CONSUMER BODIES should do more to help residents address pertinent issues relating to commerce, according to Minister of Commerce and Trade Senator Haynesley Benn.
He said it was the responsibility of consumer organizations, Government and service providers to educate consumers on their rights, but customers should also seek to educate themselves.
Singling out the financial services sector, Benn said, “It is my firmly held belief that institutions should not take the power to make decisions unto themselves . . . . Especially in these times of economic uncertainty, consumers need to be protected from predatory lending, particularly by those who seek to exploit uninformed consumers.”
“There is need for education on issues which are pertinent to developing countries.
Let me [say] that there is a need in Barbados, and I suspect in other Caribbean countries, for a strong and respected consumer body to focus on the education of consumer issues, including financial issues, among other matters,” he said.
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