from: www.case.org.sg
Singapore's "lemon law" will kick in on September 1,
2012.
The new legislation will provide more options through additional
remedies, such as repair and replacement, and provide greater
clarity on the burden of proof for defective goods.
The lemon law will have a two-stage recourse framework for
consumers. At the first stage, consumers may ask the seller to
replace or repair the defected goods within a reasonable period of
time. But if this isn't possible, consumers can move on to the next
stage, where they can keep the defected goods and ask for a
reduction in price or return them for a refund.
Currently, the exchange or refund policy can differ between
retailers. Some shops may offer up to seven days to exchange
products, while others have a strict "no refund" policy.
Customers at Swedish furniture giant IKEA have all along been
benefiting from its 100-day return policy.
This means that if customers change their mind on purchases, they
can return the items within 100 days from the date of
purchase.
With the lemon law in place, they will now have up to six months to
take action on any defective product.
Most customers welcome the lemon law.
One customer said: "When there was no such law, I would not be
bothered to go back and change (the item), because I am afraid
there will be this and that, a lot more issues. So, now that there
is such a law, I will definitely bring it back to change."
Another commented: "That is something they do in the US
already...And I think it is nice, actually. It is good for business
also because in the end, people would end up buying more because
they know they can always return them."
Others were concerned that some may abuse the law.
One person said: "What the retailers can do is actually state the
terms and conditions clearly, and maybe state it on the cashier
counter and on the receipts. Everything should be black and white,
and have no grey areas, so that consumers can better know what is a
defective product and they can exchange the product."
Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck said: "With
the new lemon law, consumers and retailers now have more options of
recourse for defective goods.
"I encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the provisions
under the law. At the same time, we also want to ensure that
businesses are not subject to frivolous claims and that limitations
and safeguards are in place."
The government will monitor how smaller retailers adjust to the new
law.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will gather feedback for
some three months and work towards closing gaps, if any.
Mr Teo said: "For smaller retailers, sometimes, it is harder to
implement some of the good, excellent measures of the major
retailers because of cost issue, because of volume, because of the
type of products.
"We will be monitoring the smaller retailers, their responses and
how they manage the process more carefully, because we want to make
sure that it actually enhances the experience for them, it actually
helps them in their business."
Mr Teo added : "It is important to let the law be implemented and
accumulate enough experiences for the retailers as well as
consumers. And then we monitor and see what is the outcome, how is
it done, and then we can figure out what are the gaps to close, if
there are any gaps, and figure out some of the measures or counter
measures, and see how we can help the smaller retailers or even the
consumers go through with the transactions."
To help reduce the impact on business, Mr Teo encouraged smaller
retailers to focus on building personalised relationships with
customers.
To make it easier for customers to track their purchases, customers
of electronics, furniture and IT retailer Courts, can now access
their product purchase information online, or 'e-receipts' - so
they do not have to worry about losing receipts, which are usually
required as proof of purchase.
These 'e-receipts' allow them to easily retrieve vital information
such as product purchase dates.
The MTI and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) have
organised some 40 seminars and roadshows to brief consumers and
retailers on the new law.
MTI said 15 additional briefing sessions are expected to be held
over the next two months.
MTI has also worked with CASE and various trade associations to
develop lemon law consumer guides.
These will explain the consumers' rights under the law, and the
limitations and safeguards against frivolous claims. These guides
will be available at supermarkets, and places like community
centres and shopping centres.
- CNA/ac/ms