CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Central Luzon disclosed Thursday that consumers consider defective cellular phones and appliances as top complaints on their lists.
Consumers in Central Luzon listed defective cellphones and appliances like refrigerators and television sets as subject of their complaints for the third quarter of 2016.
In 2015, almost one-third of all consumer complaints filed with DTI were on defective cellphone units.
For the whole region, the top six most complaint product in the list include cellphones with 34 complaints. Consumer complaints on defective refrigerators followed with 18, television sets with 11, while complaints on automobiles and motorcycles had 10 each and complaints about defective laptops reached seven.
Based on a third quarter report provided by the DTI Consumer Protection Division, a total of 168 consumer complaints have been lodged with the seven provincial offices and regional office of the department.
Bulacan had the most complaints with 35, while complaints filed with DTI Bataan reached 34. Zambales had 25 complaints, followed by Pampanga with 24 complaints while Nueva Ecija had 21 complaints.
DTI Tarlac and the regional office received complaints with 18 and 15, respectively. All the offices except DTI Tarlac listed defective cellphones as the top subject of complaint for the quarter.
DTI-3 Director Judith P. Angeles said the departmentcontinues to advocate vigilance in buying gadgets, electronic products and holiday decorations like Christmas lights.
Consumers are reminded to carefully read the labels to ensure the correct direction for use, the originality of the brand, the address of the dealer and manufacturer and the correct electrical power source and duration of charging. For mandatory products, buyers are advised to look for the Philippine Standards (PS) Mark for locally made products and the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) hologram sticker in each product.
The list of accredited brands with valid ICC stickers and their corresponding serial numbers may be accessed at the DTI website, www.dti.gov.ph.