Of small portions and pricey deliveries

Most consumer grouses last year involved food takeaways or deliveries. - 123rf.com

CONSUMERS are urged to exercise their rights if they find themselves being shortchanged in food purchases – be it dining at eateries, taking away food or ordering meals online.

The National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) received 230 food-related complaints last year, with top types of grouses involving food delivery services (36%) and prices of items (32%).

Others were misleading information or advertisements about food (18%), food quality (8%) and customer service (6%).

The number of complaints is a dip from the total 378 received in 2019, as the movement control order in 2020 had reduced the frequency of customers dining in restaurants. Instead, most consumer grouses involved food takeaways or deliveries, says NCCC senior manager Baskaran Sithamparam.

He says many consumers also voiced out against food delivery charges which they felt were too expensive. Other grouses were about food not being delivered on time and receiving different options than what they ordered.

“There are some who also complained that the food received was rotten. In one case, one consumer ordered eight pieces of glutinous rice but three were mouldy,” Baskaran recalls.

He urges food delivery companies to always have avenues for customers to lodge complaints so that service can be improved, and this would encourage more people to use such platforms.

“Some shops also hiked up prices due to limited ingredients available.

“Consumers also complained about small portions of food after taking away food from shops. They only realise this when they returned home and opened the package,” he says.

In one case, a consumer had bought three packets of prawn curry from a restaurant, paying RM38.10 in total or RM12.70 for each packet. However, the consumer was disappointed to find that the packets only contained one prawn each.

“The consumer had bought the curry to be shared among seven people. How were they supposed to split three pieces of prawns?” Baskaran says of the case.

In another peculiar case involving portions, a complainant had ordered liquid egg topping to be made into egg tarts but received only 800g of the product, instead of 1kg – 200g short of what was promised.

“The liquid was not enough to fill up all the tart shells, but the person was still charged the same price for 1kg,” he says.

Separately, another consumer purchased a food gift box for RM138 online, and it was supposed to weigh 1.2kg. However, the weight turned out to be 650g only.

There have also been some cases involving food quality, including complaints of food being prepared using recycled oil or ingredients that had gone bad.

“Some consumers raised issues like getting heartburn after eating such food or getting a bad taste in their mouths. Some could be due to the eateries using their old stock to serve customers,” Baskaran says.

On issues involving cleanliness, he remembers one example whereby a consumer found fly eggs on fried chicken at a restaurant.

“In such cases, consumers are urged to lodge a complaint with the local authorities or the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Division,” he says, adding that consumers should include pictures of such tainted food too.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has also received complaints involving dirty eateries and unreasonable food prices.

“The cases we receive are usually about food safety and cleanliness at premises, like restaurants or food stalls. On pricing, complainants say the food is too expensive compared with other stores.

“For issues on food safety and cleanliness, we advise people to file a complaint with their local council, and if it’s a pricing issue, they should raise it with the Domestic Trade And Consumer Affairs Ministry,” the association says.

On manufactured food products sold in stores, the CAP received a few complaints about food going bad before its expiry date while others complained about the presence of weevils in flour.

On a separate matter, with the 11.11 online shopping sale coming soon, the NCCC advises consumers to be alert to avoid being duped.

Baskaran advises consumers to be cautious when they shop online during the sale on Nov 11, especially if they are buying items through social media.

“Most complaints involving online purchases are from sellers on social media like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

“Consumers should be wary when purchasing things online through social media to avoid being scammed into paying for items that will not be delivered or are not the same as advertised.

“They should check to see if the seller’s account number or the company is blacklisted via the ‘Semak Mule’ application created by the police to identify if the account holder is a scammer,” he says.

Consumers can visit the website at ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule.

Baskaran says it is safer to shop on registered platforms as they have the proper channels for consumers to voice their issues with the platform or for redress.

“Social media sellers entice consumers by selling products cheaper than other stores or outlets.

“They offer gifts and promote the item by saying it comes in limited numbers. Consumers need to be aware of the tactics used by the scammers,” he says.

To lodge a consumer complaint, go to the NCCC’s website at nccc.org.my.