Acodeco warns about unfair practices by car dealers in Panama

The Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition (Acodeco) in Panama has a ranking of the brands and companies with the most complaints at the institution. It was also noted that pensioners are entitled to a 20% discount on labor costs in workshops and dealerships. Meanwhile, the administrator of Acodeco celebrated a victory the institution achieved against a large corporation that, in addition to being represented by two powerful law firms, also resorted to lawyers and experts from the United States and Europe. "As a consumer, when you go to select a car, know that you are marrying the brand and the company, which is why it's important to know their warranty policies because they want to tie you into buying a part that has a negligible value on digital platforms," he said. Ramón Abadi, administrator of Acodeco, announced that the institution is analyzing the measures to be taken against those companies, especially car dealerships, that use retaliatory measures against their customers. In this sense, Abadi invited consumers to investigate the history of companies and whether their customer service is "toxic" or not, in fact comparing it to a marriage. The administrator of Acodeco referred to the actions of some dealerships that, he said, want to tie parts sales to the car's warranty or do not allow their customers to find cheaper parts in other businesses. "All workshops must have the Acodeco sticker with Law six and for people with disabilities visible," he highlighted. "Regarding these retaliatory measures, we are doing an analysis because obviously it also has the insurance part that gives you a workshop quote and waits for the company to quote," said Abadi on 'Reporte Estelar', a program broadcast on Kw Continente. "You should have seen my lawyer's battery and on the other side there was a battalion of two powerful law firms in Panama, the kind that have offices in Costa del Este... It was a fight of a tied mouse against an African tiger because you are not going to be able to handle those people and with all that we won," said Abadi about a process that took 19 years to resolve in favor of the consumer. He lamented that while these issues are being resolved, the consumer cannot use their vehicle, but without stopping paying the loan. "It's time to put a strong hand to this," he expressed.