Consumers reminded to take extra care with festive ‘special prices’

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BINTULU: Consumers have been reminded to take extra care when purchasing home appliances from direct sellers at purported ‘special prices’ during festive seasons.

Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Bintulu chief Salihin Den said consumers need to be aware of possible tricks by irresponsible traders taking advantage of upcoming festive seasons.

He said the ministry received a complaint from a consumer, who felt cheated after buying a water filter costing over RM2,000 from a direct sales company at a mall here recently.

“Our advice, be prudent and please do a thorough survey before purchasing the goods, because even if the case is brought to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims, the winning percentage is very small and you will get nothing out of it,” said Salihin.

He said the ministry had inspected 3,125 business premises here – 2,797 in urban areas and the remaining in rural areas – as of May 13 with 48 compounds issued and 12 cases under investigation.

There were eight cases with seized items worth over RM1.3 million investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961; 31 cases under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 with RM6,951.70 worth of seized items and RM3,800 in compounds; as well as six cases with seized items worth RM51,797.20 and RM1,600 in compounds under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011.

The Weights and Measures Act 1972 recorded 12 cases with RM36,875.50 worth of seizures and RM4,300 in compounds; two cases (RM258.99) under the Consumer Protection Act 1999; and one case is being investigated under the Direct Sales and Anti-Pyramid Scheme Act 1993 with the confiscated items worth RM16,110.

Total seizures of goods recorded here by the ministry as of May 13 was over RM1.4 million, along with RM9,700 in compounds.