The sale was sudden and strategic and the woman could not help but yield to the lure of some plastic toy trucks that were piled up on a wooden table at the front of a wholesale in downtown Kingston last December.
For her, the sale price of $150 was too much of a bargain to ignore since she recalled seeing similar models for more than double that price during her stroll through what it considered Kingston’s busiest shopping district.
After all, the truck would have made a perfect Christmas gift for her four-year-old son. And she could double the pleasure if she bought him two - a blue and a red - simply because she could afford to do so. She did.
But no sooner had she arrived home, she found out that one of the trucks was not only malfunctioning, but had two huge cracks.That was the beginning of her problems, for the receipt she had received from the wholesale was illegible and barely contained any details of her purchase. She simply gave up and wrote the defective truck off as a loss.

According to the Consumer Affairs Consumer (CAC), this lady should not have settled for the loss, despite the fact that she felt the receipt lacked sufficient details of her purchased.
“She should have returned the truck to the vendor and if she ran into problems should have taken the receipt and defective item to the CAC and we would have taken it from there,” explains Dorothy Campbell, Communication Specialist at the consumer rights agency.
It is illegal, Campbell said, for merchants to issue receipts that do not contain adequate information about consumer’s transaction.

Under the Consumer Protection Act (2005) a receipt must show such information as:

• The amount of money paid by the consumer;
• The date on which the purchase was made;
• A description of the goods or service sold; and
• Where applicable, the professional fee charged.

“ At any time subsequent to the purchase, the receipt issued by the provider shall be adequate proof of the purchase of the goods and services and may be used for the purposes of refund in any of the circumstances specified in this Act,” Section 20 (subsection 2) of the Act states.
The act further states that any contravention could attract a fine up to $50,000 or 30 days in prison.
Receipts like these, lack important details about the transactions performed. However under the Consumer Protection Act, it is illegal for merchants to issue receipts that do not record adequate information about consumers’ transactions.
But checks around the city have proved that business practices of some retailers have been found wanting. Many, including some prominent businesses, are issuing receipts that lack important details of the transactions performed.
One receipt obtained by Thursday Life for the purchase of three items at a well established supermarket in the Corporate Area carried only a few numbers which were accompanied by “Your Receipt….Thank You”. There was no record as to the name, location and contact number for the outlet and on further questioning there was no explanation as to how the store handled return goods. “We know the receipt that we issue,” explain a not so polite cashier. When asked how, she responded: “We know them though.”
A sales clerk in a Half-Way-Tree haberdashery that issued to Thursday Life a similar receipt, albeit with far less information, simply implied that customers need no further details on receipts, “because a good something (goods) we sell”.
Campbell said complaints about the issuing of illegal receipts have been trickling into the CAC but said customers, most times; refuse to carry on further than just mere complaining for fear of being targeted. “Sometimes persons are even unwilling to lodge complaints to the CAC,” Campbell said. She said it is the consumers’ right to refuse receipts that do not itemize the purchased goods or services. “ A lot of the onus is on the consumer to insist on a proper receipt,” she told Thursday Life. “The receipt is to reflect the transaction… ‘x’ good was bought for ‘x’ price and carry the name and address of the vendor,” Campbell explained.” How do you, even as a consumer, assuming that you did not shop at a single store, know which receipt was issued by which store if the store’s name is not reflected on the receipt?” The receipt, she said, is critical to transactions and is the first stage of any redress for the consumer. “it is a consumer’s ID,” she said. Campbell also reminded consumers that “no refund” policies are not set in stone. “In the event that the item is damaged or malfunctions, the consumer, under the CPA, is entitled to a replacement or refund,” Campbell stated. A credit note is not an option. The customer is entitled to a replacement of equal value or a refund.”

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