The National Consumer Commission (NCC) provides an update following the identification of thirty-eight (38) additional suppliers who accepted payments from consumers but failed to deliver goods, services or supplied defective products, in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act.  These suppliers were operating across Gauteng, North West, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

In most cases, the suppliers are nowhere to be found, having disappeared from their known addresses or shut down their websites, leaving consumers with no means to seek redress. Complaints received by the NCC indicate that consumers are unable to reach these suppliers, and the NCC’s attempts to trace these suppliers have been unsuccessful.

Preliminary assessments indicate that some online suppliers are impersonating other legitimate suppliers with the intention to defraud consumers, while other suppliers do not provide contact details or addresses, making it impossible for consumers to reach and return defective or incorrect orders.

The NCC views this conduct as a deliberate ploy by unscrupulous suppliers to rob consumers of their hard-earned money and ultimately evade accountability. Consumers are urged to exercise extreme caution when dealing with these suppliers.

e-Commerce has become an easy money-making platform for scammers. Consumers transacting online are urged to use the services of the South African Fraud Prevention Services by visiting www.yima.org.za to ensure that they are transacting with legitimate online suppliers. They can also use the Yima platform to report any suspicious or fraudulent online suppliers.

The NCC has to date flagged 95 (ninety-five) untraceable suppliers.

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Issued by: National Consumer Commission (NCC)  

For media enquiries, contact:

Phetho Ntaba (Spokesperson/MLO)

082 809 2031/012 065 2040