NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) will undertake a review of its Consumer Protection Regulations this year to determine where the decade-old document is still ‘fit for purpose’.
Rupert Pinder, the regulator’s director of electronic communications during a recent stakeholder forum on the regulator’s draft annual plan noted that the regulator has to look at the quality of service as a key component in terms of being one of its deliverables for the electronic communications sector.
“One of the projects we are looking at is a review of the consumer protection regulations. The existing policy was published in December 2013. We want to see the extent to which that document is fit for purpose. We will have a consultation during 2023 on the Consumer Protection Regulations so by the third trimester we will be looking to publish the consultation document on the consumer protection regulations,” said Pinder.
The initiative has been identified as a Tier I initiative for the regulator.
The consumer protection regulations address areas that include, consumer sales, contracts, and services, consumer obligations, advertising, billing, and credit management, customer complaints handling, and customer quality of service standards.
Pinder also noted that the current sector policy expires next month. He noted that by the second trimester that document should be out for consultation.
