Of the complaints lodged with the Consumer Council, around 5% involves home furniture and fixtures. The number of cases reached 1,355 last year, a 6% increase from 1,273 cases in 2009.
The September issue of CHOICE highlights some of the complaint cases which illustrate the scenarios commonly faced by consumers when commissioning decoration works.
Case 1
A complainant signed a contract with a home renovation company to renovate her flat, and paid a down payment of HK$50,000. However, the workmen only worked for one day and everything came to a standstill after that. In the subsequent months the complainant kept negotiating with the company and the work progress was still way behind the schedule. When the company demanded additional payment before continuing the work, the complainant refused. Eventually both parties agreed to cancel the contract and the company promised to pay back HK$35,000 to the complainant. The complainant approached the Consumer Council when the company failed to keep its promise to refund her.
Upon Council's mediation, the company concerned agreed to refund to the complainant.
Case 2
The complainant approached a home renovation company for quotation to renovate her flat. Work began before the agreement was signed by the two parties. The complainant subsequently received over 40 pages, an additional 20 quotations from the same company and was confused by the proposed new changes and additional items. Apart from the down payment, the company kept demanding further payments from her. Upon the payment of HK$138,000, the complainant worried about the soaring renovation costs and decided to seek help from the Council.
Through the Council's mediation, the company concerned agreed to explain the work items to the complainant in details, and she did not required follow-up action from the Council.
Case 3
A complainant was told verbally by a home renovation company he commissioned that the company would be responsible for all follow-up maintenance after the renovation. When defects were found in the floor tiles one month after the completion of renovation, the company refused to honour its promise to fix the problem.
The complainant lodged the case with the Council. When both parties failed to reach an agreement through mediation, the complainant eventually took the case to the Small Claims Tribunal, and both parties agreed on settlement after the first trial.
All in all, a comprehensive contract could help in case of disputes. Consumers are advised to observe the following to avoid misunderstanding or unnecessary disputes when commissioning interior renovation work:
- Sign the contract before the work commences, no matter how big or small the renovation project is.
- List out all important details in the contract, such as renovation items, price, completion date, payment schedule, terms and conditions of follow-up maintenance.
- Put down all the verbal agreement in the contract.
- Fully understand the price, terms and conditions before signing the contract.
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