Discerning consumer

• Discerning consumer


  A consumer who exercises good judgement to carefully select the most appropriate goods or services to buy or use
• How to become a discerning consumer

  1. Do your research to find out the best deals

  2. Do not buy on impulse

  3. Buy reputable and quality products with trusted guarantees or warranties

  4. Ask yourself whether you need or want this item

  5. Set a budget (what you can afford to spend)

  6. Find out about the product or service before you buy
• Consumer rights


  • Right to safety
  • Right to be informed
  • Right to choose
  • Right to be heard
  • Right to seek redress
• Lemon Law


  Protects consumers against defective goods that fail to conform to quality or performance standards at the time of delivery
• How consumers benefit from the Lemon Law

  1. Consumer can ask business to repair or replace the defective good

  2. If the business does not provide repair or replacement within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to the consumer, the consumer may seek a reduction in price, or a refund

  3. Defect is assumed to have existed at the time of delivery if found within 6 months, unless the business can prove otherwise
• Consumers often do not think carefully before making purchases, with many purchasing and discarding clothing after 1-2 uses
• Singaporeans throw away an average of 27 pieces of clothing and purchase 34 new items per year
• Many clothing items are single-use and made from synthetic fibres that cannot be easily recycled, leading to environmental pollution
• Consumer responsibilities


  • Be aware - do your research before making purchases
  • Check the condition - always check the quality and safety of goods and services before purchase
  • Select method of payment - always think about which payment method to use
  • Obtain proof of purchase - always keep receipts
  • Refer to the instruction manual - follow instructions to understand the product
  • Provide feedback tactfully - if unhappy, provide feedback in a fair and honest manner
• Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are the biggest causes of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution
• 13.3% of the world's food is lost after harvesting, transporting, storage and processing, and another 17% is wasted by consumers
• Consumers often avoid buying unattractive fruit and vegetables, leading to increased store waste and lower incomes for farmers
• Scam


  A fraudulent (cheating) scheme that tricks people into giving up personal details or money
• How to protect yourself from scams

  1. Do not answer calls from unknown callers or local numbers starting with +65

  2. When using online banking, never give out banking information or passwords to unknown sources
• Personal contact details can be leaked to scammers when consumers make an online purchase from an unsecured website, subscribe to a service online, and respond to unknown emails and messages
• Consumer responsibilities to avoid being scammed

  • If you receive a scam phone call, do not answer it
  • Use the anti-scam product (ScamShield app) to report the phone number immediately
• The ScamShield app will not protect calls that you receive on 3rd party messaging apps that you have installed on your phone. If you receive a scam phone call on a messaging app, use the app's function to report and block the number
• Do not answer calls from unknown callers or local numbers starting with the prefix +65
• When using online banking, never give out any banking information, such as an OTP, to unknown sources and do not share passwords
• OTP means 'one-time password' and will be provided to you to ascertain you are the actual user/person making the transaction
• Search for errors in SMSes. Legitimate SMSes with phishing links may include spelling or grammatical errors
• Check the email address. Legitimate organisations do not use external email domains (eg, Gmail and Hotmail) or have spelling errors in their email addresses
• From 2017 to 2021, more than 60,000 scam cases were reported in Singapore, with a combined loss of more than S$1 billion. The top 6 scams from January-June 2022 include job scams, phishing scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams, social media impersonation scams, and fake friend call scams
• ACT against scams


  Add, Check, Tell
• Add


  • Adding security settings and being vigilant
• Check


  • Checking with trusted others, looking out for scam signs and reconsidering decisions
• Tell


  • Telling authorities and community about scam encounters promptly
• If you have lost money through a scam, or you have bought goods from a fraudulent seller, file a police report and inform your bank immediately
• If you do not receive something you paid for online, report the seller to the platform on which you made the transaction
• Redress


  Setting something right, often by some form of compensation
• Goods and services must

  • Not be damaged or defective
  • Be of satisfactory quality and performance
  • Be described correctly
• Goods


  • Watch is cracked upon receiving it
  • Watch stops working within the warranty period
  • Watch is not of the correct colour/model as ordered
• Services


  • Food arrived in poor condition
  • Order is incorrect
  • Food is undesirable in terms of cleanliness and hygiene
• According to the Lemon Law 2012, consumers have a right to redress if the seller has used unfair practices, such as claiming that the goods have ingredients or benefits that they do not actually have
• A consumer cannot seek redress if they damage the goods by not reading the instructions properly, they misuse the goods, they try to repair the goods, they change their mind after the purchase, and the damage to the goods is due to regular wear and tear
• Appropriate ways to seek redress for goods and services

  1. Contact the shop as soon as possible by calling, emailing, writing or visiting the shop

  2. Explain the problem and say what is expected

  3. Make a note of what is agreed what the shop agrees to do and the timescale

  4. If necessary, speak to someone in a position of authority

  5. If the shop is part of a larger organisation, contact their head office by telephone or email
• Redress can be sought by asking for


  • A full/partial refund
  • Repair or replacement
  • Compensation (damages)
• If you suffer from food poisoning because a company is negligent in food hygiene and safety, go to the doctor for treatment, note the circumstances and what you suspect has gone wrong, and report it to the National Environment Agency (NEA)