Zhang Yang

    nicolezyyy@163.com

    IT could be risky for consumers to buy prepaid cards for certain services, as they might have trouble getting refunds for their prepaid cards if the service providers suddenly close their doors and leave customers uninformed.

    The Shenzhen Consumer Council released a report yesterday, which evaluated the risks of prepaid services in different fields based on the number of complaints made by consumers, and the amounts that consumers lost to those prepaid services.

    The report revealed that prepaid hairdressing and beauty services topped the rankings with a grade-5 risk, followed by prepaid training courses and gym memberships, which were categorized as grade-4 risks.

    Also, prepaid photography and matchmaking services were evaluated as grade-3 risks, while tourism services and driving training were labeled as grade-2 risks. Prepaid entertainment, catering and vehicle maintenance services were marked as grade-1 risks, the lowest on the list.

    According to the council, it received over 8,500 complaints against prepaid services last year, accounting for over 10 percent of the overall number of complaints over the past year, while the proportion has been climbing year by year.

    Several consumers complained to the council about a gym club based in Futian District in October last year, after the gym shut its doors without notifying its customers, leaving over 100 customers with unused prepaid cards with a total value in the millions of yuan.

    A hairdressing salon in Nanshan District was also complained about by consumers last year as it refused to let customers use their prepaid cards or refund their cards after the salon changed its official name. It required that consumers put more money on their prepaid cards before they could continue to use them.

    Additionally, some customers also found it difficult to refund their prepaid cards even if the merchants were in good operation. One consumer bought a 3,288-yuan (US$478) prepaid card at a gym club in Shenzhen last year, but the club refused to refund his card when the consumer had to move to another city.

    Laws and regulations regarding prepaid services should be formulated, while a permit system should be set up to qualify service providers for selling prepaid cards, the council said.