In the first half of 2021, 78337 consumer complaints and consultations were received by the guangzhou city board, of which 72,716 were received, resulting in a successful mediation rate of 72. 67 per cent and a recovery of economic losses of $34,786. 4 million for consumers. The overall number of complaints decreased by 9. 26 per cent over the previous year. According to the cen, in the first half of the year, the city-wide hotspots of complaints, in addition to the areas of internet services, social services for living and clothing shoes, have focused in part on new consumption patterns, such as the consumption of blind boxes, live delivery of goods, group purchases, etc。
Closing gap between service and commodity complaints
In the first half of the year, consumer complaints increased by more than 200 complaints and by more than 20 per cent mainly in disputes over domestic appliances, clothing and footwear caps, tobacco and alcohol drinks, everyday goods, jewellery and cultural goods, transport, and services such as internet services, public utilities, etc. In addition, the number of complaints from cultural and recreational sports services and educational and training services increased by over 200, but less than 20 per cent。
As a result of the prevention and control of the epidemic, the number of complaints fell by 20. 30 per cent, 41. 93 per cent, 28. 14 per cent and 80. 49 per cent, respectively, in 2020 for food, medicines and medical supplies, social services and tourism services, which were most affected by the epidemic. The number of complaints decreased by 63. 81 per cent and 60. 58 per cent, respectively, in the first half of the year for telecommunications (mobile phones) and sales (non-fast sales)。
The gap between service and commodity complaints has narrowed. According to the cic, the number of service-type complaints in the first half of last year was 1. 8 times that of commodity-based complaints. In the first half of this year, 34517, or 47. 47 per cent of the total number of complaints, increased by 18. 30 per cent over the same period; 38199, or 52. 53 per cent, of the total number of complaints relating to services decreased by 25. 03 per cent over the same period, with 1. 1 times the number of complaints relating to commodities in the first half of this year. Among service-type complaints, except for cultural and recreational sports services, postal services, internet services, educational and training services and public facilities services, there has been a varying decrease in the number of service-type complaints。
In industry, the top five categories of consumer complaints are: internet services, 13132, or 18. 06 per cent; social services, 11426, or 15. 71 per cent; clothing and footwear, 8147, or 11. 20 per cent; daily goods, 7235, or 9. 95 per cent; and household electronics, 6630, or 9. 12 per cent of the total. A total of 46570 complaints, or 64. 04 per cent of the total number of complaints。
Internet service complaints increased by 24. 92 per cent
With regard to internet services, the number of complaints in this area has increased by 24. 92 per cent this year. Consumer complaints are concentrated in cable broadband access, accounting for 90 per cent of internet service complaints. The problems reflected included the imposition of a three-line clean-up, the lack of speed of the net, the failure to repair network failures in a timely manner, and the excessive cycle of refunds. In addition, complaints about online play services were prominent, with 246 complaints in the first half of the year, focusing on such issues as theft of accounts or equipment, unjustified closure of accounts and consumption of internet games by minors。
The category of goods and services related to eating and eating remains a hot spot for complaints. Among them, complaints are relatively concentrated in the areas of clothing, footwear, daily goods, household appliances, hairdressing, catering services, accommodation services and fitness services. Consumers' responses focused on quality, contracts and after-sales, while claims centred on issues of commodity quality, delay in delivery, hegemony, false propaganda, and after-sales services。
6. 34 per cent increase in complaints in the education and training services category
In addition, complaints in the education and training service category increased by 6. 34 per cent over the same period last year. While a number of online training institutions during the epidemic have introduced online teaching modules in due course, which have broadened access to services, some consumers who do not agree to switch to online learning for reasons such as the mode of instruction, the rules of time deductions, the reduced quality of classes, etc., may request a settlement. While some of the training institutions have been able to re-establish the operation of lower-line shops following the normalization of epidemic control, some of the shops have been closed as a result of adjustments in business strategy and changes have been made in the configuration of teachers, course content, course time, etc., causing consumer dissatisfaction and thus consumer disputes。
According to the cilss, a significant proportion of the complaints from the educational and training services concerned advertising, mainly in terms of the content and effectiveness of the training provided by the training institutions, which lured or misled consumers, such as businesses claiming to be “senior” teachers, high vacancy rates and high pass rates。
New forms of consumption, such as the blind box, pose new problems
According to the commission, in recent years, new publicity and special marketing methods have emerged in internet shopping, such as the “low-cost” consumption of blind boxes, “live belts” and “community purchases”, which have created new problems. Some businesses claim to have hidden money in the blind box, attracting consumers to spend a great deal of money buying all the blind boxes, but still lack access to so-called “hidden money”; others publish low-priced links on social platforms, claiming that only a small number of “good goods” are sold, selling using a low-cost mentality of consumers, and that when problems arise, consumers are often unable to find the buyer and the platform against whom they are being sued。
There are also a number of microcomb purchasers who claim to be selling fresh commodities that are “directly produced”, but consumers buy them and find that the goods are not fresh, that contacts the so-called head of mission have failed, and that the merchant's guest clothes can not be processed in a timely manner; there are a large number of live web-based platforms that display “confirmation” of the jade locket in live booths and create a “shopping” atmosphere in live booths, where consumers find that the goods received are far from publicity, but both live webcasts and platforms refuse to return。
The cic advocates that the vast majority of operators act in good faith, comply with their legal responsibilities and obligations, respect and defend the legitimate interests of consumers, and work together to create a safe and secure consumer environment。
