A new consumer law - 'Lemon Law' was introduced on 1st September this year to strengthen consumer protection in Singapore. The new law applies to all goods from fashion apparels to motor vehicles including second hand vehicles.
Since its introduction in September till the end of November 2012, there has been a sharp decline in the number of motor vehicle related cases, though the law was initially frowned upon.
According to Case (Consumers Association of Singapore), there were over 60 cases over a three month period - prior to September. In contrast, the number of cases has dropped sharply to almost a third at 22 - since the introduction of the new law - for an estimated 18,000 used car transactions from September to November.
Experts related to the issue, tie the reason for the declined number of cases to more caution practiced by the used car dealers. Singapore Vehicle Traders Association Secretary Raymond Tang echoed similar comments.
He claims over 390 members registered under the association, are encouraged to be sent to inspection centres to re-affirm their working condition and surface any problems prior to sale.
The Lemon Law amends the current Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and the Hire Purchase Act in a bid to protect consumers more, once they have unknowingly purchased a faulty (colloquially known as lemons) product. According to Case Executive Director Seah Seng Choon, the number of complaints is currently not large and has to observe over the next six months to ensure the law is not misused.
