Authorized consultants have stated that current legal guidelines are adequate to guard customers, due to this fact there isn’t any have to rush the lemon regulation which is being thought-about for automobiles patrons, reported The Star.
Current shopper safety legal guidelines, such because the Sale of Items Act 1957, Shopper Safety Act 1999 (CPA), Contract Act 1950, Management of Provides Act 1961, and Rent Buy Act 1967 could possibly be strengthened to reinforce shopper safety, based on former president of the Malaysian Bar Salim Bashir who led the Bar Council from 2020 to 2021.
Whereas these legal guidelines provide customers recourse for faulty items, particular provisions required amendments for higher safety, Salim stated. “It’s crucial to fine-tune current legal guidelines by means of amendments with out introducing a brand new lemon regulation in Parliament,” he stated.
Earlier this month, the ministry of home commerce and value of dwelling (KPDN) launched two interim methods geared toward defending customers concerning the proper to assert compensation for faulty or defective merchandise – significantly for motorized vehicle purchases – earlier than a brand new authorized framework earlier than the proposed lemon regulation is finalised, based on its minister Armizan Mohd Ali.
A number of shortcomings had been highlighted by Salim, specifically the absence of a transparent definition of merchantable high quality as acknowledged beneath Part 16 of the Sale of Items Act. Whereas the CPA affords supplementary shopper safety, the act additionally permits events to override shopper rights via particular agreements which weaken its effectiveness in some circumstances, Salim added.
On this, Salim cited the case of Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd v NZ Wheels Sdn Bhd in 2012, by which the courtroom voided the contract over a faulty automotive that failed to satisfy acceptable high quality requirements beneath Part 12 (2) of the Shopper Safety Act.
Part 51 of the CPA didn’t provide redress towards producers if defects arose from exterior elements after the product has left the manufacturing facility, and the CPA additionally didn’t enable curiosity teams to file lawsuits on behalf of customers, thus limiting collective motion.
In the meantime, Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor, who can be a former Bar Council president, voiced his assist for a lemon regulation particularly for automobiles. Whereas the CPA and Sale of Items Act provide some shopper safety, they lack specifics in addressing recurring automobile defects which depart customers with out clear treatments.
Abdul Fareed, who led the Malaysian Bar from 2019 to 2020, highlighted the absence of guarantee requirements and restore cut-off dates, which frequently left customers ready for prolonged intervals for repairs with out a correct framework for claiming damages. “We’d like clearer guarantee requirements and cheap restore cut-off dates,” he stated.
The facility disparity between customers and huge automotive firms complicates efforts for a shopper to say their rights beneath the CPA, the place negotiating repairs of refunds could possibly be troublesome, resulting in dissatisfaction and disputes.
A lemon regulation sometimes shifted the burden of proof to the producer as soon as a automobile was deemed faulty, forcing firms to behave in good religion whereas offering stronger shopper safety with out extended authorized battles, Abdul Fareed stated.
“Introducing a lemon regulation will provide clearer treatments and shift the burden of proof to producers, giving customers extra safety,” Abdul Fareed stated.
Whereas there are undoubtedly potential advantages of a lemon regulation, he warned of unintended penalties akin to elevated litigation and better prices for each companies and customers. “Cautious implementation with clear pointers is important to steadiness shopper rights with enterprise pursuits and keep away from a adverse financial influence,” he added.
Trying to promote your automotive? Promote it with Carro.
