Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia: How to File a TTPM Claim

Who can file a claim at the Tribunal for Consumer Claims?

Any consumer can file a claim against a trader, meaning a seller, manufacturer or service provider. Under section 3 of the Consumer Protection Act 1999, a consumer is a person who buys or uses goods or services of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household purposes, and not mainly for resale, manufacturing or repair work in trade.

Typical claims include:

• a defective phone, car part or appliance that the seller refuses to repair, replace or refund;
• a renovation, tuition, gym, wedding or catering service that was paid for but not delivered;
• goods bought online from a Malaysian seller that never arrived or were not as described;
• a deposit or booking fee that the trader will not return; and
• misleading claims about price, quality or features that led you to buy.

A person who buys for a business, or in a company's name, is not a consumer under Act 599 and cannot use the tribunal. A dispute between two private individuals, such as a loan to a friend, is also not a consumer claim.

The tribunal is busy and used for small sums as well as large ones. It received 8,824 claims in 2024, and it has made awards for amounts as small as RM10.90 for an expired food product.

What can the tribunal hear, and what are the limits?

The tribunal can hear consumer claims of up to RM50,000 that arose within the last three years. The limit was raised from RM25,000 by the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act A1598), which came into force on 1 October 2019. A higher amount can be heard only if both parties agree in writing.

The tribunal cannot hear claims involving:

• personal injury or death;
• recovery of land, or disputes over title to or interests in land;
• wills and the estates of people who died without a will;
• professional services regulated by written law, such as legal services;
• healthcare and aviation services;
• franchises, goodwill, trade secrets, intellectual property or choses in action (rights such as debts that can only be claimed by legal action); and
• matters assigned to another tribunal by another law.

You also cannot run the same claim in the tribunal and in a civil court at the same time. If you have already sued in court, the tribunal will not hear it.

Count the three years from the date of the problem, such as delivery of a defective item. If the deadline is close, file first, because a late claim cannot be heard.

How do you file a TTPM claim online?

You file Form 1, the statement of claim, through the e-Tribunal system on the TTPM portal at ttpm.kpdn.gov.my, or at any tribunal counter, and pay the RM5 fee.

1. Register an account on the portal and choose e-Tribunal.
2. Enter the trader's details. Use the company's full registered name, registration number and business address, which you can find on the invoice, website or a company search.
3. Complete Form 1: what you bought, what went wrong, what you have done to resolve it, and the amount you claim.
4. Upload your documents and pay the RM5 fee online.
5. Serve the claim on the trader, by post or by hand, with the copies of Form 2 (the defence form). Keep proof of service, such as a postal receipt or a photograph of the documents left at the premises.
6. The trader may settle, or file Form 2 with a copy to you, and may include a counterclaim. You can answer a counterclaim in Form 3.
7. The tribunal issues a notice of hearing (Form 4) with the date, time and place.

What happens at a hearing without lawyers?

The hearing is informal and short, and each party speaks for itself. Lawyers are not allowed to represent the parties at the hearing, which keeps cost down and the process simple. A company sends an officer or employee instead.

The President of the tribunal hears both sides, looks at the documents and may question the parties and any witnesses. The tribunal first tries to help the parties reach an agreed settlement. If they agree, the terms are recorded as an award. If not, the President decides the claim.

To prepare:

• arrange your documents in date order and bring copies for the tribunal and the trader;
• write a one-page timeline of what happened and what you want;
• bring the defective item, or photographs of it, and any witness who saw the problem; and
• work out your figures, for example the price paid, repair quotations and receipts for extra costs.

Both parties must attend. The tribunal aims to make its award within 60 days of the first hearing day, where practicable. If you missed the hearing and an award was made against you, you can apply in Form 12 to set it aside within 30 days of receiving it.

How is a TTPM award enforced?

A tribunal award is final and binding on the parties and takes effect as if it were an order of a Magistrates' Court. The trader must comply within 14 days.

Failing to comply with an award within that time is an offence. The penalty is a fine of up to RM10,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both, with a further daily fine of RM100 to RM5,000 for a continuing offence. The 2019 amendment doubled the maximum fine from RM5,000.

If the trader does not pay, you have two routes, which can be used together:

1. Lodge a non-compliance complaint with the Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN). This can lead to a prosecution, which often prompts payment.
2. Enforce the award in the Magistrates' Court like a judgment, for example by seizure and sale of the trader's assets, a garnishee order against its bank account or, for a company that owes a debt, the steps a creditor can take. Our article on enforcing a judgment debt explains these tools.

There is no appeal on the merits. A party who believes the tribunal acted unlawfully or outside its powers can apply to the High Court for judicial review, which looks at how the decision was made rather than rehearing the claim.

When is the tribunal not the right forum?

The tribunal is the cheapest route for most consumer disputes, but it is not the right forum where the claim is outside its powers, too large, or needs detailed evidence.

A court claim may also be better where you need documents from the trader through discovery, expert evidence such as an engineer's report, or an injunction. Losing a large claim at the tribunal for lack of evidence can close the door, because the award is final.

If you are unsure which forum fits, our civil disputes team can advise at a consultation, online or in person.