Special: Consumption and Safety

Updated:2012-03-15 16:33

(chinadaily.com.cn)

World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on March 15 is an annual occasion for celebrating consumer rights and mobilizing citizens to action.

The China Consumers’ Association has set the theme for this year as "Consumption and Safety". With heavier purses and wider choices, Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their rights at a time when the country aims to boost domestic consumption. Here we bring you a round-up of the latest developments.

Consumer Rights Day sparks illegal biz boom

Consumer Rights Day has turned into big business for companies who charge brands to remove bad complaints from websites, Beijing News reported on March 15, 2012.

Websites, including names such as 315, have turned what should be a day to campaign for consumer's rights, into a booming business by offering to remove customers' complaints for a fee.

There are hundreds of such websites in Beijing alone. [Full text]

Latest trends

Court cases for consumer rights rise

Online shopping complaints top the list

Special: Consumption and Safety

In the past five years, almost half of the 661 disputes over business contracts and product quality were instituted by familiar faces known for their campaigns against fake and shoddy goods, according to statistics from Shanghai's Huangpu District People's Court showed.

Last year more than 40 percent of cases in Chongqing involved a recognized consumer rights campaigner, according to Chongqing No 5 Intermediate People's Court.

[Full story: Consumer rights pros battle on ]

Special: Consumption and Safety

52 percent of the complaints involved online shopping, far outstripping other activities such as group purchases.

Consumers spent about 800 billion yuan ($126.3 billion) on online shopping in 2011.

The number of online consumers hit 194 million in 2011.

The biggest number of complaints came from the cities of Beijing and Shanghai and Zhejiang province.

Consumers demand rights

Statistics
In 2011, China's industry and commerce institutions processed 846,000 cases of complaints filed by consumers via an online service platform "12315," officials said at a conference observing the International Consumer Rights Day.

		Data source: China Consumers' Association

Government's efforts
China's authorities retrieved 990 million yuan ($156.3 million) for consumers last year as the country places greater efforts to protect consumers' rights, official figures showed on March 13, 2012. [Full text]
China to regulate online group buying	Food safety network in shape	China disconnects Internet cost monopoly

China will regulate the thriving online group buying market to protect customer interests and boost the sector's sound development.	A network to monitor and track food-borne diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms will be set up.	Two telecom giants accused of running a monopoly on Internet access rates in China have pledged to cut charges.

Scandals

Clothes sold by Zara, a Spanish retail giant, were declared substandard after the latest quality inspection in Shanghai, pushing the brand back onto the blacklist for the third consecutive year in China. [Full text]	The nation's biggest dairy company Mengniu was hit by a tainted milk scare over the Christmas holiday 2011. [Full text]	Luo, a famous English trainer, has demanded the company recall their fridges over a faulty door and plans to have several new Siemens' fridges tested in Germany, US and Japan. [Full text]

Group-buying website Gaopeng.com has acknowledged cheating on an iPhone 4 drawing through the Sina micro blog and Tencent micro blog. [Full text]	That a tourist was overcharged at a seafood restaurant in Sanya in this Spring Festival holiday has created an online stir. [Full text]	Scandal-hit furniture dealer Da Vinci told its Chinese customers it was "sorry" and admitted failing to properly label the country of origin of some products. [Full text]

Media reports suggesting Ajisen Ramen uses cheap powders and other instant seasoning for its noodle soup, instead of boiling pig bones for hours as its advertisements suggest. [Full text]	Two elevator malfunctions in the same residential community in Hangzhou within four days have residents worried. [Full text]	An online forum said that in more than 10 cities, over 10,000 flats decorated by Vanke – one of the leading real estate companies in China - had used laminate wooden flooring that contained excessive levels of formaldehyde. [Full text]