If you don't listen, you'll get scolded! The China Consumers Association has announced eight major consumer complaint hotspots in the first half of the year, and tourism has been forced to attend promotional lectures on products | consumers | lectures
August 2nd
Released by the China Consumers Association
National Consumer Association Organization in the First Half of 2023
Analysis of complaint acceptance
According to the statistics of complaints received by the National Consumers Association:
The National Consumer Association received a total of 615365 consumer complaints and resolved 497142, with a complaint resolution rate of 80.79%. It helped consumers recover economic losses of 590.64 million yuan.
The hot issues of complaints mainly involve industries and fields such as tourism, performance ticketing, education and training, food safety, and home decoration and building materials.
Proportional chart of complaint nature
Analysis of eight major complaint hotspots
1
Significant growth in tourism travel complaints
The hotel industry takes advantage of holidays to significantly increase prices
Some hotels lack integrity and unilaterally breach or cut orders
Poor consumer experience in tourist attractions
Frequent shopping problems in scenic areas
The problem of tour guides forcing sales and shopping repeatedly persists
Case
Being forced to attend sales lectures and being scolded for not listening
On March 28, 2023, consumer Mr. Huang filed a complaint with the Consumer Rights Protection Committee of Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. He found a ground tour guide service provided by a company in Hangzhou online, with a price of 2960 yuan for four people and three days. The company promised "quality tours, zero mandatory consumption, and zero shopping". But in the actual tourism process, the tour guide forcibly arranges to attend sales lectures at jade and stone stores, silk and cotton quilt stores, tea stores, etc. Each sales lecture should not be less than one and a half hours, and not attending the lecture may result in being scolded.
Consumer Association Opinion
Be sure to make a plan and strategy before traveling;
Enhance safety awareness when traveling abroad;
Be wary of additional expenses, itinerary changes, etc;
Avoid impulsive consumption and following the trend of shopping.
2
Online shopping performance ticketing urgently needs to be standardized
Difficulty in refunding tickets has become a common problem in the industry
Consumer's online purchase of performance tickets encounters "blind selection" of seats
The online shopping performance ticketing sales platform is suspected to have multiple "ticket skipping" issues
Case
Spending thousands of dollars to buy concert tickets resulted in seats becoming "pillar exclusive"
In May 2023, multiple consumers reported that the view of a celebrity concert was obstructed, leading to concentrated complaints. Ms. Zhang paid 1299 yuan on a certain platform to purchase a concert ticket located in the second floor stand. Ms. Zhang only found that there was a pillar blocking her view when she arrived at the scene. The platform states that the refund matter is handled by the organizer; The organizers claimed that they had not yet set up the stage during the ticket sales phase and were unaware that there would be four pillars on the stage. After the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission intervened in the investigation, it was suggested that the organizers fully protect consumers' right to information and choice during ticket sales through seat map displays and other means.
Consumer Association Opinion
Relevant performance ticketing platforms and organizers can learn from mature practices in other service industries such as aviation and railways, formulate tiered refund and reform rules, and make them public to consumers to ensure that they are fully informed and actively confirm before purchasing tickets;
If a "no return, no exchange" ticket is launched, refundable and exchangeable tickets should also be launched, and reasonable prices should be set for consumers to choose independently and conduct fair transactions.
3
Frequent chaos in vocational skills training
Frequent occurrence of vocational skills training "traps"
Frequent vocational qualification training scams
Difficulty in consumer refund
Impersonating relevant national departments to carry out refund fraud
Case
Claiming to have mastered the original painting skills for six months and being "slapped", and refusing to refund
On February 7, 2023, Ms. Zhang, a consumer, filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission of Linhai City, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province. She claimed that her daughter saw an online training institution advertising during her school years that she could learn and master original painting skills within six months, and could work and study part-time through online orders. She paid more than 8000 yuan to register for the "Original Painting Training Course", but did not receive any benefits after studying online courses. Ms. Zhang believes that the course advertisement is false and induces her daughter to pay the fee. She demands a refund from the training institution, but the training institution refuses to refund the fee on the grounds that the course has already been completed. After mediation by the Linhai Consumer Protection Commission, both parties agree that the merchant will deduct the relevant fees and refund the remaining amount to the consumer.
Consumer Association Opinion
Be wary of training institutions intentionally confusing the difference between official professional qualification certificates and vocational skill level certificates issued by social institutions, and engaging in misleading propaganda or fraudulent behavior.
Suggest relevant departments to increase their supervision and crackdown on training institutions and related fraudulent activities.
four
Food safety issues cannot be ignored
Food spoilage or foreign objects in the food
Selling expired food without informing
Fake ordinary food as health food
The number of complaints about ordering food through delivery channels has increased significantly
Case
You can really boast, promoting ordinary food as "helpful for growth"
Consumer Mr. Zhang filed a complaint with the Consumer Committee of Mawei District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province. On June 30, 2023, he purchased a "high calcium, iron and zinc pectin gummie" from a certain e-commerce platform "flagship store of a large pharmacy". At the time of purchase, the merchant advertised the product on the website as having "growth promoting" effects, but the received product was only an ordinary food without the "blue hat" logo of a health food. The product itself did not have any relevant efficacy explanations, and the merchant engaged in false exaggeration of the product's efficacy and false advertising to deceive consumers.
