KUCHING: Shun online shopping or risk being deceived.
This advice comes from vice president of Consumer Voice Association of Sarawak (Covas) Philip Ng, who said consumers, if they had to shop online, should patronise registered sites with track records.
He added that some websites did not even prompt registration, which would potentially put trade at stake.
“If you have to buy a product online, go for sellers with high ratings to avoid being cheated. There were even cases where consumers dealt with fictional sellers as registration was not required.
“Even if the Tribunal for Consumer Claims is ready to defend the rights of consumers, how do you expect the tribunal to go after a fictional seller?
“The tribunal can help only if consumers are offered substandard goods or fall prey to scams. So, we do not encourage people to do online shopping,” he said when met at a roadshow themed ‘Live within your income’ at E-Mart Matang here yesterday.
Ng said he had come across complaints pertaining to online deals, but offered no figure on the cases.
As far as consumerism goes, he asserted everyone had the right to choose, complain and even seek compensation.
He said consumers could decide to stop patronising a shop or an eatery if they found prices to be above average.
“If you think the prices are not reasonable, stop going to that particular shop. You have the right to choose just as businessmen can set the price given that this is a free market.”
Genuine complaints can be channelled to Covas via fax: 082-682242.