370 Million Tenge Refunded to Astana Residents Following Complaints Review

In the first nine months of 2026, the Department of Trade and Consumer Rights Protection in Astana refunded 370 million tenge to residents following the review of their complaints. The department received a total of 10,102 complaints pertaining to trade and consumer rights, as shared by Deputy Head of the Department Gulzada Almatbayeva during a briefing at the Communications Service, according to the official city hall website.

The majority of complaints were related to electronic commerce, retail trade, and household and educational services. Common issues included the purchase of defective goods, refusal to refund, contract violations, provision of substandard services, and misinformation or lack of information about products and services.

“As a result of complaint reviews, consumer rights were restored in 4,837 cases. For 2,218 complaints, citizens were provided with legal explanations. In 1,612 cases, complainants withdrew their cases following amicable dispute resolution. Additionally, 2,022 complaints were forwarded to competent state bodies, while 684 complaints were postponed for consideration in October 2026. During this period, the Department conducted 203 inspections in the field of consumer rights protection. Of the violations found, 53 directives were issued to entrepreneurs. The total amount of fines imposed exceeded 4.7 million tenge,” stated the spokesperson.

Special attention was paid to compliance with trade legislation. In nine months, 162 complaints on these issues were reviewed. Based on the violations identified, 162 trade entities were held administratively accountable. The total fines amounted to over 3.2 million tenge. Among those held accountable, 156 represent small businesses, three are medium, and three are large enterprises.

In addition to reviewing complaints and taking responsive measures, the Department conducts informational and explanatory work.

“Residents are informed of their rights, how to file complaints, and ways to resolve disputes with sellers and service providers through mass media and official social media pages. This work will continue. The main tasks of the Department remain unchanged: protecting citizens' legal interests, improving the efficiency of complaint reviews, preventing violations, and fostering a fair trade environment,” concluded the Deputy Head of the Department.

Photo: gov.kz