Complaints handled by consumer' associations from across the
country have been assessed and six major difficulties identified
that face China's consumer market.
Mobile phones: pleasant to the eye, but of little
use
Last year, the number of complaints regarding the quality of
mobile phones ranked first among those about all products, reported
the China Consumers' Association. Complaints focused on sudden cuts
in power, noisy lines, code failure and broken covers. Some mobile
phones look impressive, but are actually worthless. The
manufacturers' neglect of quality resulted in frequent
problems.
Automobile safety
Sales of private cars accounted for over half the country's
total automobile sales last year. But the number of complaints
concerning the quality of automobiles rose 30 percent from the
previous year, with those involving safety issues rising by
two-thirds. Complaints included noisy engines, broken axles, oil
leaks, ineffective clutches and brakes, and water dripping along
cracks in windows and doors. All the problems present hidden
dangers for consumers.
Exaggeration about health products
Consumers complain that some manufacturers and agents exaggerate
the power of health products. Taking glossy products that contain
ganoderma (Ganoderma lucidum) as an example, some
manufacturers and agents have exceeded advertising guidelines by
claiming cancer-fighting properties. They use medical terms in
their advertising slogans that give the impression of greater
therapeutic effects, and even claim that some products are
medicines. Some illegally use the names of famous medical
institutions and doctors to add credibility.
Tricky house-buying contracts
Some developers shirk their responsibilities by not using
demonstration copies of contracts, or increase consumers'
responsibilities by adding unfair clauses. Some force consumers to
give down payments for "advance booking" but later seize the money
unfairly for items previously not disclosed. Others deliberately
change the structure and area of properties, simply ignore contract
terms and delay issuance of property rights certificates.
Fake and inferior goods entrap farmers
In July 2004, a consumer association in Zhuozi County of north
China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region received 3,800 complaints from
farmers asserting that the corn seeds they bought from a local
company had resulted in total crop failure of more than 4,500 mu
(300 hectares) of farmland. Investigation showed the company had
got the seeds mixed up.
Other complaints included poor quality of agricultural machines,
mixing up of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and difficulties
in claiming damages and bringing lawsuits.
Tricky short message service (SMS)
Consumers complain that some short message service operators and
agents make money unscrupulously. For example, in lottery-attached
contests, chat or interactive activities, consumers who reply to
messages will automatically be regarded as monthly payment clients.
Those who receive the message without replying also face charges,
since SMS providers set a system where silence can mean tacit
consent. Some consumers are even debited for nothing.
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, March 20, 2005)