Pengguna perihatin

KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers are now more aware of their rights, as seen in the National Consumer Complaints Centre 2007 Annual Report released recently.

The centre received 24,873 complaints in 2007, up 36 per cent from the previous year.

The NCCC, established under the Federation of Malaysian Consumers' Associations (Fomca), was set up to handle consumer complaints on goods and services.

The complaints registered an increase in every category of the statistics provided by the report, amid rising consumer goods and food prices. It was the second report by the non-profit organisation since it began operations in 2004.

Fomca president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason said the report was put together as a social responsibility towards the community.
"I believe the overall increase is due to the growing number of consumers in the country and the greater awareness of consumer rights," said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan at the launch of the report last month.

Housing developers topped the list for two consecutive years, with complaints ranging from poor workmanship to booking fees.

Another top complaint, up about 26 per cent, was private higher education. Some private institutions misled students into believing that they were entitled to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation loan facilities.

The biggest jump was water supply services, up 54 per cent. The complaints against travel and tour agencies also jumped from 382 cases in 2006 to 587 cases in 2007.

Hypermarkets registered the lowest rate of complaints, although the cases were up 20 per cent from 800 cases in 2006.

The majority of the consumers lodged their complaints through the phone. Only two per cent faxed their complaints to the centre.

Between 2006 and 2007, the rate of solving complaints also increased from 74 per cent to 82 per cent.

Sidek said complaints should not be viewed negatively. "A complaint is a gift because it gives us the opportunity to improve."