Investment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Urban and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Ministry of Housing, Food and Drug Authority, Zakat and Income Authority, Electricity and Dual Production Regulatory Authority, the Committee of Consumer Protection, The General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage, the General Authority for competition, the General Authority for Statistics, the Commission of Communications and Information Technology.