On March 13, The Paper learned from the Guangdong Consumer Council that on the occasion of the 3.15 International Consumer Rights Day, the committee released the "2021 Guangdong Consumer Council System Consumer Complaint Analysis Report".
In 2021, consumer committees at all levels in Guangdong will handle a total of 384,015 consumer complaints, ranking first in the country.
The province's Consumer Council system saved consumers 363 million yuan in economic losses throughout the year, an increase of 40 million yuan over last year.
Consumers received double compensation of 1.2732 million yuan due to the fraudulent behavior of the operator, a substantial increase of nearly 930,000 yuan over 2020 and a record high.
According to information from the Guangdong Consumer Council, in terms of the nature of complaints, the top three complaints last year were contract issues, after-sales service issues and quality issues.
Compared to 2020, contract-related complaints were the only type of complaint that increased in the province.
Among them, among the contract complaints, Internet services, education and training services and life, and social services are more prominent. Online games, off-campus training and matchmaking services are the main areas of contract disputes.
According to the analysis of the types of complaints, consumer committees at all levels in Guangdong Province received far more service-related complaints than commodity-related complaints last year.
Compared with 2020, with the effective control of the epidemic, the demand for epidemic-related commodities in the province has dropped, coupled with the market supervision in place, the business order is good, and complaints about medicines and medical supplies have dropped significantly.
Internet service complaints remain high.
According to the analysis of the Guangdong Consumer Council, the hot spots and difficulties of complaints mainly focus on education and training consumption, house decoration and delivery, new online consumption disputes, and personal injury disputes caused by beauty consumption.
There are many problems in education and training, and there is a large increase in consumer complaints
In 2021, the problem of education and training consumption will be prominent. The annual number of complaints will reach 42,568, a year-on-year increase of 52.25%, accounting for 11.08% of the total number of complaints, and it is the consumption area with the largest increase in the number of complaints throughout the year.
The main problems of consumer complaints: First, false propaganda, some institutions wantonly exaggerate the teaching effect and teacher strength, which is inconsistent with reality; Second, the teaching quality is unstable, and some institutions have problems such as frequent replacement of training teachers, locations or unilateral adjustment of curriculum arrangements. 3. Failing to fulfill the obligation of safety protection during the training period, resulting in personal injury to the trainees; 4. It is difficult to refund fees. Affected by the policy, a large number of training institutions were transformed or closed last year. Under the structure of prepaid consumption, institutions set up refund barriers and delayed refunds. Payment time, do not honor the promise of refund.
The Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: the introduction of the "double reduction" policy by the state is an important measure to correct the chaos in the education and training industry and reduce the burden on consumers' families. Consumer Rights.
In response to the current frequent complaints of education and training, especially the problem of operators "running away", the Provincial Consumer Council has taken a number of measures to protect the rights and interests of consumers.
For example, the Foshan Consumer Council supports consumers to file a class action, and assigns lawyers to represent consumers free of charge to sue a training institution that "runs away" for arrears, and finally wins the case, making the operator included in the "Lao Lai" list and subject to consumption, investment, etc. Various credit limits.
At the same time, consumers should also consume rationally. When choosing education and training institutions, they should follow the latest policies and reject training institutions with inconsistent licenses; they should carefully read the contract, pay attention to training courses, teachers, fees, time arrangements, and responsibility for breach of contract, etc. The contract model issued by the state; improve risk awareness, sign the contract before paying, ask for tickets and certificates, and pay fees rationally.
There are many complaints about housing and decoration, involving a large number of people and a large amount of money
In 2021, there will be 11,695 housing and decoration complaints in the province, accounting for 3.05%, specifically involving consumer complaints about building materials, housing decoration, and property services.
The main problems are: first, the delivery of commercial housing is difficult, the purchase and consumption of houses lasts for a long time, and the merchants fail to complete the project according to the time stipulated in the contract, or delay the delivery for various reasons; Facility and other commitments were made, but they could not be fulfilled when the building was handed over; third, the quality of decoration was poor, the progress of the project was not guaranteed, the decoration materials and accessories were shoddy, and corners were cut corners, and the actual decoration effect was very different from the design drawings; fourth, there was a lot of invisible consumption, The merchant advertises that the decoration cost is all-inclusive at one time, but when it is fulfilled, the consumer is required to pay additional fees on the grounds that the measurement area is wrong and the door is of high standard.
The Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: Although housing sales and decoration are not high-frequency consumption, they have many consumption links, large amounts of money, and generally involve a wide range of people. Once a consumer dispute occurs, it is easy to generate group complaints and even social conflicts.
Consumers should carefully check the terms of the contract before consuming, and do not trust the verbal promises of real estate developers or salespeople. The preferential terms must be written into the agreement; at the same time, it is necessary to clearly agree on the nature of the pre-paid price, and carefully check whether the contract is a "deposit" or a "deposit". Don’t blindly believe in advertisements such as “low price” and “all-inclusive” for house decoration. You should review the description of the construction plan, construction period and acceptance procedures in detail, and indicate the brand, price, material and size of the materials to avoid disputes.
