NUSS bids farewell to Suntec City Guild House for the

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Dr tan Puay Siew, Deputy
1 Group Manager (Singapore
institute of Manufacturing
technology) recalled
her experience with Singtel on
mio tv. She had to make countless
complaints about their poor
broadcast quality. She watches the
ePL football broadcast. On the first
day of the first season, the system
promptly collapsed and the family
experienced jerky or frozenedscreen
video. After lengthy phone
calls to their service hotline and
multiple home visits, the staff finally
agreed to provide another land line
for free. this is after their service
personnel tried to ‘sell’ to her
family their standard alternative.
After some months, Singtel started
charging them. the same ‘jerky’
issue happened on the last day of
the 2011/12 season. Dr tan indicated
that her entire season’s football
experience was totally spoilt by the
incident on the last day of the season.
Dr tan and her husband were
clueless whether a goal was scored.
She obtained the information from
the people in Malaysia. Singtel only
compensated them with a onemonth
rental credit citing goodwill
although the fault lied with them.
2
Recently Ms Vicki Loh
purchased two computer
cables which turned out
to be the wrong cables for her
computer. the first purchase was
from a major electronics retailer
and the other purchase was from a
small shop in Sim lim Square. With
a bit of negotiation she was able
to get an exchange and refund on
both the cables even though both
receipts stated that there would be
no refunds. the major electronics
retailer allowed her to exchange the
wrong cable for another item of the
same value. the small shop in Sim
Lim Square gave her a refund.
customer service experience that they
use to differentiate themselves. Our
consumer protection laws also serve
as a deterrent to errant businesses.
In order to remain relevant, the laws
are constantly reviewed and updated
to provide more comprehensive
protection to consumers. The Lemon
Law is one such example.”
exercising consumer rights
Ms Bernadette Wong recalled the time
when she exercised her consumer
rights. She had a laptop that failed on
her thrice. The service centre of that
particular brand was all too willing to
repair her laptop as it was still under
a one year warranty. She had to insist
on a one-to-one exchange upon the
fourth crash of the hard drive within
a one year duration. It was unjust that
the option was not offered to her since
there were already multiple repairs on
what was clearly a defective product.
“The Lemon Law makes it obligatory
for retailers to replace, exchange
or give refunds to consumers should
there be any defective items sold to
them. It means that I would have solid
grounds for asking retailers to replace
a product I am not satisfied with. I do
feel that a culture shift is needed for
businesses to invest more in sourcing
for quality products, in drawing up
strong buying contracts that protect
themselves from their suppliers and
in maintaining strong after-sales support
services,” commented Ms Wong.
“Without the above, businesses would
Special report
“I do feel that a culture shift is needed for
businesses to invest more in sourcing for quality
products, in drawing up strong buying contracts
that protect themselves
from their suppliers and in
maintaining strong after-sales
support services. Without the
above, businesses would feel
hard-pressed by the lemon law
and caught between a rock
and a hard place...”
ms Bernadette Wong
Manager of Special Projects
creative eateries
feel hard-pressed by the lemon law
and caught between a rock and a hard
place if they have not protected themselves
and yet have to cater to the
demands of consumers with higher
expectations on service and quality
of goods.”
Many business retailers are
mindful of leaving a positive
impression on their customers,
especially if they hope to be in
business in the long term. It is
possible to negotiate one’s way out
of a bad or even just a mistaken
purchase. When all else fails, it is
important to have the consumer
protection rights in place to protect
the consumer. In addition, the
new amendments provide clarity
on what happens when or if the
consumer receives a defective or
non-conforming item. The consumer
may then ask the retailer to repair or
replace the good in question, within
a reasonable time and with minimal
inconvenience to the customer.
“As a consumer it is important
to know your rights. Without an
awareness of your rights, you will
not know what you can expect
from a retailer,” concluded Ms
Vicki Loh, Senior Associate at Legal
Solutions LLC. “At the end of the day,
the best protection is really your self.
Know your rights, know what you
are buying and ensure you are
getting what you are supposed to be
getting. Prevention is always better
than cure.”
Oct-Dec 2012 THE GRADUATE 21