Exclusive dealing is illegal and schools should refrain from encouraging such dealing practices at their school.

Consumer Council of Fiji CEO Premila Kumar said that this has become a common practice during the start of the new school year where students and parents are forced to buy uniforms, shoes, stationery and other schooling needs from certain businesses only which are identified by schools.

She added if schools are asking or forcing parents to buy children’s items from one place, then parents should lodge a complaint with the Consumer Council of Fiji, the Fiji Commerce Commission or the Ministry of Education.

The Consumer Council is also calling on the Commerce Commission to monitor this exclusive dealing practice as there is an instance whereby a well-known company continues to use “preferred suppliers” in its advertisement regardless of a warning by the Commission last year.

Kumar said the Commerce Commission had written to 30 schools last year that appeared in advertisements yet these schools are still engaged in exclusive dealings.

Exclusive dealing is prohibited under Section 69 of the Commerce Commission Decree 2010.


Story by: Sneh Chaudhry