By Zain Anbar

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — About 49.5 percent of the electronic shops registered in Maroof e-portal, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment has announced.

It said the Maroof e-portal has a total of 27,000 shops, about half of which were owned by women.

The ministry said it received more than 19,700 complaints against the electronic shops.

It said about 56 percent of the complaints were against the electronic products, 14 percent against the electric appliances, 13 percent against garments and 9 percent against accessories.

It said some shops would withdraw the price of the commodity from the clients› bank accounts without dispatching it to them.

According to the ministry, some electronic shops would charge them more than the actual price of the product.

The ministry said it had closed down as many as 26 accounts on the social media for propagating fake commodities.

It said the fake goods advertised on the social media include, among others, perfumes, beautification mixtures and weight reducing herbal medicines.

The ministry said since the beginning of the year 2018, it had closed down about 80 accounts for promoting fake goods. The accounts had more than a million followers.

The ministry strongly warned against advertising fake products on social media and said harsh punishments would be waiting for people who do this in violation of the country›s commercial regulations.

The ministry has also called on owners of e-shops and social network marketers to register their trade activities with Maroof, which will ensure credibility of the traders’ activities and products, and protect the rights of buyers. Marketers are urged to make sure that the party selling goods has a commercial registration or has signed up through the e-service.

The portal provides an evaluation of services and the quality of e-stores in the Kingdom, and presents the opinions of dealers and clients on such stores.

This e-service also gives the seller an opportunity to market their electronic shop online within various Maroof platforms, enabling online store owners to add all their social media accounts, their website and contact numbers to their page with Maroof, which makes it is easier for buyers to access and contact them, the ministry said.

The service preserves the rights of consumers, making it possible to lodge a complaint in case of any commercial fraud, by contacting the ministry’s consumer call center (1900) or through the application of a commercial violation report via smartphone.

Maroof is a free electronic service and takes only a few seconds to sign up to the website: www.maroof.sa.