Consumers urged to file suit over faulty gas pumps<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In response to the discovery that pumps at 51 gas stations in
\nGreater Jakarta and West Java had been tampered with, a consumer
\nrights activist urged class-action lawsuits against the stations,
\nstate oil company Pertamina and the Ministry of Trade.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman Indah
\nSuksmaningsih said on Monday consumers should cooperate in
\ncollecting evidence of violations at each of the gas stations in
\nquestion.<\/p>\n
Pertamina announced on Sunday that 51 gas stations had been
\nfound to have tampered with their pumps, resulting in customers
\ngetting less gas for their money.<\/p>\n
\"Consumers must take class action against the gas stations
\nbecause filing individual lawsuits is useless. The same is true
\nfor taking action against Pertamina and the Ministry of Trade,\"
\nshe told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
Indah said Pertamina and the ministry could be held
\nresponsible in this case because it was their responsibility to
\nmonitor gas stations.<\/p>\n
According to regulations, Pertamina has the authority to
\nappoint businesspeople to operate gas stations, while the trade
\nministry is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the
\nstations' pumps.<\/p>\n
Indah said an individual consumer had filed an earlier lawsuit
\nagainst a gas station over inaccurate pumps.<\/p>\n
\"However, the court found the consumer did not have enough
\nevidence. The gas station in turn filed a Rp 70 billion lawsuit
\nagainst the consumer for defamation,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Article 8 of Law No. 8\/1999 stipulates that people are
\nprohibited from selling goods that are not of the same quantity
\nand quality as promised, while Article 62 of the same law
\nstipulates that violators are subject to a maximum punishment of
\nfive years in prison or a Rp 2 billion fine.<\/p>\n
In making its announcement on Sunday, Pertamina said it had
\nissued warning letters to the gas stations in question and had
\ntemporarily stopped their gas supplies or shut down their
\noperations.<\/p>\n
The state company said the 51 gas stations had pumps that
\nexceeded the tolerable level of 50 millimeters difference between
\nthe amount of gas actually pumped and the amount recorded on the
\npump for every 10 liters of gas purchased.<\/p>\n
Checks on the stations found pumps with differences of between
\n50 millimeters and 300 millimeters between the amount of gas
\nrecorded on the pumps on the amount of gas actually pumped.<\/p>\n
Indah said in 2001 the consumers foundation found a similar
\nnumber of gas stations that had tampered with their pumps.<\/p>\n
\"So there has been no progress in the last four years.
\nConsumers have continued to lose all these years,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Awi Adil, spokesman for Pertamina's operations unit III, which
\ncovers Jakarta and West Java, said the company had summoned the
\nowners of the gas stations to deliver them a verbal warning.<\/p>\n
\"We summoned them and told them to fix their pumps as soon as
\npossible. We continue to monitor them every day. If we find that
\nthey continue to commit the same violation we will shut them
\ndown,\" he told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/consumers-urged-to-file-suit-over-faulty-gas-pumps-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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