A design consultant filed a case with the Johor Baru Consumer Claims Tribunal after a used car dealer refused to refund the booking fee and deposit he had paid.
Mohd Fauzie Zakariya, 28, said despite many calls made to the company to get his money back, the respondent did not entertain him.
The claimant said he went to the car dealer in Kampung Pandan, Johor Baru, in March this year to buy a used car.
“I paid RM500 booking fee for a RM78,000 car and a deposit of RM2,000, which was paid a week later,” he said when met outside the Johor Baru Consumer Claims Tribunal.
He added that the RM2,000 deposit was paid after he went for a test drive and the car dealer agreed to assist him to apply for a loan.
Mohd Fauzie said he was supposed to pay a total of RM12,000 deposit for the car, with the remaining RM66,000 to be in the form of a loan from a bank.
“But in April, the company called to inform me that I have to pay RM18,000 as deposit as my loan application of RM66,000 had not been approved,” he said.
Mohd Fauzie said the respondent suggested that he settle the RM18,000 in two payments to get a RM60,000 loan approved.
However, the claimant did not agree to the suggestion and decided not to proceed with buying the car.
He demanded that the RM500 booking fee and RM2,000 deposit be returned to him.
“But the respondent refused to return my money,’’ said Mohd Fauzie.
The claimant said he checked with two panel banks of the used car dealer and found that one was willing to give a RM68,000 loan.
“The other bank was only willing to approve RM60,000 and I could not understand why the used car dealer did not choose the one offering the RM68,000 loan,’’ he said.
The respondent, who was present at the hearing, said it was the company’s policy not to return the RM2,500 paid by the claimant as he had cancelled the booking.
However, Tribunal president Lee Chee Thim said the terms and conditions by the used car dealer were in the company’s favour and unfair to buyers.
“In this case, the claimant decided not to proceed with the purchase as he was only willing to pay a RM12,000 deposit instead of RM18,000,’’ he said.
Lee ordered the respondent to return RM2,000 to the claimant in two weeks, with RM500 as compensation for the administrative expenses incurred by the respondent including processing loan applications.
