Trade department to address claims of installment-only sales

During yesterday’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, said that a department order is already in the works outlawing the “installment-only” practice of some motorcycle dealers.

According to some of the complaints filed at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), some dealers only sell a motorcycle to a client if the latter agrees to an installment plan. The installment plan is pushed even if the client has the capacity to buy the motorcycle in cash. Those who reported, claim that this method could turn in higher profits because of high interest rates.

“Maybe it is best to ask [motorcycle] dealers if they really give clients the options [cash or installment] because we, the DTI, will issue a department order to address these complaints against installment-only schemes,” said Lopez.

The trade secretary said that the department order will, in essence, put it in black and white that dealers have the duty to inform and provide the client with their installment packages if the client has no capacity to pay in cash, and accept cash payment or full payment for the motorcycle if the client has the capacity to do so.

Lopez added that the DTI’s fair trade enforcement bureau has so far logged 3,060 motorcycle sales-related complaints.

Some of the more common complaints are non-release of motorcycle registration documents (OR/CR), lemon (defective) units, non-release of Certificate of Full Payment, and the installment-only policy of some dealers.

Out of the 3,060 complaints, only 287 were resolved through mediation amounting to a 9% resolution rate by the DTI.

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