By Mariam Mokhtar

Have you ever returned home, only to find that the dress you bought has a rip or a stain, an electrical item has a crack which you had not noticed in the shop? Maybe the vegetables looked fresh when you bought them, but some are withered.

Do you react like the majority of people, who simply shrug their shoulders and blame it on bad luck or carelessness? Are you more pro-active and return to the shop and explain to customer services, that the goods you bought are faulty?

Different shops have different refund policies. Some give a maximum of two weeks from the time the goods were purchased after which no refunds will be given, but almost all will say that the goods must be in their original packaging. Some items, such as underwear or medicine, cannot be returned once they are purchased, for hygienic and health reasons.

If the sales assistant appears to dismiss your complaint, do you scream and demand that your money is refunded? When do you decide to request to speak to her supervisor or manager?

Shopping can be a curious experience; sometimes when you least want the attention of the sales staff, they crowd around you and destroy your buying pleasure. At critical times, they are nowhere to be found. Some shops are like that. They are keen to make you part with your money, but when things go wrong, they don’t want to know.

Many shop employees are not properly trained to deal with returns or refunds, so you must be vigilant and never be fobbed off by assertions, that the shop cannot help and that your only recourse is to contact the manufacturer.

You paid for the item in the shop and your contract is with the shop. You should not have to put up with poor quality or damaged goods, or endure poor service from shopkeepers when complaining. You should not be afraid to kick up a fuss. In today’s world, some employees are put under a lot of pressure by their employers. Be persistent but remain polite.

It is handy to know that it is often worthwhile to contact the head office of the shop or store you purchased your item, by phone and with a follow-up letter, if your complaint has not been properly addressed.

Perhaps, being aware of your rights, will prevent you from being conned in the future.

The rule of thumb which one consumer site advocates is to remember the acronym – ‘SadFart’ – when you go shopping.

S – Satisfactory quality
A – As
D – Described
F – Fit for purpose
A – And last a
R – Reasonable length of
T – Time

Every time you purchase an item or pay for services, even if it is an online purchase, or eating in a restaurant, you are entering into a contract with the seller. Although it is not within the scope of this article to cover the details of the law regarding the purchase of goods and services in Malaysia, it is clear that the item you purchase must be “as described” and that you should be happy with its quality.

If you buy some expensive writing paper, and find that the quality is not what you normally expect, you are within your rights to return the pack and either have your money returned or the faulty goods exchanged.

Perhaps, you bought a printer, but find that after a few week of normal use, it breaks down. It is reasonable to expect that consumer goods should last for their design life. If a printer malfunctions soon after purchase, you are within your rights to return it to the shop to have the issue resolved.

The most important things to note are that the company must be contacted immediately after a fault is detected; be polite when explaining your predicament and stick to the facts. Follow up with a letter, addressed to the appropriate person and take the details of the person you’ve spoken to, the time, the date and what transpired in the conversation. Letters should be sent by recorded delivery and copies of all correspondence filed for future reference.

If the shop does not want to listen, there is always the appropriate government department or a consumer association which could help redress the problem. Bear in mind that some issues will not be solved overnight and may take longer to resolve.

Recently, an important organisation promised me and several others, that the ink we were supplied with was indelible, and that it would remain, on the surface to which it was applied, for about a week.

To our horror, some of us found that this ink could be washed away after gentle scrubbing with detergent and a nail brush.

If we applied the ‘SadFart’ rule to this indelible ink, it will be obvious that the ink was not of satisfactory quality, the product was not as described, it was not fit for purpose and despite the assurance of the organisation, which supplied the ink, it did not last a reasonable length of time. What a rip-off!