Comesa watchdog probes Jumia over consumer breaches

CCC said it reached a deal ordering Jumia to end the unfair practices against consumers. [File, Standard]

Online retailer Jumia has been investigated by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Competition Commission (CCC) for consumer breaches, the regional watchdog revealed on Tuesday.

The commission said on Tuesday it reached a deal ordering Jumia to end the unfair practices against consumers.

"The CCC observed that some of the terms and conditions of Jumia could be termed as disadvantageous to consumers," said the watchdog in a report.

"Some of these included: no guaranteeing the continuation of the platform in case there is a disruption in its availability, no comprehensive redress mechanism for aggrieved consumers and non-disclosure of the details of the seller on the platform," it said.

Others were failure to disclose the legal names of the parties involved on the platform and a clause denying liability for goods bought by the consumer on the platform in case of a dispute, and it did not provide an online dispute resolution mechanism.

The Comesa watchdog also said Jumia had also excluded itself in its terms and conditions from being party to the contract for sale or purchase, claiming that it was not involved in the transaction, was not an agent of any buyer or seller and therefore did not have liability in connection with a transaction under the contract.

"We are happy to report today that Jumia complied fully with the review process, they were cooperative throughout the review process and complied to the CCC's recommendations," said the watchdog.