A. M. 
Courtesy
The Government of El Salvador reaffirms its commitment to the protection of consumer rights, highlighting historic achievements in the recovery of funds in favor of citizens. During 2024, the Defensoría del Consumidor recovered a total of US$40.2 million, benefiting 37,288 people affected by various irregularities in the market.
The president of the institution, Ricardo Salazar, detailed that US$39.4 million were recovered through alternative means of dispute resolution, while US$879,000 came from resolutions issued by the Sanctioning Court and US$17,500 through judicial representation. This amount represents an all-time record, surpassing by US$7.1 million the amount recovered in 2023, an increase of 22%.
The most benefited sectors were real estate, with US$23.6 million, followed by financial services (US$9.6 million), tourism (US$1.1 million), general services (US$864,300), and vehicles (US$712,400). Most of the recoveries were due to breaches of contract and offer, improper charges, poor quality of products or services, and problems related to guarantees and retractions.
As for the modality of attention, 60.1 % of the cases were attended in a non-face-to-face manner, while 39.9 % were resolved in offices. According to Salazar, this distribution is evidence of the strengthening of consumer service strategies, both face-to-face and virtual, facilitating access to services.
In addition, the Defensoría imposed US$3.05 million in fines for violations of the Consumer Protection Law, the Law against Usury and the Law for the Regulation of Credit History Information Services. It also ordered the return of US$879,001.50 in favor of 309 consumers.
These achievements demonstrate the impact of the Defensoría del Consumidor in the economic protection of salvadorans, consolidating confidence in the justice system and reaffirming its mission of guaranteeing respect for consumer rights.
