Shops and companies forfeiting customers’ change, as small as K1, risk attracting a minimum of K500, 000 fine.
Competition and Fair Trading Commission-CFTC has shot the warning while calling on Malawians to report shops that refuse to give back change to customers for purchasing goods at uneven prices such as K1999 with the buyer entitled to K1 as change.
CFTC’s Acting Director for Consumer Affairs, Augustine Nyirenda was speaking in Mzimba I. Friday; arguing even though the K1 may look small but collectively its huge money to traders.
“Traders have the right to sell goods at a round figure or not. If they knew that finding coins of one kwacha as change would be difficult, they wouldn’t be selling their goods at uneven prices. You know what, if a shop receives 20,000 customers per day and all of them leave their 1 Kwacha, it means they are making undeserved K20,000 profit per day, ” he explained.
During the meeting, consumers asked CFTC to open offices in districts for easy reporting of unfair trading cases as currently they have offices in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Blantyre.