The problem of new online consumption is prominent, and the popularity of online games continues
Internet service complaints have ranked first in the province for many years, with a total of 100,943 complaints in 2021, accounting for 26.29% of the total number of complaints. Although a year-on-year decrease of 3.86%, it is still significantly higher than other types of complaints.
The main problems are as follows: First, there were many complaints about online games, with 23,992 complaints in the whole year, focusing on issues such as large recharges of online games for minors, inadequate implementation of the anti-addiction system, account bans, and other issues. Restrictions have led to the phenomenon of minors renting and borrowing accounts, and also caused a large number of complaints; second, complaints about new online shopping models such as live streaming and cross-border e-commerce have increased. , The problem of wrong goods frequently occurs, cross-border online shopping is easy to face problems such as difficulties in returning goods, difficult to determine the subject of complaints, etc., and it is difficult to implement the obligation of returning goods without reason; third, the video platform service is controversial, and VIP membership services and advanced on-demand mechanisms lead to duplication. Complaints about issues such as charging, automatic renewal, and video interspersed advertisements.
Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: Online payment has greatly facilitated people's daily life. Online shopping consumption such as e-commerce live broadcast, cross-border purchasing, game recharge, platform on-demand and other online shopping consumption is hot, and various new types of consumption emerge in an endless stream, bringing consumers Brand-new consumption experience. Last year, the growth of online consumption in our province exceeded 20%, but at the same time, online consumption also brought many complaints.
The "E-commerce Law", "Consumer Rights Protection Law", "Advertising Law", "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Online Live Marketing Activities" and other legal provisions clearly stipulate the responsibilities of e-commerce operators. Game websites, video websites, online shopping platforms, All parties such as live broadcast platforms, operators on the platforms, and anchors with goods should implement their corresponding obligations in accordance with the law and earnestly assume their responsibilities to consumers.
At the same time, consumers should also consume rationally, choose formal platforms, identify legitimate merchants, carefully read the agreement before consumption, and fully communicate with merchants.
Online game operators should strictly implement the requirements for minors' login, recharge, and anti-addiction, and develop games that are conducive to minors' growth and establishment of correct values. Parents should also fulfill their guardianship responsibilities and strengthen bank card binding and account information inquiry. And payment password management to prevent minors from overcharging.
Strong consumer demand for beauty, frequent personal injury disputes
With the continuous improvement of material living standards, consumers' demand for "beauty" continues to increase, and the beauty consumer market is booming, but consumer disputes are also increasing.
In 2021, there will be 12,423 consumer complaints related to beauty salons in the province, accounting for 27.28% of the complaints about life services, of which 2,242 are medical beauty complaints.
The main problems of the complaints are: first, the merchants lack qualifications, the health license, business license, and medical institution license are incomplete, and the safety of consumers cannot be guaranteed; second, the beauty effect is difficult to guarantee, and the merchants use words such as ensuring beauty effects to attract consumers. , but ultimately failed to achieve the promised effect, causing complaints; third, personal injury accidents occurred frequently, medical beauty services directly affected the human body, and irregular operations caused serious accidents such as skin damage, disfigurement and even death of consumers; fourth, deceived to apply for consumer loans, In the face of high-priced products and services, merchants induce consumers by recommending online loan companies and concealing the truth of consumer loans, so that consumers have to bear high interest and handling fees.
The Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: The medical beauty market in Guangdong Province is developing vigorously, but the industry is mixed, and beauty consumption is not "beautiful".
The government supervision department should increase supervision and law enforcement, severely crack down on the practice of medicine without a license, seriously investigate and punish the illegal and illegal practice of medical beauty institutions and medical personnel, regulate the development of the medical beauty industry, and ensure the personal safety of consumers.
When consumers receive medical beauty services, they should choose medical institutions with complete licenses, rationally treat beauty services and product promotions on efficacy, especially choose beauty online loans carefully, evaluate risks rationally, and recognize their own economic status and repayment ability. , When signing the online loan contract, do not pretend to be others to operate.
There are many chaotic leaks of personal information, and it is difficult to provide evidence for consumer rights protection
The leakage of consumers' personal information has become a hot and difficult point in consumer rights protection work in recent years. The 2021 "Personal Information Protection Law" was promulgated and implemented, and all parties have paid more attention to the protection of personal information.
