Consumer Advice
How to be a smart Christmas Shopper
Today the euphoria of Christmas and New Year shopping is not driven by the occasion (i.e. Christmas) but mostly by the intoxicating advertisements and jingle bells urging consumers to spend and spend. Most consumers end up failing to monitor how money is spent. The following tips will help you monitor your spending so that you have a festive season of good cheer and not of unwise spending.
Make a shopping list: Always list everything that you want to use, all the food, gifts, presents that you would wish to purchase. The list must also include the price range of items which matches your budget. Read more>>
Getting ready for school
With the new school year around, the Council would like to urge parents to plan their 
back-to-school shopping properly. Below are some tips to help parents and guardians for back-to-school preparation.
Prepare well – Parents should save in advance and not leave things to the last minute. Read more>>
Aisles of temptation
Most of us walk through the aisles of the supermarkets almost everyday without realizing the hidden tactics used by these grocery stores to tempt shoppers to pick more than what's on their list. Supermarket's aren't haphazard things. They are deliberately designed to get shoppers to buy as much as possible. When a store is being planned, careful consideration is given to product location. Some might say this is performed for the benefit of the customer. Others maintain that stores use basic psychology to entice consumers to spend more money. Read more>>
Be Prepared for the Cyclone Season
The prime months for the cyclone season is from November to April. Council's past experience has shown that consumers had to face many problems and inconvenience because they were too complacent and not prepared for the cyclone period. To save consumers from this trouble, we would like to offer few tips: Read more>>
Five Steps to a Financial Complaint
If customers feel that their complaints have not ben satisfactorily addressed by the financial institution, they can lodge their complaints with the Reserve Bank of Fiji. The RBF has implemented process and procedures to help in this regard. Read more>>
How to complain successfully?
You may feel dissatisfied about some newly bought but defective product, or unhappy with some badly performed service. But before you rush back to the shop to complain ask yourself the following:
- What precisely are you complaining about? It has to be something specific that you can spell out.
- Is it really not your fault? Are you sure you followed the instructions listed?
- Is the law on your side? If you are stll unsure, check with Commerce Commission or the Consumer Council of Fiji.
If you answered "yes" to all the above questions then you can proceed. Read more>>
Tenancy Agreement
There should be a written tenancy agreement between the landlords and tenants. The tenant must be given time to read and understand the tenancy agreement before being asked to sign. Please find attached a pro forma tenanchy agreement for landlords and tenants which can be accessed here.
Additional terms may be added to the agreement so long as they do not breach any provisions of the residential tenancy laws. Any such tems are not binding or enforceable, even though the tenant may sign the agreement.
Click here for a pro forma tenancy agreement...
