Consumers should not be made to wait for long hours at wharfs or jetties especially when they are travelling to their islands to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.

This was the message from Consumer Council of Fiji’s officer-in-charge Bindula Prasad.

“This is a period during which consumers celebrate the festive season with their families and relatives,” Ms Prasad said.

The council’s concern came from last week’s media reports of how 100 passengers had to spend a night onboard an inter-island vessel because of a site survey conducted by the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF).

Ms Prasad said as a consumer watchdog, the council welcomes such procedural checks by MSAF, however, is concerned that passengers were subjected to inconvenience.

“Children, elders and women have been eagerly waiting to reach their destinations in a timely manner and this would not be possible as their journey, which they paid for is disrupted.

“The inter-island shipping companies and MSAF are urged to plan procedural matters in such a manner that the ships leave the ports as per their scheduled timetables.

“At the end of the day, these passengers have paid for the service and have planned their days accordingly.

“These passengers should be given value of their monies spent.”

She reiterated that consumers must be given adequate notice of any cancellations or delays in shipping services to enable them to plan their days appropriately.

“This would avoid chaos experienced by the consumers recently. Although there were meals provide to the passengers their loss of time cannot be compensated due to the delays encountered. Families who were travelling to attend functions like weddings and funerals have suffered a momentous loss.”

Ms Prasad added that over the years the council has been receiving complaints and concerns from consumers regarding delays, cancellation of services without prior notice, overcrowding, missing luggage and other personal items.

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