2000 Inspection Tours carried out on Retail Outlets in Various Regions of the Kingdom
MCI Inspection & Control Campaign, on markets and outlets selling electrical household heating devices, resulted in seizing 1892 items nonconforming with the Saudi Standard Specifications during the last week. Meanwhile, MCI inspectors have intensified their control tours in various parts of the Kingdom, concurrently with the winter season. Consequently, 2182 shops had been inspected, while 136 violations detected.
During the said campaign, MCI inspectors monitored heating devices nonconforming with the conditions & regulations announced by the Ministry earlier. Some devices are sold without warranty, and some are lacking the commitment to the duration of such warranty "not less than two years," some devices lack the illustration data "Voltage or Watts rate", the country of origin is not mentioned, there are differences between the data on the devices and those written on the cartoons, there is no price tag on some devices as well.
MCI Inspection Teams will seize any devices non-conforming with the Saudi Standard Specifications, since such devices pose a risk to the safety of consumers. Therefore, statutory penalties would be imposed on those violating the R&R. According to the law of Combating Commercial Fraud, any violator will be liable to a fine of five hundred thousand riyals or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Commerce and Investment has urged all consumers to be aware while purchasing electrical heaters, and to make sure that the devices should include the following: illustration data, price tag, voltage (220 volts), capacity (not exceeding 2500 watts), two year warranty, absence of differences between data written on the cartoons and those on the device itself, the guide or instructions to be written in Arabic.
MCI would like to advice all consumers to buy the safest devices which contain safety factors, such as: automatic off-button in case the device falls down, necessary protection to prevent the entry of the children hands, two year warranty, besides buying electrical devices from reliable stores.
MCI would like all consumers to report any violation about heating devices through MCI Consumer Call Center (1900), or through the application of a commercial violation report on their smart phones.