The main problems in the field of personal information are as follows: First, merchants use their monopoly position to arbitrarily collect consumers’ personal information, and some operators use “overlord clauses” such as “no consent is not allowed” to force the collection of consumer information in disguise; second, consumers The awareness of self-protection is weak, and for convenience or cheapness, scan codes and download application software at will, resulting in information security risks and personal information leakage, resulting in property losses; third, personal information is resold and shared in some industries, such as some real estate development. Businesses sell the information of buyers to decoration companies, which then sell them to furniture companies, which then transfer them to other relevant industry personnel; fourth, it is difficult for consumers to provide evidence and protect their rights. Because information and technology are in a weak position, consumption In the face of personal information leakage or illegal use, it is difficult for people to obtain relevant evidence, which makes it difficult to protect their rights.
The Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: Personal information protection is the focus of attention of all parties at present, and merchants have a lot of personal consumption information, which can easily lead to consumer disputes.
Taking advantage of the promulgation and implementation of the "Personal Information Protection Law", consumer committees at all levels in Guangdong Province have strengthened legal publicity through consumer surveys, consumer education, and knowledge-based contests.
At the same time, the Guangdong Provincial Consumer Council took the lead in exploring and taking the initiative to attack consumers' personal information in the fields of home improvement, telecommunications, real estate rental and sales, and filed 4 consumer civil public interest lawsuits last year, all of which were successful, and the defendant was fined 70,000 yuan. Diversified, and delete illegally collected and held consumer personal information and apologize.
However, in general, consumer disputes over personal information leakage are still difficult to provide evidence, mediation, and rights protection.
The Consumer Council calls on operators to abide by legal obligations and prevent excessive collection, random disclosure, and resale of consumer information; consumers should also be vigilant, use personal certificates carefully, and protect documents and materials with personal information. When installing an App or conducting business with a third party, pay attention to relevant authorization permissions to prevent personal information from being leaked.
Prepaid consumption is still stubborn, and it is imperative to strengthen legislative supervision
Prepaid consumption has always been the focus of consumption contradictions.
At present, the prepaid consumption model is still widely used in the consumption field, and conflicts and disputes continue to show a high incidence.
In 2021, the province's Consumer Council will handle 65,708 related complaints, involving an amount of up to 266 million yuan.
The current prepaid consumption has the following characteristics: First, the amount increases rapidly.
The number of prepaid consumer complaints accounted for 17.11% of the province's total complaints, an increase of 31.47% over the same period in 2020 (49,981).
Second, it is widely distributed.
Prepaid consumer complaints are widely distributed in education and training, fitness services, housekeeping services, beauty salons, health care services and other fields, involving goods and services, of which the proportion of service complaints has grown significantly.
Third, the mediation is difficult and the success rate is low.
In 2021, the Guangdong Consumer Council successfully mediated 19,240 prepaid consumer complaints, with a success rate of 29.28%, less than 30%; it saved consumers 80 million yuan in economic losses, accounting for only 30% of the amount involved.
Both sets of numbers are much lower than the other complaint types.
Fourth, rights protection is affected by multiple factors.
The operator runs away, loses contact, and does not cooperate; the operator has a broken capital chain, has no ability to perform the contract, and cannot take responsibility; the consumer has insufficient evidence, poor evidence, or high expectations for rights protection, etc., which may affect the development of rights protection work and lead to the failure of mediation.
Guangdong Consumer Council reminds: Prepaid consumption adopts the model of consumers paying first and operators performing their obligations later. Although consumers can get certain discounts, it is easy to be used by unscrupulous businesses, making consumers bear greater risks, and its fair trade rights and free choice are more difficult to guarantee.
In order to resolve disputes over prepaid consumption, the Provincial Consumer Council has taken various measures. For example, the Consumer Councils in Shenzhen, Foshan, Shanwei and other places have responded to the situation of prepaid consumer businesses such as gyms, beauty salons, and training institutions, or supported them. Consumers sued, or explored to launch a class action lawsuit, or implemented credit punishment through interviews, exposure, public condemnation, etc., and achieved certain results, saving consumers millions of yuan in economic losses.
However, in general, due to the lack of relevant laws and regulations, the lag in regulatory measures, and the weak awareness of business operators' integrity, the problem of infringement of consumers' rights and interests is still prominent.
The Provincial Consumer Council suggested that the legislature should strengthen the legislative level, carry out special legislation, and comprehensively and systematically regulate prepaid consumption from multiple dimensions such as access conditions, business requirements, code of conduct, regulatory responsibilities, and rights protection remedies to consolidate rights protection. Legal guarantee; administrative organs should strengthen supervision, clarify departmental supervisory responsibilities and supervisory powers, make good use of effective means such as approval, filing, fund custody, regular inspection, law enforcement and rectification, and at the same time explore third-party custody, advance compensation, and mandatory advance notice. New regulatory systems such as deposit payment should be adopted to improve regulatory efficiency; enterprises should strengthen their awareness of abiding by laws and regulations, enhance their awareness of honest business operations, improve business ethics, and consciously fulfill their statutory responsibilities and obligations to protect consumers' rights and interests.