lemon

The Malaysian Association of Standards Users (Standards Users) and the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) have called on the government to establish "lemon laws" to further protect consumers in cases of defective goods at time of purchase, Bernama reports.

"Lemon" is a colloquial term for a vehicle, usually new, that is found to be flawed or defective shortly after purchase. Lemon laws are in place in many countries including Singapore, Australia, the Philippines, China, Japan, South Korea and the US.

"According to lemon laws, should a consumer fulfil the conditions set, they are eligible to obtain fair compensation for the purchase of faulty goods or items which do not function as they should," Standards Users CEO Ratna Devi Nadarajan said, adding that the association has received many consumer complaints regarding uncertain warranty in the purchase of goods, especially electrical goods and vehicles.

"Among the complaints we received included consumers who could not obtain commensurating compensation after buying faulty items, not given clear information on warranty as well as sellers' outright refusal to compensate based on unreasonable excuses."

The New Straits Times reported in June that the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) received nearly 5,000 complaints last year against the auto industry. The monetary value of the complaints totalled RM22.2 million (RM12.7 million more than in 2012), with a big number of complaints involving breakdowns and malfunctions of newly-bought cars and poor after-sales service.

"Complainants lamented that companies were merely interested in making profits and made empty promises until the point of sale," NCCC legal and dispute resolution manager Santhosh Kannan told the daily at the time, adding that some of the common gripes included stalling vehicles, exploding tyres and malfunctioning ABS, gearboxes and power windows.

Ratna Devi clarified to The Malaysian Insider that under lemon laws, if a consumer can prove the defect is already present when the item is purchased, he or she is entitled to replacement, refund and price reductions.

"At the moment, vague warranty clauses do not give sufficient protection to our vehicle buyers," she told TMI, adding that currently, the onus is on consumers to prove the vehicle is faulty at the time of purchase. "If the Lemon law is in place, the burden will be shifted to manufacturers and their agents," she said to the publication.

"Lemon laws can also be applied to the electrical and electronic sector as well as furniture where consumers can obtain fair compensations. If the seller does not give the appropriate compensation to the consumer they can be fined," she added.

Ratna Devi, who is also NCCC director, told TMI that the NCCC has met with a few officials to discuss the implementation of lemon laws, but the response so far has been lukewarm.

"But we will continue to push for the implementation of the law, be it as a separate legislation or something that works alongside all existing laws concerning consumers," TMI quoted her as saying.

Standards Users, FOMCA and the NCCC are conducting a seminar today on lemon law principles to discuss the issue at length.