Case to handle tourist complaints
TOURISTS will now have a more effective and efficient avenue of redress if they find themselves fleeced by retailers here.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has appointed the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) to provide mediation on behalf of tourists and to represent them at the Small Claims Tribunal for redress.
Both organisations signed an agreement yesterday that will take effect from July 1.
As Case had previously signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with its counterparts in China, India, Macau and Malaysia, visitors from those territories will have a platform for recourse even after they have returned home.
Case will sign a similar MOU with its counterpart in South Korea next, said Case president Yeo Guat Kwang.
STB currently mediates on behalf of tourists and has done so since 2003. A total of 5,726 tourist complaints were lodged from 2007 to last year, it said.
Last year alone, tourists filed a total of 1,557 complaints.
About one third of the yearly complaints since 2007 a ratio that has remained constant were related to electronic products. Tourists typically griped about unfair retail practices, such as misrepresenta-tion and over-pricing, said STB.
-News courtesy of Omy-
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