SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 11 November 2021 - Consumers
Association of Singapore (CASE) President Melvin Yong paid Eight Design a
visit in their West Tradehub Showroom. Eight Design was mentioned specifically
by Yong in a post he made on Facebook, reiterating the value and
significance of local renovation contractors being able to secure a CaseTrust
accreditation, a step that is beneficial to both the client and the
service-provider to counteract the renovation scams occurring in the industry.
Consumers have been complaining about contractors who underdeliver or leave
completely during a project. It was even recorded that the renovation sector
has received 621 complaints in the first half of 2021 alone, almost double than
last year's numbers. Because of the mishaps caused by COVID-19, businesses in
the industry were greatly affected. Yong's intention in his visit was to
understand better the measures being done by renovation companies in providing
assurance to their clients.
According
to Melvin Yong, in today's time, consumers are likely to spend more in the
renovation of their new homes—with most even paying larger sums of deposits
upfront to the contracting party they are engaging with. As compared to how
consumers behaved 10 years ago, this recent practice in the industry is
becoming a cause for concern. He stresses that when people pay huge deposit
amounts ahead of time, it will be challenging to seek for recourse in case
there are difficulties that arise during the entirety of the project. To avoid
this, Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association
(RCMA) joined forces with CASE to create a CaseTrust-RCMA Joint Accreditation Scheme through a
Memorandum of Understanding.
CaseTrust
is the accreditation arm of CASE; it is also Singapore's de facto standard that
reliable companies refer to and follow when offering and executing services
that are only truthful and ethical. Melvin Yong expressed his high spirits in
Eight Design. The company has been CaseTrust accredited since 2016 and they
find the policies and practices helpful in guiding the company's internal
operations and processes, benefiting the company and the customers, as well as
in setting the expectations of home renovation projects to minimize disputes.
Accredited
businesses like Eight Design - Top
Residential & Commercial IDs help consumers find legitimate contractors
that provide fair trading and transparency. Only those that are listed in RCMA are eligible to obtain the
joint accreditation. Through this course of action, the consumers' deposit
payments are protected by a deposit performance bond—effectively safeguarding
it from closure, potential liquidation, and other unfavorable incidents.
The CASE
president himself highlighted the benefits that consumers will get from
engaging with an accredited business:
1. The
contractor will be carrying out consumer friendly-policies and good business
practices.
2. The
consumers' deposits will be protected through the aforementioned deposit
performance bond.
3. The
contractor will be committed in resolving and minimizing disputes
through a peaceful and professional mediation.
4. A CaseTrust Standard Renovation
Contract will be adopted by the accredited contractor to ensure cost
transparency and accountability for every listed deliverables in the renovation
project.
According to The Straits Times, home renovation
costs have increased by 10 to 20% industry-wide. With this inevitable upsurge,
the demands of the modern consumers are also increasing. To bridge this gap,
businesses should ensure fair trading while consumers do their due diligence.
To check for a renovation company like Eight Design's accreditation, one can
easily navigate through CaseTrust's web listing or view the CaseTrust-RCMA's logo that businesses display in their shop
fronts and marketing materials as an outward sign of commitment.
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