Eight of of 10 cases settled out of court
22/02/2005 The Sun By  Liew-Ann Phang

PUTRAJAYA: Eight out of 10 cases filed in the Consumer Claims Tribunal are settled out of court.

Newly appointed tribunal chairman Rungit Singh said, since last October, of the rest of the cases which were heard and judgment given, half faced enforcement problems while the others were complied with.

A total of 5,076 cases were filed last year.

Speaking to reporters after the tribunal's first hearing at its new premises here on Monday, he said: "Justice is very important to us and the tribunal is not a one-sided body."

Rungit said the tribunal was set up to hear claims with an open mind, to understand and identify the problem and to help solve them.

He advised claimants to forward their complaints on failure of award compliance to the magistrate's court.

"They may need to fork out at least RM50 in costs at the magistrate's court, without engaging a lawyer, to ensure the award is adhered to and this is through the registry," Rungit said.

Quoting the Consumer Protection Act, he said under Section 116 (1)(b), every award by the tribunal shall be deemed as an order of the magistrate's court and can be enforced accordingly by any party to the proceedings.

Giving details on cases filed at the tribunal, Rungit said about 60% of the cases related to goods while the rest fell under the service category.

"It is my vision to make the tribunal known to as many people as possible because we do not want the consumer to suffer in silence or be unable to do anything if they feel cheated or shortchanged.

"We want any consumer to come up to us if they have a problem -- big or small amounts -- to hear the merit of the claims, and at least they will get to hear the traders" side of the issue.

"The tribunal is a very effective body, in the long-run and its existence will help improve ethics within traders and companies ... Everybody wants quality and when that is compromised, it becomes an issue," he added.

Rungit said the tribunal at Putrajaya was set up to not only help residents here but also those in surrounding areas.

"We have targeted Puchong, Serdang, Bangi and Kajang, as well as Nilai, so people will not have to travel to Kuala Lumpur to file their claims," he said, adding that 24 cases have already been filed in Putrajaya and the figure is encouraging.