Consumer complaints to the Competition Authority of Kenya
What the Competition Authority of Kenya can order a shop to do after a consumer complaint, and which sales and refund records help the shop respond.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Retail businesses in Kenya
A customer buys an electric kettle from a household goods shop in Mombasa. Within a week the base starts to smoke. She brings it back, the shop assistant says it must have been misused, and the customer leaves angry. A month later the shop receives a letter from the Competition Authority of Kenya asking for its side of the story.
The CAK is often thought of as the body that deals with mergers and competition between large companies. It also has a department for consumer complaints, and a corner shop can find itself answering one. This article explains what the CAK investigates, what it can order a shop to do, and which records put the shop in the best position to answer.
What the CAK's consumer department looks at
The Competition Authority of Kenya states that its Consumer Protection Department enforces Part VI of the Competition Act, which runs from section 55 to section 70. The department investigates complaints about:
- false or misleading representations, such as a sign promising a discount that does not exist or a product described as something it is not;
- unconscionable conduct towards consumers;
- the supply of unsafe, defective or unsuitable goods.
For a shop, the first and third are the everyday risks: a price tag, a promotion or a product claim that turns out to be wrong, and goods that fail or harm the buyer.
Safety and product information standards
The CAK also states that it investigates businesses that fail to comply with prescribed Consumer Product Safety Standards and prescribed Product Information Standards. As the names suggest, one set deals with whether a product is safe and the other with the information that must come with it.
A shop does not usually manufacture what it sells, but it chooses what goes on its shelves. Practical habits that reduce the risk:
- Buy electrical goods, toys, cosmetics and food from suppliers who can tell you which standards their products meet.
- Reject stock with missing or unreadable labels, or no instructions where instructions are expected.
- Keep the supplier's documents for each product line, so the shop can show where an item came from.
- Remove a product from sale as soon as there is a credible report that it is unsafe.
How a complaint reaches the CAK
The CAK states that consumers can lodge complaints by post, e-mail, telephone or in person, by completing a consumer complaint form with all the relevant information. A customer who has been turned away at the counter has an easy route to the regulator, and the shop may only learn of it when the CAK makes contact.
That is a strong reason to resolve complaints properly at the counter. A written note of what the customer reported, what the shop checked and what it offered is useful whether or not the customer goes further.
The CAK's consumer protection page explains how it enforces the rules on misleading representations, unconscionable conduct and unsafe or defective goods, and how consumers can complain.
What the CAK can order, and the penalties behind it
The CAK states that the administrative remedies it may apply to consumer complaints include:
| Remedy | What it means for the shop |
|---|---|
| Refund | Paying back what the customer paid |
| Replacement | Supplying an equivalent product |
| Repair | Fixing the goods at the shop's or supplier's cost |
| Withdrawal of misleading representations | Taking down a sign, advert or claim |
| Recall of unsafe goods | Removing a product from sale and from customers |
| Public notices | Announcing the problem with the goods |
Behind those remedies is a criminal sanction. The CAK states that a person convicted of contravening Part VI of the Competition Act is liable to imprisonment for up to 5 years, a fine not exceeding KES 10 million, or both. Those are the figures the CAK gives at the time of writing; check its page for the current position.
In the kettle example, a prompt refund or replacement at the counter would have cost the shop far less than the time spent answering the regulator.
The records that answer a complaint
When the CAK asks for the shop's side, it helps to be able to show, quickly and in writing:
- what the customer bought, when and for how much;
- what the shop said about the product at the time;
- what the customer reported and when;
- what the shop did: refund, replacement, repair or refusal, with the reason;
- the supplier's documents for the product.
Getting them from Achekam
The sale. The till receipt is a PDF made by the server from the posted sale, showing every payment, VAT by rate and the business's tax number. It can be printed, downloaded or e-mailed to the customer, and a copy can be produced again when a complaint arrives. How till sales relate to KRA's electronic invoicing is covered in Kenyan till sales and eTIMS.
A refund at the till. A supervisor or manager can refund all or part of a till sale with a reason, as its own document linked to the sale, with the goods put back into stock. The reason is the important part: "base smoked after a week, refunded in full" is evidence; "customer unhappy" is not. If the goods were faulty, decide separately whether they should go back to the supplier rather than onto the shelf.
Invoiced sales. For goods sold on an invoice rather than at the till, a credit note is issued from the invoice it corrects, in full or for chosen lines, posted to the ledger, and can be downloaded as a PDF or e-mailed, with any leftover credit held for the customer. There is no credit note without an invoice, so every refund on account traces back to the original sale.
Refund practice more generally, including store credit, is covered in refunds, voids and store credit.
Write a one-page counter procedure for faulty-goods complaints this week: who decides, what is recorded, and which refund reason staff must enter, so the next complaint is settled at the counter rather than by the CAK.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
