Muscat court issues rulings against décor and construction firms

Muscat: The competent court in Muscat Governorate has issued rulings in six separate cases against companies and institutions operating in the décor, home furnishing and construction sector over violations related to consumer contracts.

The cases involved failure to deliver agreed services, non-compliance with repair and maintenance guarantees, delays in execution of works, and failure to refund payments made by consumers.

In one case, a company contracted to carry out thermal and waterproof insulation for a building roof with a 10-year warranty was found to have delivered work not in line with specifications, resulting in repeated water leakage and property damage. The court convicted the company and its representative and imposed fines of RO300 each for failing to comply with repair and maintenance obligations.

In another case, a consumer who paid an advance for the installation of 28 windows filed a complaint after the contractor failed to complete the work within the agreed timeframe. The court sentenced one defendant to one month in prison, imposed a fine on the institution, and ordered a refund of RO1,100 to the consumer.

A separate ruling involved a décor provider who failed to deliver wedding event decorations despite receiving advance payment. Both defendants were fined RO300 each, with suspended execution of the sentence.

In another case, the owner of a company providing home fixtures and lighting was fined RO300 (suspended) for failing to honour an agreement and refund payments after the business ceased operations.

The court also ruled against a company that failed to install artificial grass despite receiving an advance payment. The defendants were fined RO100 each, with civil claims referred to the competent authority.

In a further case, a kitchen design and installation company failed to complete a project valued at RO2,900 and did not issue an invoice in Arabic. The court imposed fines of RO300 and RO100 for the respective violations, with sentences combined and the heavier penalty applied.

The total fines across the six cases amounted to approximately RO2,900, in addition to one prison sentence and consumer refunds totaling RO1,100.