New council being created to protect consumer interests

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New council being created to protect consumer interests

By THE NATION

 

PM Office’s Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana

 

A NATIONAL consumer council, which would be independent and work with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) aimed at effective Thai consumer protection, is currently in the making.

 

The OCPB will soon seek Cabinet approval for the draft bill for its establishment, PM Office’s Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said yesterday, after presiding over the OCPB executive meeting.

 

Suwaphan said the meeting heard updates on the creation of the new council, which is backed by the 2017 Constitution. The OCPB had formulated a draft legislation and was currently gathering input from related agencies, and would propose it for the Cabinet’s approval, he said. 

 

The new council would not make the OCPB redundant as it would focus on promoting public awareness, offer knowledge about consumer rights and public participation as well as represent consumers, he explained. The OCPB would mainly focus on legal matters for consumer protection. 

 

The meeting also approved legal action against 25 business operators, who were divided into two groups. There were 12 cases in general goods and services (nurseries, elderly/patient care, golf course, car leasing, yoga school and tour company) and 13 cases in property, housing estate and condominium businesses. 

 

The meeting also noted that complaints against property businesses were on the rise since 2016 due to the increase in the number of housing and condominium projects. It noted that the OCPB must take proactive measures to speed up the probe into existing cases and provide basic consumer rights information to the public. The authority had recently issued a regulation that rental apartments be considered a business with controlled contracts to ensure fairness in rental rate and water/power bill rate. The OCPB has asked the Commerce Ministry to post this regulation at apartments one month in advance of implementation, the meeting was told.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341097

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-17

[kaorop]

So i will be able to sue that thieving ais <deleted>xxxx. Who can send you a notice that your account is running low in a milli second but cant send you a notice that your internet has switched from a promotion (read normal rate) to a thieving rate of 50 bht an hour...also they always leave out information about promotions either the speed or the mb with any of their notices

Pure criminal activity stealing money that must amount to huge sums..

[blackcab]

So the OCPB wants a new entity to protect consumer rights.

 

I though that was the purpose of the OCPB? What have they actually been doing all these years?

[Sydebolle]

Like most other things in this wonderful land, do not expect any real changes anytime soon.

My customer protection interest happens physically in the premises of the service providers by insisting, that they should keep up with their promise of the product in line with my payment for the product. 
Always nice and well received is lately the indication of social media. Also of help is swinging big names. If in trouble with "customer service desk" then do your homework and drop names of the service providers company (board members etc.). 

In my case Bangkok Air cancelled a midday flight from Bangkok to Udon and wanted me to fly on their 6+ am flight or, alternatively 9+pm flight. Coming from Pattaya and heading for Nong Khai it would have meant an expensive taxi at either side or an overnight. "Sorry, nothing we can do about this" until I asked to be connected to Dr. Praserth (the CEO and owner) who "is a good friend of mine" - who I never met. Put on hold for less than a minute and the clerk came back online and advised "with pleasure" the flight being rebooked on Thai Airways' midday departure. 

 

Bought a new Camry some years ago and paid a booking fee; delivery in five weeks in grey with beige leather interior. After four weeks the dealership called and advised that metallic grey is not possible but dark green is in stock; interior though would be fabric and not leather. I told them that I would call back as I would need to talk to Mr. Yakizumi at Toyota head office to find out, if they could assist as I had a written contract and a booking fee paid. Long story short = the car got delivered in time as per specifications. 

I - for one - shall keep this system of "authoritarian fear from the top" and apply some white lies in between. Others will continue to ransack the offices or destroy-bejond-repair a faulty product they bought new (Japanese cars spring to mind) or co-incidentially tilt a iced latte over the paperwork of an aggressive, impolite or rude customer service agent's desk. 

They want your money - you want the promised, announced or contracted product. Simple as that!