‘Do your part as a discerning consumer’—DTI

In the past few weeks, Inquirer Motoring has been running a series of stories narrating the difficulties encountered by dissatisfied automobile consumers who seek redress from their dealers.

The stories involved that of Nino G. Mendoza and his brand new yet troublesome Japanese-made sedan, and that of car enthusiast Reyv, a loyal owner of a three-year-old American-branded SUV that has had multiple defects.

In both cases, their dealerships failed to solve the vehicles’ vexing problems, leaving both owners to seek relief from external parties.

While Nino sought the Department of Trade and Industry’s intervention, Reyv held out against going to the department, saying that his family had had a previous experience with the DTI, and that case has already taken nearly 15 years.

A few weeks ago, DTI ruled in favor of Nino, ordering the dealership/respondent to “return the amount corresponding to the payment made by complainant.” But here’s the caveat: the order also states that the amount refunded would be “less the amount corresponding to the depreciation of the subject vehicle computed from the time it was purchased until it was last brought for repair.”

Mendoza has filed an appeal against the order of a depreciated refund with the DTI, saying he wasn’t able to use the car due to multiple problems, thus he should not be made to shoulder the depreciation cost.

Such are the real world problems of auto buyers who ended up owning vehicles that didn’t run up to expectations, or worse, gave its owners operational problems.

DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau told Inquirer Motoring that for the past three years, it has received a total of 1,384 complaints related to cars, with 45 percent of these undergoing mediation wherein parties were able to reach a solution or a settlement.

However, other complaints were dismissed due to the lack of information, some were archived due to complainants’ lack of interest and indecision to pursue their complaints, while others were elevated for adjudication, and 139 were endorsed to the appropriate offices.

While these numbers do show that the department is doing what it can to fulfill its mandate of protecting the rights of consumers as well as enabling business establishments, there is still much room for improvement as far as consumer protection is concerned.

DTI stresses, however, that the first lines of defense in consumer protection are the consumers themselves.

“In as much as there are consumer rights, we also have consumer responsibilities. One must be a mapanuring mamimili (discerning buyer) when you transact business.”

DTI advised consumers to constantly practice the following:

Always secure one’s self. Be alert in doing transactions.

Transact with a reputable merchant/seller.

Trust your instincts. When in doubt, don’t consumate the transaction.

Do not proceed with your transaction when: a. you have any doubts about the merchant or on any step of the transaction process (e.g., payment, delivery); b. a deal/offer looks unbelievable, unreal or too good to be true. Do not be deceived by huge discounts; and c. you are hurried or pressured into completing the transaction and making the payment.

Do your research: comparison shop, and ask around.

Read and understand the fine print.