RM13,600 ginseng cure that wasn’t

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: A young childless couple wanted a baby so much that they were willing to try anything, including spending RM13,600 on ginseng.
The products were said to be able to solve the 29-year-old engineer's fertility problem.
At least that was what the couple (whose names have been withheld to protect their privacy) was allegedly made to believe by an employee of a company who told them how other customers had conceived through their remedy.
A bunting outside the company's premises in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, also purportedly gave them the impression that conception was guaranteed.
Nine months after they began the fertility programme in February 2003, the 28-year-old self-employed wife realised that there was no change in her husband's condition, and she had still not conceived.
They decided to go back to the company's premises in Petaling Jaya, but to their shock the shop had closed.
The couple then went to another outlet in KL Plaza here where an employee gave them some more ginseng products and told them to continue with the 18-month programme until January this year.
When January came, they were unsuccessful again.
They faced another shock when they found the KL Plaza outlet had closed as well and decided to do a search at the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), which revealed that the company's registered address was in Johor Baru.
This time, the couple decided that enough was enough and proceeded to file a claim at the Consumer Claims Tribunal.
At the hearing held in camera – the first of its kind at the tribunal – on Oct 12, New York Skin Solutions Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Giant Ginseng Holdings Sdn Bhd) denied ever guaranteeing anything about their products through its employees or advertisements.
The company also argued that the couple, fully aware of the husband's condition, decided to try their luck anyway with the ginseng products.
Yesterday, the tribunal ordered the company to pay RM5,000 to the couple within 14 days.
President Yang Zaimey Yang Ghazali said it was illogical for someone to pay such a huge sum of money if they were not promised anything.
“Although there is an element of misrepresentation, I must strike a balance. I cannot allow your RM13,600 claim in full because the products have already been consumed,” he told the couple.
Yang Zaimey also ticked off the company for constantly moving its outlets, which gave customers a negative perception.