Plan for cities to jointly protect consumers

• Source: Global Times
• [08:57 September 01 2010]
• Comments

File photo of the office of the "12365" dedicated consumer complaints hot line launched in Shanghai in March. Photo: CFP

By Zheng Yunying

The local consumer protection committees of 21 cities in China, including Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, recently signed a joint memorandum to set up an interactive collaboration system for consumer rights protection between the cities.

A spokesperson surnamed Lu from Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee told the Global Times Tuesday that the memo aims to make the complaint handling process more convenient and efficient for customers from these cities who have purchased items from another member city.

According to Lu, previously, if Shanghai consumers purchased something from outside of the city and wished to file a complaint, it would be very costly, as the complaint would need to be submitted at the place of purchase.

"Now consumers only need to file their complaint with their local consumer protection committee and they will do the job of coordinating with their counterparts from the other member city to investigate and deal with the dispute," Lu said.

The 21 committees also proposed that the warranty period of a product purchased online should start from the day when the consumer receives it, not from when the order is placed online or the product is dispatched.

"We are receiving a lot of complaints about this issue. The warranty period during which you can return your goods lasts seven to 15 days for electrical appliances, computers and mobiles phones in China. But when it comes to online shopping, sometimes it takes the entire warranty period for the product to be delivered," Lu said.

With 33 percent of Internet users in China having shopped online as of the end of June, the committees called on the government to draw up regulations for online shopping saying that warranties should take effect upon the receipt of goods bought online.

"But it is still just a proposal of ours and we haven't heard any feedback from the relevant  local  government departments yet," Lu told the Global Times.

According to Shen Li, a spokesperson for the Shanghai Industry and Commerce Bureau, the warranty period of products purchased online is a grey area, as the Network Commodity Exchange Management Method - the set of regulations covering online shopping - does not cover from what point in a transaction warranty periods should take effect.