Consumer Association Opinion
Ordinary food shall not claim to have health benefits;
The packaging or label of health food has a sky blue "hat" shaped logo, commonly known as "little blue hat" or "blue hat";
Starting from October 1, 2018, the QS symbol will no longer be used in food safety certification and a new SC code will be used.
five
Frequent chaos in the home decoration and building materials industry
Delay in decoration schedule
Customized furniture for the entire house is out of stock
Home decoration materials are inferior and inferior
❹ Furniture and building materials stores exclude legal liability through agreement or unilateral declaration
Case
The furniture purchased for over 200000 yuan is actually out of stock
Ms. Sun, a consumer, ordered full house furniture at a custom furniture store in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing in May 2021 and paid a total of 204500 yuan for the goods. Consumers believe that the furniture provided by the operator has issues with the cabinet material not matching the agreement, and have negotiated with the merchant multiple times without success. After the lawsuit, in May 2023, the People's Court of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing entrusted the Consumer Rights Protection Committee of Jiulongpo District, Chongqing to mediate the case. Ultimately, both parties reached a mediation agreement, and the operator agreed to compensate the consumer with 90000 yuan.
Consumer Association Opinion
Home furnishing stores should promptly issue warnings to consumers for merchants at risk of withdrawal. For disputes caused by merchant withdrawal, the store should bear joint and several liability for compensation;
Consumers should pay close attention to the qualifications and quality assurance services of operators. When signing contracts, they should clarify and quantify the standards for decoration quality, and pay attention to timely retention of evidence;
The construction party shall operate in accordance with the law and with good faith, and fully inform consumers of any potential additions and estimated prices.
six
Multiple complaints from video live streaming platforms
Short video "low price traffic"
Live broadcast room sales jewelry scams repeatedly appear
The live broadcast room arbitrarily fabricates and exaggerates the original price of products
Case
Buying fake "Myanmar jade" in the live broadcast room
Ms. Wang, a consumer, filed a complaint with the Yangpu District Consumer Rights Protection Committee in Shanghai, stating that in January 2023, she spent 4000 yuan in a live broadcast room on a certain platform to purchase a "Myanmar Jade" bracelet recommended by the host. After receiving the goods, it was found that the bracelet had cracks and was tested to be made of artificially synthesized material, which was seriously inconsistent with the promotion. The request for return was rejected. After receiving the complaint, the Yangpu District Consumer Protection Committee immediately contacted the platform and the merchants who entered, but the merchants who entered have been in a state of loss of contact. After mediation, according to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the platform finally processed a refund.
Consumer Association Opinion
Suggest relevant departments to use network technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to strengthen the supervision and management of live streaming sales and short video platform merchants;
The relevant platforms should also proactively address the shortcomings in implementing their main responsibilities and restraining and controlling merchants within the platform.
seven
Store closure damages consumer rights
Long term non delivery after payment
After canceling the order, there will be no refund for a long time
Failure to fulfill the responsibility for extended maintenance services
Case
There was an incident at the store, and consumers almost lost tens of thousands of yuan
Between June and July 2022, Mr. Xu, a consumer, purchased five Siemens appliances from a home appliance store on Nanchang Road in Luoyang, Henan Province, for a total cost of 16041 yuan. Until before the Spring Festival, the salesperson in the store informed me that there was an economic dispute between the store and the property management, and the electrical appliances were locked in the store and unable to be delivered. The negotiation between consumers and merchants has been delayed, so a complaint was filed with the Consumer Association of Luoyang City, Henan Province on February 27, 2023. The investigation by the Luoyang Consumer Association found that the store had a large number of debt disputes with warehousing and logistics companies due to a broken funding chain. The electrical appliances purchased by consumers were detained by third-party logistics companies and could not be delivered out of the warehouse. After multiple coordination by the Luoyang Consumer Association, consumer Mr. Xu received all the ordered household appliances in May this year.
Consumer Association Opinion
Consumers should pay attention to signing a written sales contract with the seller, and promptly monitor the operational status and dynamics of the platform or store. If there are signs of abnormalities or risks, they should contact the platform or relevant departments for consultation and complaints as soon as possible;
Consumers should carefully identify and read the relevant terms when purchasing extended warranty services, and not trust the verbal promotion and promises of sales personnel.
eight
Prepaid consumption risks and hidden dangers are difficult to eliminate
Improper card application procedures
Reduce service quality after card application
Promotions before closing and business closure, maliciously deceiving consumers of prepaid funds
Change of business entity to avoid fulfilling debts
Case
Hairdressing shops restrict the use of prepaid funds
On April 21, 2023, Ms. Pan, a consumer, filed a complaint with the Changning District Consumer Rights Protection Committee in Shanghai, stating that she had recharged 5000 yuan and obtained a membership card from a beauty and hairdressing company. However, during the service process, the merchant restricted the use of prepaid funds, and the fees were arbitrary. The money in the perm card was deducted, and additional fees were required for washing and blowing. The consumer subsequently raised objections and requested a refund, but was refused by the merchant. After communication and negotiation between the Changning District Consumer Protection Commission and merchants and consumers, the merchants will provide free blowing and cleaning services to consumers in the future.
Consumer Association Opinion
After the prepaid consumer operator changes its operating entity, the subsequent undertaking entity shall not refuse to assume relevant obligations on the grounds of the change of the enterprise's operating entity;
Prepaid consumption related operators should sign a written format contract with consumers when issuing prepaid consumption cards, and keep records and voucher stubs of each consumer's consumption.
