Auto trader, consumer body resolve dispute
> Settlement follows standoff outside car leasing firm
KUALA LUMPUR: A consumer association and an automobile trader have resolved a dispute after days of disagreement over a leasing arrangement that affected hundreds of car owners.
The Islamic Consumer Association of Malaysia (PPIM) and AGR Auto Trade (AGR) reached a settlement after a standoff at the AGR office yesterday.
AGR agreed to release five vehicles and 53 car keys to individuals who were allegedly cheated in a scheme. The keys were for cars that PPIM had towed away from AGR’s compound earlier.
The dispute arose between AGR and PPIM when the consumer activists and car owners stormed the AGR yard in Kajang on July 10 and removed some vehicles. The incident was streamed live on the PPIM Facebook page and triggered a debate about PPIM’s conduct.
Both sides made police reports, resulting in Selangor police forming a task force to investigate the matter.
Yesterday, AGR chief executive officer Datuk Seri C. Kamaleshwaran said he was in the dark over the scheme as he only took over the company in May.
He said a report was lodged against AGR’s previous management last Friday.
Under the scheme, vehicles that had been leased to AGR would be rented to third parties. In addition to payments for the car monthly instalments, owners of the leased vehicles were also promised cash incentives by AGR.
The issue surfaced when several car owners claimed they had not been paid the promised amount and had been blacklisted due to unpaid instalments to the bank.
Kamaleshwaran said AGR could not release the other cars as those were bound by a rental agreement with another party.
Earlier, PPIM activists and several car owners went to the AGR office to demand the release of their vehicles.
The group, led by PPIM special action unit chief Yusuf Azmi, were invited by the company’s representatives into the premises to negotiate terms for the release of vehicles, while Serdang OCPD Asst Comm Megat Mohamad Aminuddin Megat Alias mediated.
A vehicle owner, Sazura Sulaiman, said she was promised a payment of RM900 a month for a Proton Saga she leased to the company.
“From the amount, RM500 will be used to pay my instalment loan to the bank. The remaining is considered my profit for leasing the car.”
She said the payment came to her only on the first month after she started to lease her vehicle in August last year, but the payments stopped after that.
Sazura said a leased Proton Iriz could generate a payment of RM1,200 per month.