We get surprised when we receive electricity, telephone & water bills and discover their high figures. When we ask about the reason behind their being so; the answer received from Electricity Department states that the high expenses are due to the consumption in summer time which is highly logical. However, if we know that the house owner is used to spending his summer vacation abroad for more than two months but is still surprised to receive the same bill that he used to pay in the year in which he spent the summer holiday at home; we receive no justification from Electricity Company in regard to this. The said company says that this category of people represents the least one as the majority of people are the ones whose expenses do not exceed hundreds of Saudi Riyals. However, there are some people who belong to this "majority" category but are still complaining. Telephone companies are not less voracious in regard to doubling the numbers or figures, in spite of their declarations about the discounts applied on after midnight, feasts or certain countries' calls. However, such declarations are not applied on the true reality. Our problem with telephone companies is that they are not subject to the monitoring of neutral accountants appointed by the state as real observers. Thus, the estimation has become subject to the companies only. This is not logical in regard to the citizens, in spite of what telephone companies declare of that telephone calls cost in the Kingdom is the cheapest on the Arab and international levels. I do not believe that these companies are included in the lists of Consumer Protection Department or other concerned departments in regard to monitoring them and making them subject to accountability. Preserving the operation of stating the expenses and sending the bills to the companies only makes the belief of their correct accounts doubtful. This doubt is being said by the majority of consumers. The issue is not restricted to these authorities only as Gas Company has adopted their principles and raised the fixed cost of the cylinder or barrel. We, as a country, are producers rather than importers. If we compare our gas company with Egypt's companies and their prices; we shall realize that our price is doubled when compared to theirs. It's a long chain if we consider the increased costs applied on the consumer in regard to medicine, furnished apartments & private schools which costs have been multiplied by two. The same thing can be said about the cars spare parts where the weak monitoring, avoiding sticking the price on the sane goods and leaving everything for the expatriates in regard to administration and practice of monopoly led the citizen to have no one to complain for except for his Almighty Lord. However, the responsibility is still present as no authority is allowed or entitled to specify what it wants and impose it on the citizens, especially those of them whose salaries are low. It seems that no government department wants any authority to interfere in what is related to it. This negative aspect led the consumers to losing their trust in them. There is no more trust in the trader, the companies and whoever deals directly with the citizens for promoting and selling its own goods or private product. We know that those who deal with these subjects through writing or complaining directly about them, in addition to raising them in social networks or media are not responded to due to that government department have become used to neglecting such issues are not affected anymore by criticism or revealing of facts. However, this logic contradicts with the good and binding rules which are not applied or implemented. Shall we go on in regard to preserving the disorder in spite of citizen's right is a duty which should enjoy the priority?!
