The Consumer Support office of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce has relaunched their web site with a new business blacklist feature. The site offers consumers a database where they can look up a business’ history, including consumer complaints, law suits, and arbitration proceedings. The Ministry will also publish a “blacklist” of the businesses that have had the most consumer complaints and government sanctions against them.

Site - www.consumo.go.cr - more features:

• Consumer credit calculator - find out how much you really pay when buying appliances on credit.
• Purchasing Department - The Ministry will publish government purchase and service contracts they have authorized.
• Credit Card Comparison - Compare credit cards offered locally by features, prerequisites and rates.
• Black List - Look up that company you are thinking of buying from to see if they are on the blacklist or if they have been willing to settle fairly in arbitration.

The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) yesterday presented an ambitious publicity campaign it plans to launch in Germany, taking advantage of the Costa Rican national soccer team La Selección’s presence in the World Cup.

Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides said the campaign, which costs $4.2 million, will be diffused through German television channels and newspapers and seeks to attract tourists.

“We want to take advantage of this special and historic moment,” Benavides said.

One of the campaign’s key elements is a 30-second promotional video highlighting Costa Rica’s tourist attractions to air five minutes before and five minutes after the inaugural game between Germany and Costa Rica June 9.

The video shows off the Costa Rica’s rainforests, flora, fauna, beaches, waterfalls, volcanoes and rivers, emphasizing the country’s focus on democracy and the warmth of its people.

Ads showing Costa Rican children playing soccer will also circulate in three major German dailies, and the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) is hosting an exposition called Costa Rica Arena in Munich. The exhibit includes Costa Rican art, music, food and products (TT, May 26).

-ACAN-EFE

By Amanda Roberson, Tico Times Staff

To promote better coordination between government institutions providing public security, President Oscar Arias’ administration plans to create a National Public Security Council, Vice-Minister of the Presidency José Torres announced yesterday after a meeting at Casa Presidencial.

Rodrigo Arias, Minister of the Presidency and the President’s brother; Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal; and Justice Minister Laura Chinchilla met yesterday to discuss forming the council, which, though established under the law, has not been in place under the last two presidential administrations, Torres said.

“This administration will emit a decree to create the council, which will have representatives from the Ministry of the Presidency, the Justice Ministry and the Public Security Ministry,” Torres explained. “It will serve to coordinate the work of different police operations during times when there are public security situations.

“The Public Security Ministry has a vertical organization, and the council will create better coordination between all the institutions,” Torres added.

Torres said the timing of these plans has no correlation with a strike planned for June 7 by those opposing the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).