Two win refund of deposits
The Star 9/6/2005 By Cecil Fung
KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Claims Tribunal ordered yesterday the
refund of deposits paid by two consumers.
Student Ahmad Feizal Adnan, 27, had made a RM7,798 deposit on an
apartment, construction of which had yet to begin.
He signed the sale and purchase agreement for the apartment under
Projek Taman Puncak Templer and paid the amount on Sept 27, 2002.
Ahmad told the tribunal that he had gone to the site of the project
only to find that the area there had not been cleared for
construction to begin.
In defence, respondent Cergas Tegas Sdn Bhd assistant legal manager
Faizah Ahmad said the developer was still waiting for its building
plans to be approved by the local authorities.
After hearing submissions from both parties, tribunal president
Datuk Abu Bakar Awang ruled in Ahmad's favour and ordered Cergas
Tegas Sdn Bhd to refund his deposit.
In another case, Ramaesh Kumar K. Kuppunna, 36, won his claim for a
refund of his RM1,000 deposit for a Toyota Avanza paid on Dec 1 last
year.
Otomobil Sejahtera Sdn Bhd branch manager Emmy Farina Zulkifli
argued that the company was entitled to collect the entire deposit
according to Section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950 (Revised - 1974)
in the event of a breach of contract.
Abu Bakar, however, said Otomobil Sejahtera failed to prove that it
had endured hardship in processing the cancellation and could not
penalise Ramaesh according to the Act.
