The Consumer Protection Act empowers the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud to mediate disputes between consumers and businesses that provide goods and services. The Ombud was established to ensure that businesses treat consumers fairly and equitably.
The Ombud studies trends in the consumer market and identifies the sectors responsible for the largest number of consumer complaints. Recently, the Ombud reported a sharp increase in consumer complaints about online shopping. An additional category of complaints received by the Ombud relates to fraudulent online businesses. Anyone can set up an online business through various social media platforms with little to no vetting. As a result, consumer reliance on online shopping has created an easy avenue for the creation of fake online businesses that accept payments with no intention of delivering the goods or services.