This Friday, the president of the Consumer Ombudsman’s Office, Ricardo Salazar, presented the data that is the result of the deployment of inspectors throughout the country, to know the prices of the products used for the start of classes. This survey manages to compile and compare information from 251 establishments nationwide. With the implementation of the School Ombudsman 2024 plan, Salazar has led inspections in bookstores and establishments that sell school supplies and supplies, as well as technology equipment and footwear.
“Our survey was carried out between January 8 and 11, 2024 and was the result of collecting information from more than 1,400 school products. Five categories were verified: 113 sewn notebooks, 179 spiral notebooks, 139 stapled notebooks, 50 notebooks or booklets, and 928 miscellaneous notebooks. the official explained.
During the conference, the official emphasized that the objective is to protect the rights and interests of consumers when returning to school, as well as guarantee that school supply suppliers comply with the Consumer Protection Law.
“We have detected an average decrease of 4.5% in this basket of 71 school products. In miscellaneous there is a decrease of $6.42, which represents 7.4%, followed by sewn notebooks with a decrease of $0.35”, he detailed.
The official stated that stapled notebooks, spiral notebooks, and booklets show an increase of 2.5% to 12.8%. Likewise, he said that through the attention mechanisms they have received 24 notices related to the school issue, in which the increase in enrollment and monthly payments stands out, these will be transferred to the Ministry of Education.
The Ombudsman’s Office has the following numbers available to the population to make inquiries or complaints, 910 and WhatsApp 7844-1482. It has also placed fixed service points in squares, parks and shopping centers.