Source: Xinhuanet
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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 15th Question: Solve the new problems of online consumption and service rights protection China Consumers Association issued consumption tips
Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Wenjun
The analysis of the complaints received by the National Consumers Association in 2022 released by the China Consumers Association on the 15th shows that consumer complaints about Internet services rank among the forefront of complaints in the service category. The after-sales service of online shopping is not smooth, online training refund promises are difficult to fulfill, and there are many “routines” in online membership services… In response to new problems encountered by consumers in online consumption and purchasing services, China Consumers Association gives suggestions and consumption tips.
Some unscrupulous merchants use small programs to conduct sales or induce private letter transactions without third-party fund custody, and lose contact when disputes arise after sales. Some unscrupulous operators use their personal social accounts to make their own official store avatars to induce consumers to trade with them. Some elderly consumers find that they have been cheated after paying the fee. Some e-commerce platforms have launched so-called platform special stores, which are another platform “embedded” in the platform. Once disputes arise, they use this as an excuse to evade their own responsibilities. Some platforms have poor after-sales channels for the “Global Shopping” business, and often refuse to coordinate after-sales services on the grounds that the overseas registration of “Global Shopping” operators does not apply to Chinese laws, leaving consumers in a dilemma for rights protection.
China Consumers Association recommends strengthening research on new formats and models of online consumption, especially new problems such as small program shopping, “embedded” platforms in platforms, frequent changes of registered addresses to evade supervision, and poor after-sales services of “international purchases”, and clarify relevant issues. The main responsibility of the operator.
At present, various online training services are mostly sold in the form of prepayment, which has the characteristics of wide consumer groups, large sales amount, and many service times, and there is a relatively large risk of breach of contract and running away. Some training institutions advertised “refund if you fail the test” in the course, but they did not fulfill their refund promise in the future, which caused a lot of complaints from consumers. Some training institutions fabricate false success stories to induce students to take out loans to purchase high-priced training courses.
The China Consumers Association suggested that innovative supervision methods and methods should be used to strengthen the supervision of online training institutions by using big data and artificial intelligence, and increase the punishment for false promises and other bad marketing methods.
When consumers purchase online membership services, they pay additional membership fees for more professional service content and a better consumer experience, but some merchants blindly pursue profits and use “routines” to harvest consumers.
In some smart TV systems, the resources of each module are independent of each other, and consumers continue to recharge but still cannot watch all video content. This kind of “matryoshka” charging has caused dissatisfaction among consumers. Some marriage and love platforms charge high service fees, but the actual services do not meet the agreed standards. Some do not strictly check member information, and even provide “marriage trust” to deceive consumers with fictitious friends and marriage needs. Some online membership service platforms first induce consumers to use it for free, and then automatically renew without fully informing or effectively reminding consumers after expiration.
The China Consumers Association reminds that consumers should pay attention to the specific rights and interests of members when choosing membership services, confirm with the merchants and retain evidence for vague statements, and complain to relevant administrative departments or Consumers Association organizations in a timely manner when their rights and interests are infringed.
Editor: Gao Bizhen