KUALA LUMPUR: Malfunctions, refunds and deposits involving both new and used cars made up more than one-tenth of the 40,560 complaints made to the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) last year.

NCCC legal and dispute resolution manager Santhosh Kannan said it received 4,915 complaints against the auto industry and the value of the complaints was a staggering RM22.2 million, an increase of RM12.7 million compared with 2012.

“A huge number of complaints involved breakdowns and malfunctions of newly-purchased cars and poor after-sales service.

“Complainants lamented that companies were merely interested in making profits and made empty promises until the point of sale,” he said after the launch of the 2013 NCCC Complaints Report yesterday.

Among the common grouses for new cars were stalling vehicles, exploding tires and malfunctioning anti-lock braking systems, gearboxes and automatic power windows.

According to the report, value of consumer complaints increased sharply from RM41 million in 2012 to RM62 million last year, although the number of complaints dipped to 40,560 in 2013 from 41,963 the year before.

The centre successfully resolved 70 per cent of the complaints recorded in the report, where amicable settlements were reached, Santhosh said.

The top five categories of complaints received by the NCCC were, in general, consumer products, telecommunications, retailers (including online), automobile and the travel industry.

NCCC chairman Datuk N. Marimuthu said consumer awareness had been increasing in the last few years and consumers were bolder in expressing their dissatisfaction and grouses.

He said companies and industries were now compelled to respond faster than before in addressing complaints.

“Industries have to be mindful of the various avenues for consumers to come out and express their anger and annoyance. They do this mainly on social networking sites.

“The sites have become the quickest way for consumers to express, so industries must act quickly.”

an article by The New Straits Times