A coalition of independent consumer-protection groups has mounted opposition to the government Consumer Protection Board's bid to supervise them.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister's Office will seek Cabinet approval to amend legislation granting it oversight authority of a new independent consumer organisation.

The coalition said the move was unacceptable because it was against the objectives of the independent organisation.

According to the 1997 charter and the first draft of the new 2007 constitution, the organisation is to be free of bureaucratic interference. It is to work unhindered in the interests of consumer rights.

The board can sidestep that by amending the Consumer Protection Act of 1979.

Its amendment wants the new organisation established under its control.

"The organisation cannot be truly independent if it's under the board's control; that's just more bureaucracy," Foundation for Consumers secretary-general Saree Ongsomwang said.

She accused the board of "trickery" because it had attempted to push through the amendment ahead of a new constitution.

Board secretary-general Rassamee Wisathavej dismissed that allegation.

To alert the public, consumer groups launched a protest campaign.

Among groups against the amendment are a network of 27 non-governmental organisations working with consumer issues, an alliance of another 72 protection centres in 42 provinces and an assembly of seven clubs and communities.

"If the proposed organisation is under the board's control the chance for a community grouping to be a voice to be reckoned with will be diminished," said Saroj, who asked his last name be withheld.

Saroj is chairman of a new group working to protect people from unfair treatment by credit-card companies and personal lenders.

"Based on our experience the new organisation needs to be truly independent. As for myself, I have been a victim of the credit-card and personal-loan industry." He owes about Bt1 million to several companies.

"Yes, it's my mistake for using these services unwisely, but they have taken advantage of consumers," he said.

Using the consumerthai.org website, he gathered 3,000 people in similar circumstances to share experiences and advise others on surviving serious debt.

"Our stand is to submit to legal action by card companies and attempt to negotiate individual repayment schedules based on personal situations.

"We are not trying to avoid repayment; we are simply asking for a flexible way to settle it. We all face threats from the card companies, and together we discuss how to deal with those threats," he said.

Saroj said official figures estimated some 80 per cent of salary-earners using as many as 10 million credit cards today were a total of Bt160 billion in debt.

Consumer activist Preeyanan Lorsermvattana said the independence of the new organisation was vital to help the unfairly treated.

Mother-of-three Preeyanan has been battling a Bangkok hospital for 16 years seeking compensation following alleged malpractice in the treatment of one of her children.

"First I fought for my kid. Sixteen years of fighting showed me I was not the only one affected by medical malpractice. This is not my problem alone; it's a national problem.

"A senior Public Health Ministry official told me there were as many as 60,000 similar cases every year," she said.

Preeyanan has led a 150-strong group of malpractice victims over the past five years. It has fought 10 successful cases and secured millions of baht in court-ordered compensation.

"We send the message that patients have rights. Doctors make mistakes, but they have to admit them so they don't happen again.

"And the government must play a role by creating a system guaranteeing rights and punish doctors who make mistakes," she said.

"Even though we win some cases, it takes a lot of time and effort. We cannot fight it case by case any more.

"We have exposed the problems. The next step is how to deal with them and how to prevent them, and I think the establishment of an independent consumer organisation will be a significant move in the right direction," she added.

"But we must be ensure it is really independent from both bureaucrats and business and political influence. Otherwise consumer protection will remain just good intentions on paper, as it is now" she said.

Samut Songkhram villager Boonyuen Siritham, 45, leads a consumer group active in eight provinces in the west of the country. A truly independent customer-safety body is needed, he said.

"If you were me you would realise the diversity of consumer problems. Without an efficient mechanism and organisation, difficulties won't be solved.

"And based on decades of experience, I can tell you bureaucratic organisations do not work," Boonyuen said.

The foundation's Saree said: "One conclusion from two decades working for protection is that it is the individual alone that can make consumer protection real.

"An independent organisation will be a significant tool in creating a system that makes it real, but it must be independent."

Kamol Sukin

The Nation