DOHA: Several customers have called for stricter monitoring and regulation of e-commerce companies in the country and those providing home delivery services through internet, telephone and social media platforms, blaming them for the poor quality of their services and lack of professionalism.
The complaints from customers range from overcharging and poor service to delay in the delivery of ordered items and point out that some of these companies are dealing in drugs and other products whose use need to be regulated by the authorities.
The proliferation of online shopping companies and the increasing dependence on them by consumers have underlined the urgent need for regulatory mechanisms, complained several residents to the Al Sharq daily.
From food and clothes to medicine and accessories, almost everything is available online and the absence of clear regulations to control this sector is causing problems, say customers.
“I placed an order for food with a famous food chain and received it after three hours, despite several reminders. The delivery boy arrived at midnight and woke me up. I filed a complaint with the consumer protection department, and the manager of the company called me and apologised. Is that enough? We need strict laws to make them accountable and prevent a repetition of these cases,” Fawaz Ahammed Omar, a customer, told The Doha Globe.
Some customers stressed the need for monitoring the work of delivery agents, who are the link between the companies and the customers, and they must be issued special licences to do the work.
“The market is now open to all and the options are very broad, so there must be a mechanism to regulate this process to ensure rights of all sides,” opined Raghad Said, another customer.
“It is necessary to have strict control of shopping through social networking sites or by women entrepreneurs. I think there is a need to issue special cards to the delivery agents who deliver the goods to customers to reduce customer grievances,” she said.
“Today, a person can shop anywhere in the world sitting at home and so there is a clear need to control this process,” said another customer, Abdul Rahman Al Baker.
“No one denies that online shopping is easier and wider, but we have to be careful in terms of ensuring that we get the same goods we ordered and that the payment reached the right person. We are dealing with a representative we may not know, and whether he has a licence, and so the process must be organised and the person should work under the law to avoid problems,” he said.
“There are no bodies that can tell us what kind of products are sold and whether these products meet the standards and quality required by law, especially those that may have an adverse effect on health,” Ahmed Al Rumaihi said. Zubaida al-Muhairi said sometimes the prices charged by the delivery boys were excessive.
It is not that the delivery companies are always at fault. There are also customers who give a tough time to the companies.
“In many situations, the problem is not only with the delivery agent but also with the customers. They order something and keep changing their minds,” said the owner of an online shopping company who didn’t want to be identified. “Once, a customer wanted the product to be delivered at a public space. He handed over an envelope to the delivery boy and when the latter opened it, he saw torn bits of paper inside instead of cash. But the customer had disappeared by then,” she said.