Poor consumer protection

We bought a rice warmer -- a Young-ma magic jar -- at the Continent Hypermarket in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in April. Unfortunately the product broke after being used for one week.

Unable to contact the service center mentioned in the product's guarantee card, we asked a representative of Continent for the address of the service center. After an arduous and lengthy process we were informed that the product could be repaired at its distributor on Jl. P. Jayakarta in West Jakarta.

As the product was still under warranty, we brought it to the distributor. It took nearly one month to repair the product.

Without checking the product, we just took it home. As soon as we got home, however, we found that the condition of the product was far different from its original. The front surface was scratched as if it had been dropped or hit by a hard object.

When we checked with the distributor, we were told to ask at the service center, which was said to be in charge of the repair work. When we phoned the service center, we were told it was not its responsibility. "Just ask for compensation from the people you gave the product to, not me," was the answer.

We don't know where to go to now. An old adage says: "Complaining about the loss of a goat in Indonesia, one will lose a cow." This is due to the large amount of money spent to process the complaint. What if we complain about the poor after-sales service? Who knows...?

CIPTORINI

Tangerang, West Java