THE Consumers Association of Penang has been receiving complaints from those who have had their deposits for the purchase of cars forfeited by the dealers through misrepresentation.

Almost all consumers who buy motor vehicles do so on hire-purchase. Car dealers, at one time, used to arrange the hire-purchase facility with banks.

Nowadays, many dealers tell customers to apply for loans themselves after having collected deposits in cash from them.

Dealers always assure them that deposits would be refunded, but this is rarely done. When consumers fail to get the loans and ask for a refund of deposits, they are told that the deposits are not refundable under certain terms of the sale and purchase order they had signed, or because there is a rubber-stamped note on the receipts that “deposits are not refundable”.

This is a very unfair trade practice. Verbal promises of refunds and setting out conditions to avoid returning deposits constitute cheating.

There are also cases where the salesperson who promised the refund or issued the sale and purchase orders have left the company and the management conveniently says they are not responsible for what that salesperson said or did.

Consumers are therefore being duped into paying deposits and then face being cheated of their deposits.

The ministry must check this sort of situation that consumers are put into by unscrupulous motor vehicle traders.

We call on the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to make a ruling that if consumers are unable to get loans to finance their purchase, dealers must refund the full deposit to them without any deduction for any purpose.

S.M. MOHAMED IDRIS For Consumers Association of Penang

Source: NST – May 28, 2008