Two win refund of deposits

Two win refund of deposits
09/06/2005 The StarBy 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.