Consumer watchdog points to 8 issues disrupting life in Thailand

The TCC raised the issues on Monday in talks with the Senate committee on human rights, rights and liberty, and consumers protection, led by Somchai Sawangkarn.

The issues covered health, finance, telecommunications, transport, property and accommodation, medicine, goods and services, public utilities and the environment.

According to Somchai, the eight issues discussed at the TCC were:

- The high cost of public transportation

- Being cheated by sellers of defective goods

- High cost of services at private hospitals

- Being taken advantage of by public service operators

- Abuse of marijuana as a recreational herb and food ingredient

- Bureaucratic obstacles to installing household solar-panel systems

- Scammers sending SMS messages, and calls from call-centre gangs

- Being taken advantage of by property developers

The TCC asked the Senate panel to press the Cabinet to cap the cost of travel by public transport at 10 per cent of the minimum wage.

It also sought their cooperation in halting recreational marijuana use and clearing red tape for household installation of solar panels to save on electricity costs.

The TCC urged the senators support its proposal that private hospitals adopt National Health Security Office (NHSO) standard prices for treatment in emergency cases. It explained that emergency patients had gone bankrupt after being admitted to private hospitals because their prices were too high.

Somchai said the TCC also asked the Senate to push for a bill requiring sellers and manufacturers to take responsibility for goods found to be defective.

Meanwhile, the consumer watchdog wanted the Senate to prod the government for tighter measures to combat call-centre scammers.

TCC also sought help in preventing property developers from seizing deposit payments for houses or condo units when buyers cannot get a bank loan.

Somchai advised the TCC to coordinate and share information with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board to improve protection of consumers across the eight aspects of public life.

Senate panel secretary Thanad Manaphanniyom said the TCC should also respond to consumer complaints by inviting the businesses in question for negotiations – and file civil lawsuits if talks failed.

Thanad said medical service costs in private hospitals were set by the Medical Council of Thailand. TCC’s Saree countered that they were still too high because the medical council set salaries of doctors far too high, resulting in bankruptcies for many patients admitted in case of emergency. He said the TCC is urging the Internal Trade Department to push private hospitals to use NHSO prices for emergency cases.