2024年5月8日，新加坡贸工部长(现任新加坡副总理）颜金勇先生在国会书面答复义顺集选区议员陈浍敏女士关于室内设计和装修公司相关规范和纠纷处理的问题。
以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：
69 陈浍敏(义顺集选区议员)女士询问贸工部长:
该部是否会考虑强制要求注册为装修或室内设计公司的公司至少有一名董事具备行业资格或至少有多年相关行业经验？
70 陈浍敏(义顺集选区议员)女士询问贸工部长，自 2016 年底《消费者保护（公平交易）法》的变更生效以来：
(a) 每年因未完成的房屋装修项目和向新加坡消费者协会（CASE）报告的涉及装修和室内设计公司的纠纷而造成的预付款损失的明细？
(b) 在这些案件中，有多少案件成功地从不法商人那里追回了款项？有多少案件移交新加坡标准、生产力与创新局 (SPRING) 作进一步调查？
(c) 有多少公司被采取了执法行动？
71 陈浍敏(义顺集选议员)女士询问贸工部长：
(a) 向新加坡消费者协会 (CASE) 报告的装修纠纷中，涉及欺诈案和合同纠纷的比例分别是多少？
(b) 装修公司起诉客户的案件数？
(c) 新加坡标准、生产力与创新局 (SPRING) 如何配备必要的装修事务方面的专业技术知识，以有效调查并确保公平评估由新加坡消费者协会（CASE）根据《消费者保护（公平交易）法》提出进一步调查的纠纷案件？
颜金勇（前贸工部长，现副总理）先生：从2017年到2023年，新加坡消费者协会 (CASE) 每年收到约120起消费者投诉，涉及未完成装修工程导致的预付款损失。这些投诉中报告的装修合同平均价值约为7,400 新元。在约一半的协商案件中，CASE 协助消费者从装修公司追回了款项。一些消费者可能已经通过其他途径追回了损失，例如小额索赔法庭（SCT)。
2018 年，新加坡竞争与消费者委员会 (CCCS，简称竞消委) 接替了前新加坡标准、生产力与创新局 (SPRING) 的职责，成为根据《消费者保护（公平交易）法》授权的政府机构，负责调查有关不公平行为的反馈，并在必要时对违规企业采取行动。迄今为止，CASE 尚未将任何装修公司移交给 CCCS 进行调查。
政府并未规定装修和室内设计公司主要人员的最低资格或经验水平。我们鼓励消费者聘请 CaseTrust 认证的装修承包商，这些承包商致力于公平的商业行为，例如提供预付款保护和采用CaseTrust 标准装修合同，以确保装修项目的价格透明度和问责制。为改善行业惯例，指导装修公司避免不公平做法，CCCS 于 2022 年发布了《装修行业公平交易惯例指南》。
我们观察到，2023 年 CASE 收到的涉及装修承包商的投诉总数下降了 19%。我们将继续密切监测投诉数量，并与 CASE 和装修业界合作，推广良好的商业惯例。
以下是英文质询内容：
69 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Ministry will consider mandating that companies registering as renovation or interior design companies have at least one director with sectoral qualifications or minimum years of relevant experience within the industry.
70 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry since changes to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act took effect in end-2016 (a) what is the annual breakdown of prepayment losses arising from (i) uncompleted home renovation projects and (ii) disputes involving renovation and interior design companies that have been reported to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE); (b) of these cases, how many were (i) monies successfully recovered from errant traders and (ii) raised to SPRING Singapore for further investigations; and (c) how many companies have had enforcement action taken against them.
71 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) with regard to the renovation disputes that are reported to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), what is the breakdown in proportion of (i) fraud cases and (ii) contractual disagreements; (b) how many are raised by renovation firms against customers; and (c) how is SPRING Singapore equipped to have the necessary technical expertise on renovation matters to effectively investigate and ensure fair assessment on dispute cases that are raised by CASE for further investigations under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: From 2017 to 2023, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received about 120 consumer complaints per year regarding prepayment losses related to incomplete renovation works. The average value of the renovation contracts reported in these complaints was around $7,400. CASE assisted consumers in recovering their monies from renovation firms in about half of the negotiated cases. Some consumers may have recovered their losses through other avenues, such as the Small Claims Tribunal.
In 2018, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) took over the role previously held by the former SPRING Singapore as the Government agency empowered under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act to investigate feedback on unfair practices and take action against errant businesses where warranted. Thus far, CASE has not referred any renovation firm to CCCS for investigation.
The Government does not mandate minimum qualifications or experience levels for key personnel in renovation and interior design companies. Consumers are encouraged to engage CaseTrust-accredited renovation contractors committed to fair business practices, such as offering prepayment protection and adopting the CaseTrust Standard Renovation Contract to ensure price transparency and accountability in renovation projects. To improve industry practices and guide renovation firms to avoid unfair practices, CCCS published a Guide on Fair Trading Practices for the Renovation Industry in 2022.
We observed a 19% drop in the total complaints received by CASE involving renovation contractors in 2023. We will continue to monitor the number of complaints closely and work with CASE and the renovation industry to promote good business practices.
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AY、HQ丨编审
新加坡国会丨来源
