A RENOVATION company has been ordered to pay a nurse RM5,000 compensation after a kitchen cabinet she ordered was left unfinished.
Claimant Noridaizrini Mohammad Ariffin told Johor Baru Consumer Claims Tribunal that she had to fork out extra money to hire a new contractor to finish the work.
Noridaizrini, 41, said the purported operation manager of the company in Taman Megah Ria in Masai, Pasir Gudang, had initially agreed to do the renovation work.
She said the 47-year-old man gave her a quotation of RM13,600 to instal a table top and kitchen cabinet at her single-storey house in Bandar Jaya Putra in Austin, Johor Baru.
She made the first payment of RM3,850 on Sept 24, 2023.
This was followed by the second payment of RM1,180 to the bank account of the man’s wife on Oct 9.
“He told me the company’s account was having some issues with the bank, which would take some time to resolve,” she said.
Noridaizrini said the man told her the money she paid would be used to buy materials for the kitchen cabinet before prices go up in November.
“I made another payment of RM4,000 on Oct 10, this time to the company’s bank account.
“In total, I paid RM9,030 to the man and the company,’’ she said.
She added that the company, which is the respondent in the case, then insisted that she pay RM4,570 more in order for the project to be finished, which she refused.
Noridaizrini told the tribunal that the man built only the table top and left the kitchen cabinet unfinished.
She had to spend RM18,500 to hire a new contractor in January this year to complete the kitchen cabinet.
“I am happy with the new contractor as he finished the project within three days,” she said.
Earlier, during the hearing, the respondent told the tribunal that the man was not the company’s employee.
The respondent said he met the man in Kebun Teh, Johor Baru, only in 2022.
“Yes, I did the quotation (RM13,600) but I did not know that he had dealt with the claimant earlier,” said the 51-year-old respondent.
The respondent said that he along with the claimant and her husband went to see the man who lived in a housing area near Hospital Sultan Ismail in Pandan, Johor Baru.
“I asked him to finish the project but he wanted RM1,000 from me, which I refused to pay,” said the respondent.
The man went missing in November, said the respondent.
He also expressed regret that the man had used the company’s name to cheat the claimant.
Tribunal president Lee Chee Thim said the respondent had to compensate the claimant for the RM5,030 paid to the man.
“The case is against the company and not the individual,” said Lee.
He ordered the respondent to pay the claimant RM500 per month as agreed by both parties, for 10 months until Dec 10, 2024.
Consumers seeking tribunal assistance can call 07-2271 755/1766.
