Company insurance policies can’t override client rights — LASCOPA warns

The company stated in an announcement that companies should make sure that their insurance policies and contractual agreements adjust to current legal guidelines, stressing that no firm rule can take priority over the authorized rights of shoppers.

The General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo, gave the warning throughout a mediation session on the company’s headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, involving a client and the administration of an occasion centre over a disputed cancellation payment.

However, the occasion centre administration reportedly insisted on preserving 50 per cent of the whole reserving price, citing its inner cancellation coverage.

Reacting to the matter, Solebo stated firm insurance policies and contractual phrases should be in keeping with the Lagos State Consumer Protection Law 2025 (as amended) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.

He maintained that the place an organization’s inner guidelines battle with the protections supplied by regulation, the related statutory provisions take precedence.

LASCOPA stated it had continued to obtain complaints from shoppers who have been denied refunds, replacements and different cures by retailers and repair suppliers primarily based on their inner insurance policies.

The company warned companies towards utilizing basic disclaimers and restrictive contract phrases to keep away from their authorized duties to prospects.

However, it clarified that client safety legal guidelines don’t imply that prospects are mechanically entitled to a full refund in each transaction.

According to the company, whether or not a client qualifies for a refund, return or cancellation is determined by the circumstances surrounding the transaction and the related authorized provisions.

It defined {that a} buyer’s determination to vary their thoughts after making a purchase order doesn’t, by itself, mechanically create a proper to a refund.

“Consumer protection does not guarantee 100 per cent automatic refunds in every transaction, noting that the availability of a refund, return, or cancellation depends on the circumstances of each transaction and applicable legal provisions. A consumer’s change of mind, for instance, does not automatically establish an entitlement to a refund,” the assertion stated.

The company urged companies throughout Lagos to assessment their refund insurance policies, guarantee situations, cancellation charges and contractual agreements to make sure they meet the necessities of client safety legal guidelines.

It additionally suggested shoppers to familiarise themselves with their rights, request and maintain receipts and different transaction data, and thoroughly learn phrases and situations earlier than making funds.

Consumers have been additional inspired to report enterprise practices they thought of unfair to the company for investigation and doable intervention.

Solebo disclosed that LASCOPA had acquired a number of complaints over the previous six months referring to enterprise practices that allegedly violated client rights.

He stated among the complaints have been nonetheless underneath investigation, whereas others had been resolved by way of the company’s intervention.

The LASCOPA chief urged residents to stay alert and report suspected instances of unfair therapy by companies.

Reaffirming the company’s dedication to defending shoppers and selling truthful enterprise practices, Solebo insisted that no firm coverage may override rights assured by regulation.

He urged Lagos residents who had complaints towards companies to hunt the company’s intervention by way of its toll-free helpline.