HAVANA, April 13 (Lucas Garve, CPI) - Shoppers at the Cuban government dollar stores who try to return or exchange defective merchandise rate the experience unpleasant at best.
Buyers of mostly small electric appliances, TV sets, radios, tape recorders, CD players and the like, who try to enforce their guarantee rights often have to wait months and jump through paperwork hoops to prevail.
To add to their frustration, customers feel they pay high prices and find the items are defective with alarming regularity, but they cannot take their business elsewhere: the government stores have a monopoly on these products.
"My husband paid more that (US) $400 for a sound system and three months later it didn't work. He took it back to the store where he bought it and has been going back every week for four months without getting either an exchange or a refund," said a young nurse.
She added: "They are fooling him. They tell him that a new shipment will come in next week, to wait, that they are already in the warehouse and other excuses, but in reality nothing happens."
While they wait for a solution, customers have little recourse. Employees at dollar stores are under strict orders not to issue refunds.
Versión original en español
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