CONSUMER AWARENESS: Wan Uzir (second right) looking through the ministry’s guide book on consumer rights. Also seen are his officers.
KUCHING: There is an increase in the number of complaints this year in regards to Internet scam compared to the same period last year.
According to Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) state director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman, his ministry received 485 reports on internet scams throughout the country this year, a 50 per cent increase over the 239 cases reported last year.
Out of the figure, he said 48 or 10 per cent were reported in Sarawak.
He told reporters this after closing the Consumerism Advocacy Programme and Facilitation Services Industry (FILIM) 2013 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here yesterday.
“At this moment, the ministry cannot do much on tribunal cases on those who had cheated through Internet as we do not have complete information to follow up,” he added.
Wan Uzir cited a recent case where a buyer in Kuala Lumpur found out that the address of a seller purportedly engaged in furniture making used a government building in Sarawak as his address as an example where MDTCC was left in the lurch.
“So please don’t be carried away when buying online and always be alert and careful,” he reminded consumers.
On a related matter, he said MDTCC had issued a directive that all terms and conditions in sales and purchase agreements be printed in at least font size 8 for easy reading and to attract attention.
He said airlines tend to print their terms and condition in small fonts which are hard to see and read.
“Up to now in Sarawak there are eight cases against airlines and 23 last year that were brought by customers to the tribunal. For Sarawak, in 2012 most cases were was against an airline company but in 2013 most were against car garages,” he said.
He added that MDTCC will do an advocacy programme on garages, especially on genuine spare parts.
Earlier, before he officially closed the programme, Wan Uzir said it is the goal of the ministry to see consumers and businesses adopt self-regulation.
He added that the government will continue to facilitate and improve the legal environment for consumers and businesses as well as increase the effectiveness of the enforcement of consumer protection laws.
He explained that all rules and guidelines are central to their advocacy programme to ensure that all information are communicated to users and outline the responsibilities of consumers and businesses in their transactions.
Present at the press conference was federal MDTCC principal assistant director Azmisharulzaila Hassan.