Businesses must inform clients fully: Tribunal
Published on: Thursday, August 27, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Business owners have the responsibility to inform their clients of the various options they have when purchasing a service or product as not all customers are well-informed when making their purchases.Consumer Claims Tribunal President Datuk Lawrence Thien said business owners who simply give the clients what they ask for without advising them of better alternatives will only see such tendency come back to bite them.Commenting on a claim by Mohd Azwandy Abdul Latip against a workshop 2nd Dutch Windows Film Auto Acc and Maintenance, Thien said the workshop should have cautioned the claimant about the possible consequences of installing a newer version of air-conditioner compressor in an older car.
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Mohd Azwandy said he sent his Hyundai car to the workshop on May 10 to repair the car's broken air-conditioning compressor."I paid RM900 in total for the product and the service rendered. I was also given a six-month warranty. However, a month later, the compressor blew up, and as a consequence of that, the whole system was damaged."I went back to the workshop and I was told that they could fix it but asked for money to buy a new system which comes up to RM1,800."Naturally, I objected because that means I have to pay again for the same product which was supposed to be still under warranty," he said.
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Mohd Azwandy also told the tribunal that the workshop mechanics even accused him of driving the car recklessly like racing it, which explained why the car was broken again.In response to the claim, a representative of the workshop told the tribunal that the car is an old car and not compatible with new technology such as the compressor.
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He also explained that it is difficult to obtain parts for Hyundai which was why it took some time for the workshop to repair the car.Thien however did not think the reason was strong enough to force the claimant to bear the cost of the now-damaged compressor as he would have to pay another workshop to repair the damage.He awarded the claimant RM1,000 including cost to be paid within 14 days."However, the respondent is always welcome to bring this case to the High Court if he thinks the tribunal had made a mistake," he said.In another case, both the claimant Lo Jin Wai and respondent Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd were told to come up with the proper reports on why Lo's Ford Fiesta, which he bought three years ago, smells of burnt plastic.In his complaint, Lo said the odour was so strong that it affected his health and made him drowsy whenever he is in the car."It also affected my wife and children. They also complained that the odour is too strong. We only realised this 10 months ago. I sent it for repair three times already but each time, the car will be sent back to us in the same condition," he said.Lo, who is loaned a car by the respondent, said he refused to take back his car unless the problem is fixed and demanded that the respondent come up with a toxic report to show that whatever the problem is with the car, it would not give harmful effect on his and his family's health."I have scoured the Internet and it seems that I am not the only one with this problem. Many others also complained about the smell in their cars that just will not go away," he said.The manager of Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd explained that as distributor of the product, all they can do is help their customers the best they could but if the problem is due to the design of the car, there is nothing that can be done because they are not the manufacturer.In fact, he said, the respondent had conducted several bacterial tests and sterilisation on the claimant's car."Some of our staff said they cannot even smell the odour. I think some people have sensitive noses and they are bothered by this. But some people are not. It is a very subjective matter," he said.Due to the stalemate, Thien said he could not determine the case based on a subjective issue such as smell and a more scientific proof is needed to help him come up with a ruling."I would ask both the parties to come back later, present their case with more concrete evidence, whether this will pose a hazardous risk to the users or not. Do not simply bring friends, mind you.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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