Sometimes, the “entrepreneurial” spirit of some Lebanese makes me sick to my stomach. Almost instantly after talk about the taxes, many if not most vendors in Lebanon jacked up their prices. Things such as vegetables, foodstuffs, imported goods, cigarettes and other commodities and products got a sudden price increase.

The taxes have not been passed, and will not pass anytime soon. This price hike is being blamed on the taxes, which never became a reality. This disgusting use of the government’s failed savage policies to rip off Lebanese consumers is unacceptable.

Raise the Issue with Vendors and Retailers

Explain to them that the increase is illegal, and that they cannot increase the prices based on the (now dead) possibility of a tax hike. Tell them you will complain to the Ministry of Economy’s Consumer Protection Directorate. Also, try and share about these places online, so other people avoid going there.

Call 1739: The Consumer Protection Directorate

This directorate is one of my favorite in Lebanon. Each time I’ve filed complaints, they’ve responded and even kept me up to date with the progress of each file. They also managed to get the money back to a friend who was ripped off by a jeweller, and fined the jeweller for selling something as gold when it demonstrably wasn’t.

Call them on 1739 and file a complaint, or go on their website here. You can also download their app (where you can add photos) on Android and iOS (personally, I don’t trust any government app with permissions on my phone, so I’d rather do it the old-fashioned way by calling or emailing).

Stop Whining, Do Something

Yes, it sucks that vendors and retailers would try to rip us off like this. It’s also pretty customary in Lebanon to not give a fuck about consumers’ rights, or even health. But, whining that “it’d take 100 years” and “Lebanon will never change” doesn’t help. The CPD does a good job from what I’ve seen, so I make sure to always tip them off. After all, they don’t have the manpower and resources to scout every place all over Lebanon, so pointing them in the right direction is you being a good citizen and helping curb the unfair practices by vendors and retailers trying to make a quick buck off of you with an invalid excuse like “taxes”.