Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Home Buyers' Guide

Home Buyers' Guide
A useful guide by URA with information on the process of buying uncompleted private residential properties...

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

eComTrainers free lunch

consumer.org.nz
sgCR understands that StoresOnline are in Singapore too...Read the above link before you commit...

Sunday, May 27, 2007

How small claims become big pains

Special_reports | Guardian Unlimited Money
sgCR understands that a similar situation is happening in Singapore...

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Singapore Onine Safety Guide 2006

eBay Security Centre
A guide to safe online shopping.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Supermarkets sold farmed fish as wild

Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
Worth a look to see if a similar scenario is occurring in Singapore...

Which? Guide to Consumer Rights

Which?
A new guide from the UK consumer association.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

List of moneychanging and remittance licensees

MAS
Need to change to foreign currency, or remitting money to another country? You would do well to first check the list provided by MAS.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Price Control Act

sgCR has just discovered that there is a Price Control Act in Singapore...the next step is to see how it can be used to help consumers...

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Banking


Bank accounts are most likely the first "big-ticket" product or service that a consumer signs up. So it is good to know the liabilities and rights of a consumer in such a contractual relationship.

First place to start is the Financial Institutions Directory on the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) webpage. You should only consider a dealing with a bank if their name is on the list.

The other list that you should check out is MAS's Investor Alert List. This is sort of like a blacklist of dodgy financial institutions.

What's next? Let's use the basic savings deposit as an example. The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has a nice PDF guide on this.

MAS also has a PDF guide on how to read your bank statement.

The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, a new entity, is a new protection scheme for consumers.

In the event a Scheme member bank or finance company fails, all of your eligible accounts with that member are aggregated and insured up to S$20,000, net of your liabilities to the member.

Moneys held in bank deposits under the CPF Investment Scheme are separately insured up to S$20,000.

HSA Infosearch

HSA /BS/Onestop-prism@hsa
An informative database of the licensed drugs, cosmetic products, pharmacies, and tobacco retailers in Singapore. Consumers can use the database in many ways. For example, patients looking for generic drugs can search using the active ingredient of the drug as the search phrase.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Police may be called in over fixed TV shows

MediaGuardian.co.uk
Could this be happening in Singapore also?

Monday, March 05, 2007

Tesco accused of cheating over half-price offer

Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
Could this "tactic" be used in Singapore too?
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Dan Bell
Monday March 5, 2007
The Guardian

Tesco faces an investigation by trading standards officers after being accused of raising the price of fruit and vegetables shortly before offering them for sale at a reduced price as part of a promotional health drive.

The supermarket is offering a selection of at least five fresh fruit and vegetables at half-price as part of its Fruit & Veg Pledge. The offer is intended to coincide with a drive to urge consumers to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in order to stay healthy. But the supermarket chain yesterday confirmed that it had raised the prices of apples, peaches, nectarines, and plums in the month before they were included in the promotion.

Martin Fisher, of the Trading Standards Institute, accused Tesco of exploiting pricing loopholes to mislead customers with the campaign, and called for a tightening of the rules.

A spokeswoman for Tesco said the price changes had been due to seasonal variations in overheads, such as transport costs around Christmas. "Any suggestion that we ramp up prices in order to cut them again is the purest nonsense," she said. Gala apples rose in price from £1.19 a kg in the week beginning December 11 to £1.99 in the week of December 18. They were then slashed to 99p in the first week of this year. Plums were £1.48 for 500g on December 11, but went up to £2.99 in the week of December 28, before being cut to £1.48 again in the first week of the pledge. Nectarines similarly rose from £1.49 to £2.99 before being cut to £1.48, while peaches rose from £1.99 to £2.99 before the price was halved.

Tesco defended the Fruit & Veg Pledge and accused its competitors of attempting to undermine its reputation, after the Mail on Sunday published the price rises. A spokeswoman said Tesco had a better record in promoting healthy eating than any other retailer. "If trading standards do want to take a look, that's fine. We're doing more than anyone else on health, and this promotion will help more customers than ever get their five a day."

She added that a range of products, from carrots, courgettes, and onions, to salads, vegetable stir-fries, and organic grapes, had gone on sale at half-price for two or more weeks after remaining at a constant price since December 18.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Is it really a good deal for patients?

sgCR wonders if patients really benefit from this scheme...
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Feb 22, 2007
Heart pill: Pay $1,000 less the NUH way
When discharged, patients get one year's supply, covered under Medisave, insurance

By Health Correspondent, Salma Khalik

FOR subsidised heart patients in need of potentially life-saving medication, where they get treated could mean a difference of more than $1,000 when footing the bill.

