Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    THE Shenzhen Consumer Council received 83,598 complaints from consumers in the city last year, marking a year-on-year growth of 69.1 percent, according to a report released by the council.

    Among these complaints, 21.88 percent of them were against poor after-sales services, while 16.57 percent were about contract disputes and 15.64 percent involved quality issues.

    Internet services were the most complained about by consumers, as there were 29,548 such complaints filed by consumers last year, soaring by 123 percent compared with 2015. A total of 16,133 complaints were reported against online games, as many users’ accounts were banned or stolen.

    A growing number of online shopping scams also raised complaints. For instance, the council received 108 complaints against a Shenzhen-based Internet company that had allegedly swindled consumers out of 1.25 million yuan (US$181,875) last year.

    The company sold products to consumers on its WeChat account at high prices and promised to return the money to them. According to the council, the company tempted consumers with “high returns” and used the payments from new buyers to pay returns to old buyers.

    The report also noted that over 500 complaints involving prepaid services were made last year. Many stores, such as beauty salons, barbershops, training centers and gyms, always ask consumers to buy prepaid cards, but it is difficult for consumers to get a refund if these stores suddenly close their doors.

    A training center, named UP Children, in Donghai City Plaza in Futian District received 105 complaints from consumers last year. The training center, which offered physical education, craftmaking and language classes to children between 4 months and 8 years old, didn’t re-open in January last year after the winter vacation, causing dozens of parents who had paid for lessons to protest for refunds.

    The legal representative registered for the training center — a Colombian national — was unreachable after the center was closed.

    Bond Education, a popular chain of training centers, is a shareholder of UP Children. It has reached a settlement with consumers and resumed classes for those who didn’t want a refund.

    Additionally, the council received 2,637 complaints against express services last year, marking a year-on-year growth of 102 percent. The number of complaints against financial services soared by 232 percent to 656 last year, the most rapid growth among all types of complaints.