Laws are being amended to give buyers under credit sale agreements better protection, such as a 10-day period to decide if they wish to go ahead with the deal or not.
The amendments to the Consumer Protection Act was tabled for first reading in Parliament by Deputy Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Henry Sum Agong.
They include Section 24O which states that credit sale agreements of goods or any class of goods must be in writing in Bahasa Malaysia or English.
Failure to do so would render the agreement void.
Section 24P requires the agreement to be spelt out clearly, including the cash price of the goods if it is a cash sale.
Also to be spelt out in the agreement is the amount payable, duration of instalment, fees, freight charges and description of the goods or related goods.
Section 24N requires that buyers be issued with a written statement of the proposed credit sales agreement.
Buyers will be given a 10-day cooling off period to decide if they wish to go ahead with the deal or sign the agreement three working days after receiving the written statement of the proposed agreement.
Also amended is Section 123A to empower Assistant Controllers to investigate offences under the Act and to arrest offenders under Section 124E.
It will also be an offence under Section 135A for anyone to tip-off others of investigations by the Assistant Controller.
Punishments under the Act has also been fixed at a RM100,000 maximum fine, three years jail or both for first time offenders and RM250,000 fine, six years jail or both for repeat offenders.
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