At the National University Hospital (NUH), a patient gets a year's supply of medicine when they are discharged, covered by Medi- Shield or Medisave. At the National Heart Centre (NHC), however, a patient gets only three months' worth of drugs. After that, they have to pay for it out of their own pockets.

About 5,000 people here are fitted with stents each year. More than half get drug-eluting stents (DES), devices that slowly release medication to prevent the artery walls re-thickening. But they increase the risk of getting blood clots.

So such patients are usually given two antiplatelet drugs for at least a year to prevent the formation of blood clots that could cause a fatal heart attack.

One of the drugs is simple aspirin, which costs only a few cents per pill.

The other, Plavix, costs about $4 each. No generic brands are available for this; neither is there a subsidy for the medicine once the patient leaves the hospital.

But NUH provides a whole year's supply of Plavix when patients are discharged, so it forms part of their hospital bill.

This means that they can claim the cost of medicine against any hospital insurance they may have, or from their Medisave account, so long as it is within their claim limits.

At NHC, the same patient will get only three months' supply of medicine on discharge.

NUH's Associate Professor Tan Huay Cheem told The Straits Times: 'It's such an important medicine, I don't want patients to miss out on it because they can't afford to pay.'

He sees nothing wrong in adding it to the hospital bill for insurance claims, as 'it is part of the medical treatment and there is a real danger if patients stop taking it'.

For Mr Ong Wee Chai, 43, who had a DES inserted at NUH last month, having a year's supply of medicine with him is a real blessing.

'That pill (Plavix) costs more than my lunch,' said the senior petroleum storage technician.

Married with a 10-year-old son, his salary of $2,600 a month is comfortable. But his sudden illness and the need to take five different types of medicine a day could prove a drain on his resources if he needs to pay for it all with cash.

Over at NHC, Associate Professor Koh Tian Hai said only 1.3 per cent of patients with the DES get blood clots within nine months of getting stents inserted. Of these, one in four gets clots because the patient had stopped taking medication.

But he said that with the expansion of Medisave - the portion of CPF used to pay for treatment of serious medical problems - from last month to cover chronic heart problems, patients can draw on their accounts for up to $300 a year.

While this is not enough to cover the additional nine months' supply of Plavix, patients can also draw on the Medisave accounts of family members.

Explaining why patients are given only three months' supply, Prof Koh said their cases have to be reviewed to see if it is safe for them to continue taking the medicine.

He added: 'Furthermore, drug potency is ensured when medication stocks are not kept for excessively long durations by patients.'

Prof Tan assured patients that NUH ensures that drugs given for a year are within the expiry period, so potency is not affected.

Madam Halimah Yacob, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Health, feels strongly that the Government should subsidise drugs that are a necessary part of treatment.

Failing that, she said the heart centre should follow NUH's practice: 'NUH did the smart thing. That's what doctors are trained to do, to keep patients alive.'

salma@sph.com.sg

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Monday, February 19, 2007

Friday, February 16, 2007

Interest rates are subject to periodic review and may be revised at bank's discretion

Citibank Singapore
No, you shouldn't be looking at the 2%p.a.*. The most important statement on Citibank's Step-Up Interest Account is what sgCR has reproduced above, in the title...The sentence (Interest rates are subject to periodic review and may be revised at bank's discretion) means that Citibank can change the interest rate of this savings/checking account.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

how to contact budget airlines

Like with all consumer transactions, sgCR recommend that consumers get written confirmation of transactions between them and budget airlines, e.g. when the airlines "confirm" that a flight has been successfully rescheduled. But what if the budget airline does not have an email address, or a postal address?

sgCR found that some budget airlines are, shall we say, "running efficiently". One example is Jetstar Asia. A postal address and phone number are provided, but not an email address. sgCR managed to get an email address though...customer.relations@jetstarasia.com...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill 2007

MAS :News Room, Policy Statements and Speeches:
The 2nd reading of the MAS (Amendment) Bill has passed. Of particular interest to the consumer would be the point below

"Powers to approve a dispute resolution scheme
12. A key aspect of consumer empowerment is to provide consumers with recourse to an affordable, accessible and independent dispute resolution mechanism. It is therefore important for MAS to have the authority to approve schemes for the resolution of disputes arising from the provision of financial services in Singapore. The proposed new powers will also enable MAS to require a financial institution to be a member of an approved dispute resolution scheme and to comply with the prescribed terms of that membership."

