CASE receives complaints over unjustified price increases
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 January 2007 2248 hrs
CASE receives complaints over unjustified price increases
The Consumers Association of Singapore, or CASE, received about six complaints over the last three months on shops using the upcoming GST increase as an excuse to raise prices.
But after checks, most of the shops gave valid reasons for the increases such as more expensive ingredients.
CASE receives complaints over unjustified price increases
One complaint involved charges by a dental clinic.
Jessie Tan's daughter had her braces fixed at the clinic at the end of 2005 for S$4,700.
After paying about S$3,500, Madam Tan signed an instalment plan to pay S$120 monthly for the next 10 months.
But early last year, the clinic told her to pay an additional S$6 monthly.
Jessie Tan, Consumer, said: "The clinic says that because of the increase in the GST from 5 to 7 percent. It's not stated yet by the government that we have to pay this 7 percent so it's really not fair."
Eventually, Madam Tan paid off the remaining bill in order not to incur the extra cost.
But the dental clinic said it was just a misunderstanding.
Yap Geok Lan, Manager of The Smile Cliniques, explained that the clinic was formerly not a company registered for GST but now it is.
She added: "At the moment, we are still charging them five percent GST but we're not charging them the GST increase at the moment."
CASE says many complaints about businesses using the GST increase as an excuse to charge more are often found to be untrue after investigations.
Usually, it is just a case of miscommunication.
So CASE advises businesses, whether big or small ones, to be transparent and explain the real reasons for any price adjustments to consumers.
Seah Seng Choon, Executive Director, CASE, said: "Businesses need to educate their staff to give the appropriate reason if there are any price adjustments for their products and services and not leave it to their front-line staff to give any reasons convenient to them. It will create ill-will among the consumers and consumer would then speculate that the price adjustments are due to the GST hike. Very often than not, we find that those complaints are not true."
Details of the GST increase will be out on Budget Day next month. - CNA/ch