RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Available on the Internet since June 2014, the “Consumer Portal” platform (consumidor.gov.br) should soon offer a version adapted by the Argentine government for the local market.
An agreement signed yesterday, September 10th, in Brasília, provides for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Safety to transfer to the Ministry of Production and Labor of the neighboring country the technology and the design required to build a service for the solution, prevention, and reduction of consumer conflicts similar to that of Brazil.
According to the National Consumer Secretary, Luciano Timm, Uruguay and Paraguay have also expressed interest in the technology developed and administered by the Brazilian Ministry of Justice with the aim of encouraging speedy and straightforward conflict resolution.
“We will be very pleased to work together in the global consumer defense through this platform,” Timm said, adding that the technology is available to other Mercosur and Latin American member countries.
The consumidor.gov.br platform is a free public service that allows consumers and companies registered on the website to negotiate solutions to potential consumer conflicts, using the worldwide computer network. According to the National Consumer Secretariat, 80 percent of complaints registered on the portal are settled by companies, which meet the demands of consumers within an average period of seven days.
“Today, consumers wish to solve problems concerning the supply of goods or services with the least possible inconvenience. They do not want to go to a court, to a small claims court, to PROCON. If possible, they want a solution within reach. And the best way is through digital platforms,” said Justice and Public Safety Minister Sérgio Moro, during the signing of the institutional agreement on technology transfer.
Fernando Blanco, national director for consumer protection of Argentina’s Ministry of Production and Labor, said that transfer agreements like the one signed today are the embodiment of the political, economic and social process that guides the regional integration project.
Source: Agência Brasil