Concern over car service monopoly Thursday, 16 December 2010 01:22

The law of the commercial agents No. 8 of 2002 concerning commercial agents points out that it will be considered as a commercial agent who was licenced exclusively distribute the commodities and products or offer the same for selling or trading or perform the specific services in the context of the agency on behalf of its client for fee. The contract of the commercial deputation will be stable with the writing alone. This will include the name of agent and client and nationality of each of them and the kind of commodities, products and services that the agency provides defining the region of the work of the agent and the period of the agency if the period was specific, the way of its renewal and the commitment of the agent to provide spare-parts, perform the necessary maintenance of the commodities and the products that the deputation contract includes.

We are exposed to this matter due to the importance of offering maintenance services by the commercial agents and their commitment to the performance of the service perfectly and the non-delay in their presentation and their responsibility for the non-commitment with the rules and regulations mentioned in the law. We would like to mention to the car agencies due to what the car represents for the citizens and the residents in State of Qatar who monopolise the brands and the marks and possess the rights of selling, distribution, the maintenance and the spareparts and all what is related to the car and enjoy legal protection that prevents any other person from the confrontation with this agency.

A lot of owners and leaders of the cars suffer from the delay and the weakness of the service level in the car agencies at the repair and the regular maintenance since the delivery of the car to the agent injures their user by paralysis during the period of the repair and the maintenance. If he has no other car and is waiting for the receipt of its vehicle on pins and needles from the exercise to practice his natural life and carry out his work as the car is a necessary means among the daily life and it is not for luxury and richness .

We draw the attention of the client and commercial agent to the necessity of the commitment of what came in the law including rules and regulations that must be committed where as the Article 9 of the law Number (8) of 2002 regarding the regulating the works of the commercial agents states that every commercial agent or a distributor should be committed with the execution of all guarantees that the product or the client offer for the commodity at the place of agency. If the execution of the agreed guarantees in the previous section took the period of more than 15 days, then the commercial agent or the distributor will abide to provision a commodity similar to the consumer that he will he use without any charge till those guarantees be executed.

Article 19 also indicated that commercial agents and their clients are committed to providing spare-parts to consumers and the preparation of maintenance workshops for items covered by the agency with the
reasonable prices.

The agents must preserve the purchase bills and all the documents related to the costs of shipment, transfer, insurance and the value of customs duties.

The law observed a criminal punishment to who violates these rules where the Article 20 and 21 states that it is punishable with the imprisonment of a period that doesn’t exceed six months and by a fine that doesn’t exceed 10,000 riyals or with one of these sanctions to all who violated the provisions of the said articles mentioned in the law No. 8 of 2002 without prejudice to any severer penalty provided for by law.

In case of recidivism, the maximum punishment will be doubled with imprisonment for a period that doesn’t exceed a year and a fine that doesn’t exceed QR20,000 or with one of these punishments as well as the order to close the places in which the works of the agency are performed.

We draw the attention of the client towards the need of moving to the Department of Consumer Protection in the Ministry of Business and Commerce to file a complaint against the commercial agent as he can also move to the competent court to establish a claim for compensation against the commercial agent because of the damage incurred due to the mistakes of the commercial agent to repair damage and compensation if he had a necessity.

And on each client has to take measures of caution while conducting maintenance or repairs and preserve the documents and evidence written and sealed by the agent to claim their rights when needed so he can’t be a prey to the mistakes of the agent or his staff.