Jane Lai
THE Shenzhen Consumer Council had recovered losses of more than 11 million yuan (US$1.66 million) for consumers this year after it received 12,263 complaints, up nearly 70 percent compared with the previous year.
An annual consumer complaints report was released by the Shenzhen Consumer Council on Tuesday, based on various categories and the nature of complaints.
The number of complaints about services, household appliances and daily commodities had grown this year.
Complaints about services in particular had surged to nearly 7,000, more than doubling the previous year s figure, while those related to household appliances and commodities had grown by up to 30 percent.
There were almost 5,000 complaints about quality, up 36 percent over last year. There were only 25 complaints of rudeness and indifference but this represented a 200-percent increase over the previous year. There were 175 complaints about prices, an increase of 170 percent.
Major complaints involved the Internet, telecommunications, mobile phones, tourism and financial services, the Shenzhen Consumer Council said. Almost all the complaints had been resolved.
There were more than 1,800 complaints about the Internet, accounting for about 15 percent of the overall number of complaints for the year. There were 1,210 complaints about online games, up more than 700 percent compared with last year.
Complaints about online shopping had fallen 10 percent after last year s complaints sparked heated debate.
The number of complaints about telecommunications services had surged to 1,645 more than tripling last year s figure and most were related to the untimely alteration of telephone packages and obscure promotions.
Mobile phone complaints exceeded 1,300, but the percentage of overall complaints declined over last year. In contrast, although there were only 243 tourism complaints, it was more than four times last year s number and many people had complained about tour contract disputes.
Twenty complaints involved financial services, a small number but an increase of more than 60 percent. Consumers were not satisfied with one-sided clauses, service charges and the service of financial organizations, the report said.
