Top consumer complaints of 2011

Credit card providers & real estate developers, some tricky (& perhaps not completely honest) ways to squeeze money out of customers that they used this year.

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CONSUMERS: Credit card services top complaints by Penchan Charoensuthipan

Credit card services and low quality consumer products top the list of complaints lodged with the Consumer Protection Foundation this year.

Itthaboon Onwongsa, chief of the foundation's Consumer Rights Protection Centre, yesterday said consumers filed 895 complaints through consumer organisations based in Bangkoks sand other provinces over the past 12 months.

Most of the complaints were about credit card services. Consumers took issue with high fees and interest rates. They also said some credit card providers tried to pressure card holders into buying insurance policies.

Many consumers also complained about attempts by credit card providers to persuade them to join their debt moratorium programmes during the floods. They claimed that in the end the card providers did not waive the interest incurred during the moratorium period for them as promised.

Another common complaint had to do with real estate developers, Mr Itthaboon said.

Many consumers claimed real estate developers lured people to buy their housing units with low deposits and down payments without paying attention to the buyers' ability to service housing loans.

As a result, many consumers ended up defaulting on the loans and lost their houses which the real estate developers then resold even though they had already bagged the deposit and down payment from the first buyer.

Housing units in projects that asked for low deposits and down payments from buyers tended to be of poor quality.

Patiwat Chalermchat, a representative of the Northeastern Consumer Network, said one problem that has been on the rise and will become more apparent next year is avoidance or delays by insurance companies in paying out on insurance policies.

Many consumers have had to file lawsuits against insurance firms to claim insurance money, Mr Patiwat said.

(Source: Bangkok Post, CONSUMERS, Credit card services top complaints, 22/12/2011, Penchan Charoensuthipan, link) 

Consumer Protection Vocabulary

consumer - someone who buys and uses goods and services ผู้บริโภค
consumer organizations - organizations that seek to protect people from things like unsafe products, unfair lending, unsafe food, false advertising and pollution, sometimes provide information to help consumers with their buying choices by publishing comparative surveys or tests of products or services, involving different manufacturers or companies, may also operate via protests, campaigning or lobbying (See Wikipedia)

filed - to take official action, e.g., to make a formal complaint ยื่นฟ้องร้อง
consumers filed 895 complaints

complaint - when people say there is something wrong and they want it changed การร้องเรียน

lodge a complaint - make a complaint with the government or consumer organization
common complaint - a complaint made by many people, a complaint heard often

top the list of complaints - was the thing that people complained about the most
credit card services top complaints

credit - loans; money that you owe someone (a bill that grows until you pay it off at the end of the month, for example) เครดิต
credit card - a small plastic card used to pay for things and also to get a loan of money usually with a high interest rate (See Wikipedia)
credit card providers - companies that provide people with credit cards and the money loaned through credit cards as part of their business

credit card services and low quality consumer products top the list of complaints lodged with the Consumer Protection Foundation this year.

take issue with - not agree with (try to change or at least complain about)

fees - money that you pay to be allowed to do something ค่าธรรมเนียม
interest - payments made for the use of another's money for a period of time
consumers took issue with high fees and interest rates.

pressure - when people are being pushed or forced to so something
pressure X into doing Y 

insurance - a system of protection against loss, a person pays money every month (premiums) for a guarantee that the company will pay them money if they or their property is damaged or lost (See Wikipedia) การประกันภัย
insurance policy - a contract between an insurance company and a person or company to provide insurance protection against certain bad events (fire, auto accident, earthquake, flood, medical condition, etc)
some credit card providers tried to pressure card holders into buying insurance policies

debt - an amount of money that you owe หนี้
debt moratorium -  a period of time when a person can stop paying back there loan (to make life or business easier)

persuade - to make someone agree to do something by giving them reasons why they should โน้มน้าวใจ เกลี้ยกล่อม
attempts by credit card providers to persuade them to join their debt moratorium programmes during the floods

waive - give permission not to do something
waive the interest - say that you don't have to pay the interest

interest incurred - an interest expense on a loan that a person gets and has to pay
moratorium period - period when you don't have to make payments on a loan 
interest incurred during the moratorium period

card providers did not waive the interest incurred during the moratorium period for them as promised

real estate developers - companies that build homes and buildings as a business

deposit - a sum of money which is given in advance as part of a total payment for something เงินมัดจำ
down payment - the first big payment for a thing bought by borrowing money (many smaller monthly payments follow) เงินที่ชำระราคาครั้งแรก

lure - make someone interested in someone (usually means trick someone into doing something they really would not want to do)
housing units - one house, apartment, townhouse, etc
real estate developers lured people to buy their housing units with low deposits and down payments

service housing loans - pay back the interest and amount borrowed of the loan (principal) in regular monthly payments
the buyers' ability to service housing loans.

without paying attention to the buyers' ability to service housing loans
many consumers claimed real estate developers lured people to buy their housing units with low deposits and down payments without paying attention to the buyers' ability to service housing loans

default - not pay back a loan on time (and thus break the loan contract)
defaulting on the loans - not make loan payments on time (paying back the loan)
bagged the deposit and down payment
many consumers ended up defaulting on the loans and lost their houses which the real estate developers then resold even though they had already bagged the deposit and down payment from the first buyer.

representative - someone who speaks or acts for a large group of people (such as an organization or all the people working in some area)

one problem that has been on the rise
apparent - visible, easy to see, clear and obvious ซึ่งเห็นได้ชัดว่า
will become more apparent next year
one problem that has been on the rise and will become more apparent next year is avoidance or delays by insurance companies in paying out on insurance policies

file - to take official action like making a complaint ยื่นคำร้อง
lawsuits - a case in a court of law to end a dispute between two people
many consumers have had to file lawsuits against insurance firms to claim insurance money