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WHAT’S
this I hear about a vehicle battery that failed
government tests for safety reasons and standard
requirements months ago, but, alas, was still being sold
for more than 20 weeks before authorities delivered the
final mortal blow only last month, if not this month
(September 5)?
What
took our agents so long?
I refer
to the GS Tropical Battery owned and distributed by TPL
Industrial Sales. It is a brand reportedly built in
Indonesia and purportedly under license from Japan.
Made in
Indonesia and licensed in Japan?
I find
that a bit odd, queer.
It is
imported but relatively cheaper than its local rivals.
How can
that be?
You and
I know that Japan-made products are always costlier than
most of their rivals, the reason being that Japan is
known worldwide as a quality-maker. I have always
believed that quality is expensive. And, likewise, if it
is imported, it should naturally cost more, given the
duties and liens accruing to it.
Oh,
well, what else is new?
It can
only happen in this benighted land of ours.
Anyway,
I hope you haven’t bought one or you could be one of
some 4,000 who were probably baited into the trap for
its sheer giveaway price.
‘REQUIREMENTS failed.”
A while
back, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of
Product Standards (DTI/BPS) wrote TPL Industrial Sales,
the GS Battery owner: “Based on the test-buy operations
conducted by the Bureau of Product Standards Monitoring
and Enforcement Team last March 3, 2008, your
establishment has been found importing/distributing ‘GS’
Tropical brand [type: 46D261 and 60D31L] which failed
the requirements of the PNS 06-1987 covered by mandatory
certification and scheme of the Bureau of Product
Standards.”
The GS
Tropical Battery is ordinarily used for vehicles like
cars, jeepneys and light commercial vehicles.
That
letter in March was triggered by the battery’s failure
to pass government tests on filled discharge areas and
reserve capacity components that had something to do
with safety nets prescribed by the DTI/BPS.
Unfortunately, the letter had been apparently ignored as
the battery was still in the market for months after
said directive had been served out.
On
August 11, the DTI/BPS issued a notice to the public in
major broadsheets like the Daily Tribune and Manila
Standard/Today ordering TPL Industries to recall the
defective batteries sold within the year.
The
notice allowed for every customer to return the battery
and get a replacement.
Why the
order did not include a mandatory refund option is, to
me, mind-boggling.
Common
sense dictates that if you bought a defective product,
you wouldn’t want another one from the company where the
returned product came from. For, why settle for a
replacement when, deep in your heart, the replacement
could also be probably defective? The reputation, image
of that company had been dented, right?
PAGING
Chino:
TO its
credit, TPL Industries issued its own statement
published in newspapers: “With the welfare of the
consumers in mind, TPL Industries is hereby making a
recall of the said four production codes of GS Tropical
series [2307A2S and 15B7A28 for Type 46D26L and 2197A1K
and 2307B1K for type 6031DL] from its distributors and
dealers. For the consumers that have purchased any of
these codes, they are advised to check the one-year
warranty, which will be observed, and a full replacement
will be applied.”
I wonder
what my friend Primitivo “Chino” Marquinez has to say
about this brouhaha. As you know, Chino, a golfer with a
sweet swing, is one of the country’s toughest advocates
for consumer protection.
The
defective GS batteries also failed in the vibration
tests that could result in leakage of chemicals, making
them prone to explosion or fire incidents.
Already,
I hear of several consumer groups demanding a foolproof
formula from DTI in implementing a monitoring system to
effect the recall order in a manner that all affected
battery buyers get justice.
This,
despite the statement of Jesus Motoomull, the BPS
director, saying, “The conduct of product recall [of the
defective GS batteries] shall be under the supervision
of the DTI/BPS. The result of the conduct of the product
recall such as the number of batteries recalled shall be
properly accounted for and reported to the DTI/BPS.”
My mole
also tells me this isn’t the first time that defective
vehicle batteries have crawled their way into the
market. They include those known to leak acids that
corrode every nut and bolt of our car engines.
While
the DTI/BPS scored big in the GS battery case, I believe
this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the cliché goes.
My other
fervent wish is for authorities to put an end to the
malpractice of selling fake and stolen vehicle parts in
the metropolis. They abound at Banawe in QC.
Or has
the antifencing law been repealed?
Pee stop
Cheers
to the new Dodge that was launched yesterday at the
Manila Yacht Club…. A new Hi-Lux has also just been
rolled out of the Toyota assembly lines…. This, after
Mitsubishi unfurled its own state-of-the-art Montero
Sport. So, who says there’s an auto recession? |