Spam Control Bill

Home/Publication/Bills2007
The Spam Control Bill has been introduced. Do take a look at it...

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Public Consultation on the Proposed Health Products (Medical Devices) Regulation

HSA/News Centre/Press Releases

List of Suspended and Withdrawn CaseTrust Members

Know our CaseTrust Members!
scroll down to the bottom of the above webpage, and you will find 2 companies have been suspended recently...

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Recent Anti-spam Judgments

Newsletter from the Danish Consumer Ombudsman
Based on the tonnes of spam emails that most Singaporeans received everyday, the Spam Control Act can't come soon enough. The link above showcases how the Danish authorities enforce their spam control regulations.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Friday, February 02, 2007

Pet Shop Grading

Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore
AVA will be coming out with a pet shop grading scheme, which is good news for consumers, and bad news for errant pet shops...

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Travel Agents Regulations

TRUST Website
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) recently amended the Travel Agents Regulations. An initial reading of the changes show that the amendments amount to a relaxation of the regulations, with the major change being the removal of requirements for documents, pamphlets, and advertisements to contain details, e.g. duration, price, nature of accommodation, cancellation fee, etc.

Friday, January 26, 2007

CHOICE - Mobile phone repairs

CHOICE - Mobile phone repairs
A comprehensive study into handphone repair issues, done by CHOICE, the Australian Consumers Association.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

CHOICE - Caffeine

CHOICE - Caffeine
An educational article to kick off the renamed sgCR blog, this Australian Consumers Association article answers some common questions most consumers have regarding this common chemical in coffee, tea etc,

Consumer Watchdog Singapore (consumerW) is now consumer research singapore (sgCR)

To highlight the slight change of focus towards research, consumerW has with immediate effect, being renamed sgCR.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

What is cheating?

A phrase often used, often misused, often misinterpreted...please see below for the legal definition of cheating under our Penal Code. All acts of law can be found at the Singapore Statutes website.
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415. Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to “cheat”.
Explanation 1.
A dishonest concealment of facts is a deception within the meaning of this section.
Explanation 2.
Mere breach of contract is not of itself proof of an original fraudulent intent.
Illustrations
(a) A, by falsely pretending to be in the Government service, intentionally deceives Z, and thus dishonestly induces Z to let him have on credit goods for which he does not mean to pay. A cheats.

(b) A, by putting a counterfeit mark on an article, intentionally deceives Z into a belief that this article was made by a certain celebrated manufacturer, and thus dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats.

(c) A, by exhibiting to Z a false sample of an article, intentionally deceives Z into believing that the article corresponds with the sample, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats.

(d) A, by tendering in payment for an article a bill on a house with which A keeps no money, and by which A expects that the bill will be dishonoured, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to deliver the article, intending not to pay for it. A cheats.

(e) A, by pledging as diamonds articles which he knows are not diamonds, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend money. A cheats.

(f) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to repay any money that Z may lend to him, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend him money, A not intending to repay it. A cheats.

(g) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to deliver to Z a certain quantity of pepper which he does not intend to deliver, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to advance money upon the faith of such delivery. A cheats; but if A, at the time of obtaining the money, intends to deliver the pepper, and afterwards breaks his contract and does not deliver it, he does not cheat, but is liable only to a civil action for breach of contract.

(h) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A has performed A’s part of a contract made with Z, which he has not performed, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to pay money. A cheats.

(i) A sells and conveys an estate to B. A, knowing that in consequence of such sale he has no right to the property, sells or mortgages the same to Z without disclosing the fact of the previous sale and conveyance to B, and receives the purchase or mortgage money from Z. A cheats.

(j) A, playing with false dice, or marked cards, wins money from B. A cheats.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

OSIM recalling 3,000 uZap MINIs

Channelnewsasia.com
By Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 05 January 2007 1839 hrs

Singapore company OSIM is recalling 3,000 of its arm toning product called uZap MINIs.

The company says, under certain conditions, it is possible for the batteries to overheat thus creating a fire risk.

Customers are advised to stop charging, or using the product immediately.

OSIM started selling uZap MINIs, costing about $150, in Singapore early last month.

The company does not expect the recall to have an adverse effect on its financial results. - CNA/ch

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Average Retail Prices of Selected Items

STATISTICS SINGAPORE - KeyStats - Singapore Economy Content Page
PDF file from the Singapore Department of Statistics, showing the movement of retail prices of basic goods. Useful for spotting "problem" areas to highlight.