PUTRAJAYA: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has come to realise that Touch 'n Go (TnG) Near-Field Communication (NFC) cards are being sold online at exorbitant prices.
TnG NFC cards are sold at a price of RM10 at selected petrol stations or through online transactions using the TnG application. However, the two channels for the sale of the cards reportedly experienced limited supply since April this year.
The profiteering on the cards is an open secret and is widely known for months.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said his ministry's enforcement division is taking action after having received four official complaints on the matter and detected 13 card sales advertisements involving several online platforms.
In a statement today, he revealed that preliminary investigations showed that the sale of NFC TnG cards (on the online platforms) also involved employees at the payment counter of a petrol station.
"The individuals were found to be selling TnG NFC cards that originally cost RM10 each without any credit on it at a rate of more than five times, through the online market platforms."
Nanta said a total of 11 premises including private residences and business buildings were inspected in follow-up action.
He said six notices in accordance with Section 21 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011. 2011 had been issued to the parties involved, where, among other things, they were required to submit an official response or explanation to the enforcement division.
"Failure to do so means the parties involved may be subject to action according to Section 21(5) of the Act for refusing or failing to submit feedback," he said.
Nanta said his ministry would meet with TNG Digital Sdn Bhd this week to help resolve the shortage of cards.
The TnG NFC card allows users to top up anytime and anywhere via the Touch 'n Go eWallet application available on mobile devices. In fact, users of the card and the service are not imposed any surcharges when top-up is done.
