Dear Editor,
As usual, during any season, prices seem to increase without a reason and most would say there’s a shortage. Likewise, there are many companies which have some promotion and prizes to give away. Because of the tremendous amount of competition, I’ve serious doubt that some of them actually give away the prizes they advertise, because they are not being monitored. These things don’t seem to bother us, but during this season, there is a promotion for one product where you receive a prize that is printed inside the packet, or if you have two empty festive packets, you get an instant prize. Incidentally, I had the time to read the fine print on one poster and discovered that instant prizes were only available if the company had them in stock. Will they ever have any? The other is that to win the prize printed in the packet, the winner would have to answer a ‘technical’ question. They didn’t say what kind of technical question, so my assumption is that when you are claiming your prize, if you cannot answer the ‘technical’ question, then no prize.
Editor, consumers should be aware when shopping this season and check for weight, expiry dates and defective items, because for me the Bureau of Standards doesn’t seem to be functioning competently, especially with all the educated unemployed people around.
One of my friends was walking recently and she observed many people purchasing bulbs at a store in Water Street, so she jumped at the opportunity to purchase some for herself. Her first problem arose when she asked for the bulb to be tested; the store’s policy is not to test bulbs. Nevertheless, she still made her purchase and when she tried them at home, the first bulb blew a few seconds after turning on the switch. Another one was shaking loosely even before installing, and one tube loosed off from the housing leaving it worthless. Again, these things might not bother us, but many people are being inconvenienced and robbed. That is the trend in Guyana. Who is allowing this blatant dishonesty?
Yours faithfully,
Sahadeo Bates
