SHAH ALAM, 5 Sept: The people who fail to get the Petronas umbrellas although the promotional period is still valid are advised to make a complaint to the government for further action.
The Communications Director of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca), Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, said that the complaint must be made to allow the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK) to make an inquiry.
He said that the KPDNKK can investigate whether the umbrellas provided by Petronas are suitable and appropriate with the on-going promotion.
“The government has to take a look and check whether Petronas has sufficient stock because it involves the people’s expenditure.
“We do not want the umbrellas to be just a gimmick solely to gain sales at Petronas when sometimes, people fill up on petrol just to obtain the umbrella but they do not get it. The stock should be sufficient.
“If the stock is not enough, then it is considered an offense for making the advertisement a promotional gimmick,” he told Selangor Kini.
Starting July 20 to September 15, Petronas has set for consumers to collect 10 stamps to allow them to receive the Petronas Primax 95 limited edition umbrella.
Each stamp requires a purchase of RM20 and consumers have to include the receipt of purchase to redeem the umbrella.
However, a survey found that many consumers were not satisfied and disappointed when they often received the excuse that there is insufficient stock when they go to the counter to redeem the umbrella.
Many also raised the issue that the principle of ‘first come, first served’ used by Petronas was not explicitly stated.
“Petronas should stats clearly the terms of this promotion, the amount that can be redeemed per day, or a week and the total number of umbrellas.
“If say in half a month into the promotion the umbrellas have decreased, Petronas can increase them to ensure that there is sufficient stock throughout the promotion period,” he added.
NS
