Consumer protection in Haiti

Haiti has sector-specific consumer safeguards, but no comprehensive consumer-protection law has been verified in the available evidence. A 2012 consumer-protection bill was a proposal, not a confirmed law in force, and ECLAC reported in 2024 that Haiti did not have a general consumer-protection law. Formal protection therefore depends on the product, service and responsible institution, while direct settlement with a company or provider is often the practical first step. Its legal effect is not uniform across sectors. The Ministère du Commerce et de l’Industrie (MCI) is the main general entry point. Its Direction du Contrôle de la Qualité et de la Protection du Consommateur (DCQPC) handles quality control, complaints, advertising and market or product inspections. The Direction du Commerce Intérieur (DCI) works on domestic markets, commercial businesses, prices, stocks and local markets. The Bureau Haïtien de Normalisation (BHN) deals with standards, certification and metrology. Departmental directorates provide local relays. An MCI doléance can be submitted through the online form, by email with attachments, by calling +509 3105-8006 or +509 3105-8007, or through Appel 106. The form asks for the company or service provider, address, transaction or damage date, complaint type, harm, and requested remedy. Public information does not clearly state a filing fee or general processing deadline. Possible MCI responses include a warning, inspection, audit, negotiated settlement, publication of the company name, temporary closure or judicial prosecution. These powers do not establish a general guarantee that the consumer will receive a refund or replacement. MCI complaints can concern prices, foreign-currency price displays, speculation and overvaluation; expired, counterfeit or contaminated food and medicines; foreign objects, incorrect labels, quantity or quality defects; defective or malfunctioning non-food products; and problems with banks, telecommunications, fuel stations, construction, restaurants, health services, repairs and funeral services. MCI inspections also cover prices, storage, labeling, food, fuel stations and the quantity delivered. Legal metrology requires checks of petrol and LPG pumps and commercial scales. Conforming equipment receives a green sticker and non-conforming equipment a red sticker. Financial complaints follow a separate process. BRH Circular 131 covers banks, financial institutions, credit and savings cooperatives, microfinance institutions, credit cards and electronic-payment providers. The BRH Contact Center provides information, assistance and support and records complaints. The framework addresses fair treatment, clear information about costs and conditions, non-discrimination, misleading or aggressive practices, abusive clauses, unilateral changes without adequate notice, unwanted bundling, credit assessment, abusive collection, data protection, secure digital services, complaint registers and remedies. Unauthorized card fraud is generally assigned to the institution unless the consumer’s proven error or negligence applies. Publicly available material does not clearly establish the current complaint fee or deadline. An older remote-banking rule limited handling to 30 days. The BRH Bureau d’Information sur le Crédit (BIC) gives consumers access to their credit report, a process to correct inaccurate data, a record that a dispute is pending and an opportunity to provide an explanatory response when credit is refused. Public information does not fully specify the procedure or fees. For telecommunications, CONATEL’s complaint form covers misleading advertising, security threats, interference, overbilling, unwanted messages or calls, poor voice or internet quality, unjustified interruption, coverage, lost minutes or megabytes, charged customer service and VOIP. Contact the telecommunications provider first and document that contact. The form also requests the place, duration, date and requested solution. A processing deadline and fee are not publicly stated. CONATEL requires SIM registration under its resolution. Missing identity documents can create an access risk, although CONATEL has stated that telephone access should not be withdrawn solely because an identity document is missing when the situation was not deliberately caused. Haiti updated its rules on electronic signatures and electronic transactions in 2025, but a general online consumer-protection remedy has not been verified. Digital purchases therefore depend on the applicable MCI, BRH or CONATEL process rather than one unified e-commerce system. Tourism complaints may involve the Ministère du Tourisme, which sets national tourism policy, regulates tourism activities and tourist transport, establishes operating standards and controls tourist establishments. No publicly verified tourism-specific consumer complaint channel, refund standard or processing deadline was identified. Price, quality or service problems may instead be submitted through the MCI channel when they fall within its remit. Energy regulation is handled by ANARSE, which regulates the generation, transport, distribution and sale of electricity and other energy. A clear public consumer complaint standard, tariff-dispute process, deadline or fee for electricity customers has not been verified. MCI remains relevant to fuel prices, quality, quantity and irregular sales practices. For medicines and other health products, the MSPP Direction de la Pharmacie, du Médicament et de la Médecine Traditionnelle (DPM/MT) maintains public information on authorized pharmacies and receives pharmacovigilance reports. Report a serious event immediately and report moderate or serious adverse effects through DPM/MT or the responsible departmental directorate. A complete report includes the product, batch, source and event details, and may require a sample. Acknowledgment is provided, and the stated maximum handling period is 20 working days after a complete submission. A separate standard for consumer refunds or product-liability claims has not been verified. Fraud-related complaints can involve counterfeit, contaminated or expired products, speculation, overvaluation, telecommunications harm, financial losses and misleading communications. MCI can refer matters for judicial prosecution; BRH rules address unauthorized financial transactions; and CONATEL handles relevant telecommunications fraud, unwanted communications and false advertising. Haiti does not have one verified national consumer-fraud office covering every sector. A useful complaint file contains the receipt or contract, payment proof, product or service details, batch number when relevant, photographs, the date and place, the company’s details, messages and call records, the harm suffered and the remedy requested. Record each contact and keep copies of submitted forms. The competent channel may be formal, sector-specific or partly informal, and many public fees and deadlines remain unclear. That uncertainty makes complete evidence and a clearly stated requested remedy especially useful.