ANGELES CITY--Consumers are now being reminded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to be vigilant when purchasing their cellphones, tablets and other electronic gadgets.
DTI Central Luzon Director Judith P. Angeles gave this reminder as gadgets-related concerns remain to be the top consumer complaints lodged in the different provincial and regional office of DTI-3, despite advocacies made by the agency through seminars and dialogues with cellphone retailers and service shops.
A total of 60 cellphone related complaints were lodged with DTI offices in Region 3 for the first half of 2016. Bataan received the most number of cellphone related complaints with 18, followed by 12 each from Bulacan and Zambales, while eight were registered in Nueva Ecija, seven in Pampanga and three in Tarlac.
For the first quarter of 2016, 29 of the 80 top consumer complaints in the region were on defective cellphones and warranty issues. Appliance related complaints, especially on purchases of television sets and refrigerator followed with 11 and 10 complaints respectively. For the second quarter of 2016, 31 of the 75 top complaints were again on cellphones, followed by 18 complaints on purchases of refrigerators and 11 on television sets.
Last year, DTI-3 and the National Telecommunications Commission partnered in organizing seminar workshops and dialogues with cellphone retailers and service shops in Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan and Zambales to orient consumers on their rights and sellers on their responsibilities to the buying public. (Warren Serrano/DTI-3)