KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Consumer Protection Tribunal has ruled in favour of a consumer who sought redress through the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC).

The amount of J$7,587,000.00 was awarded to the consumer after it was found that section 23 (damaged goods sold to consumer), section 24 (return of defective goods) and section 30 (false or misleading representation) of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) were breached.

In explaining the case in a release, legal officer of the CAC, Sacha-Gaye Russell said the consumer went into a contract with a used car dealership and was told that the vehicle purchased was in good working condition. However, after taking possession of the vehicle a number of issues were discovered.

She informed that after an assessment by a motor loss adjusting and motor appraisal company, it was concluded that “the vehicle met in a heavy collision in Japan and sections of the vehicle were refurbished in Japan before it came to him [consumer] here in Jamaica.”

As a result of the breaches, the consumer was awarded the purchase price for the vehicle which was $5.4 million and a sum of $2.1 million awarded for loss of use. He was also awarded “valuation costs and storage fees at $62,000 and the wrecker fee,” Russell said.

The importation of damaged vehicles or crashed cars is prohibited. Prior to the ban introduced by the Bruce Golding administration in 2008, thousands of damaged vehicles were imported annually to Jamaica, and then fixed before being sold.

The CAC legal officer said it is now up to the vendor to decide whether or not payment will be made to the consumer or there will be an application for judicial review which is permitted under the law. Russell further noted that based on the civil procedure rules, the vendor has three months, from the date the order was made, to apply for a judicial review. The order was made on October 22.

Highlighting how important it is for consumers to know that they can engage the CAC in cases where they are not satisfied with a purchase, Russell is encouraging the masses to keep in contact.

“I want consumers to know that where they have purchased goods or services and they feel that they are not getting what they purchased or they feel what they purchased there is something wrong with it – it’s damaged, the first thing I will encourage them to do is to speak with the vendor where they got that item from and if they are unsuccessful at doing that, they can file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs Commission,” she said indicating that once the complaint is filed, the CAC will intervene, giving the vendor an opportunity to tell how the transaction took place and for them to identify whether or not there was a breach of the Consumer Protection Act.

“After we do that, we bring the parties together and seek to mediate a resolution of the complaints and if that is unsuccessful, we want consumers to know that instead of putting the matter before the parish court or the Supreme Court, the Consumer Protection Tribunal is there as an additional avenue … for their claims to be heard by independent panel and then for ruling to be to be given by that panel” she added.

The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2005 to establish the CAC, a government agency established to inform, educate and empower consumers to protect themselves in the marketplace. It was amended in 2012 to establish the Consumer Protection Tribunal, a body that is empowered by legislation to hear matters and make orders that are binding.