Hiring agency fined for failing to refund clients

Muscat: A housemaid recruitment agency was fined over OMR1,000 after failing to refund nine customers who complained, according to the country’s consumer protection agency.
According to a report by the PACP, the Court of First Instance in Bahla issued a verdict against the accused for violating the Consumer Protection Law. The accused was later convicted and imprisoned, in addition to being slapped with a fine. The court also ordered the agency to be shut down for 10 days.
A statement put out by the Public Authority for Consumer Protection read, “The PACP department in Dakhliyah received nine complaints from consumers against one of the domestic labour recruitment agencies in the wilayat of Bahla. A few of the workers (who were hired by customers) were sent back to the recruitment agency due to various reasons. Some of the reasons were lack of commitment to work, a few workers had chronic and infectious diseases, while a few did not comply with the terms of employment.”
PACP added, “Consumers were informed that they would be refunded at the earliest possible opportunity, but the office continued to stall each time, prompting consumers to file complaints with the PACP.”
The PACP called on all traders and suppliers to abide by the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations and to work with transparency and credibility.