Government
Declares A Health Emergency in Costa Rica
Two Cases of
Swine Flu Confirmed in Costa Rica
Ticos Rush To Buy "Tapabocas"
(Masks)
Costa Ricans Cancel Or
Delay Travel To Mexico
Recope Admits Selling
Gasoline With Ethanol Mix, But Little Can Be
Done About It
Former
President Calderón Seeks Re-Election
Coast Guard
Rescues Mariners After Boat Sank Off Costa
Rica
Oversupply Of
Melons, Bad Weather Hurt
Fresh Del Monte
Recope Admits
Selling Gasoline With Ethanol Mix, But
Little Can Be Done About It
The sale of gasoline with ethanol by the
Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope)
at the end of February and beginning of
March is illegal and the state refinery
yesterday admitted to selling 30 million
litres of the ethanol added gasoline at
gasoline stations around the country and
without telling customers, feeling it was
not necessary.
That fact was confirmed by the Oficina de
Protección al Consumidor, Cinthya Zapata.
However, nothing is being done about it.
The Defensora de los Habitantes, Lizbeth
Quesada, has sent a letter to the Autoridad
Reguladora de la Servicios Públicos (Aresep)
(government regulator) for stiff sanctions
against Recope, especially for violating the
rights of consumers of not being given the
information.
And this is not the first time that Recope
has felt that the public need not know about
what they are buying.
Earlier this month, Recope was selling
propane, mainly used in homes and
restaurants, without the added odour to
detect the gas in the event of a leak.
Recope said it had run out of the odorant
and that delays at the docks forced the
refinery to produce the gas without the
traditional odour.
The worst of the situation are those owners
of vehicles whose engines were negatively
affected by the ethanol mix.
If the damage was not enough, anyone who
wants to make a claim against Recope, needs
to be armed with patience and then some, as
the Aresep process of receiving and dealing
with conumer complaints is slow. Very slow.
Firstly, the vehicle owners have to show
proof of the damage and provide a receipt of
purchase. The documents have to be presented
to the Contraloría de Servicios de Recope,
the refinery's internal auditor general.
If the request is not satisfied, then the
process gets even more complicated, as a
complaint must be then filed with the Aresep,
which, in its own time, will determine if
there is validity to the claim and if so
begin the long process of forcing Recope to
pay up. Good luck. |
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