<Anchor> It is a
friendly economic time.
Today (18th), we will be with reporter Kim Hye-min.
Reporter Kim, I think I will talk about how to get relief from the damages of SNS commerce today, but this is a lot of advertisements selling goods on social media these days, and it seems that there are actually a lot of transactions.
<Reporter>
Yes, I buy a lot on the Internet these days, but when I do social media, I sometimes buy products with advertisements, and I also buy goods with cash through overseas purchasing agency cafes.
However, it is said that consumer damage occurs much more when purchasing through social media, internet blogs, and cafes.
In the 10 months from January last year, 3,960 consumer consultations related to SNS platform transactions were received.
Excluding the weekend, there were over 18 consultations a day.
There were 3 out of 5 cases where money was deposited but the product did not come or arrived late, and 20% of cases did not accept returns or refunds.
<Anchor> As you
just said, there are about 20% of cases where returns or refunds are not available, but is this really non-returnable or refundable?
<Reporter> In
fact, there are many places that say that no refunds or exchanges are allowed in internet cafes, blogs like this, or social
media
.
So, at first, I thought that the items sold on this SNS are non-refundable.
However, even if the companies have announced that returns or exchanges are not possible, all are possible.
When the Consumer Agency surveyed these companies that sold goods through SNS in 2019, more than 99% of them shortened the subscription withdrawal period, so they did not announce or provide any information at all.
However, a refund is possible if the consumer expresses his intention to "I want to refund the goods" within 7 days of receiving the goods.
On these 7 days, all weekends and holidays when the business is not open are omitted. This is the case when the consumer simply changes his or her mind and returns, and if there is a problem with the product, you can refund within 3 months.
If the seller says that the subscription cannot be withdrawn or interferes with this, a fine may be imposed.
<Anchor>
So anyway, even if it says'No refund' or'No exchange', you can get a refund unconditionally within 7 days.
Then I want to get a refund. Then, I have to contact you. In the case of online shopping malls, I have a phone number. Where do I contact SNS and what should I do?
<Reporter>
In the case of such SNS vendors, they often sold their products together on multiple platforms.
For example, we sell at blogs and cafes together, or use Instagram or Facebook at the same time.
When the transaction path is complicated, it is often difficult to identify business information or contact information after the consumer is damaged.
Also, the responsibilities of the platform operators, such as Naver and Kakao, are very limited.
It is said that all you have to do is provide the vendor's identity information and apply for damage relief on your behalf.
In addition, foreign operators like Facebook and Instagram are not able to apply these regulations at all, for example, even if they suffered purchase damage through Instagram, they cannot directly hold Instagram accountable.
[Song Seon-deok/Director of Transaction Research Team, Korea Consumer Agency's Market Research Bureau: (foreign operators) are saying,'We only provide social network services, not electronic bulletin board service providers.'
Platform operators need to be improved so that they can clearly fall within the scope of regulation through the amendment of the E-Commerce Act.]
<Anchor>
Reporter Kim, anyway, these platform operators themselves are You're making a profit.
Then, I think it would be nice if the system was improved a little so that I could take on the responsibilities that deserve it.
Lastly, please explain how to compensate for damage and how to prevent it.
<Reporter>
Yes, it is important to know in advance that the most important thing when making transactions on SNS is business information.
In particular, when dealing with cash, check to see if there is any damage to fraud or one-on-one transactions such as direct messages or chats.
Proof of purchase should also be carefully maintained.
If you have been victimized even though you are careful, you can do something called'damage relief request' through the 1372 Consumer Consultation Center.
At this time, business information is required, and without this, it is said that it is difficult to provide relief for consumer resources.
You can ask for information after consulting on whether it is possible to apply for damage relief.
Consumer Affairs also should consider how to sue the police if it doesn't work.
Even for small transactions, check carefully before depositing money, and if you are damaged, make sure to receive compensation even if it is a little annoying to prevent further victims.