Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

CONSUMER councils at the municipal and district levels in Shenzhen received 226,277 complaints in 2022, up 7.5% year on year, according to statistics from Shenzhen Consumer Council.

The top three industries with the most complaints were the internet and communication services industry, the education and training industry, and the communications/computer/digital industry.

The internet and communication services industry received 73,553 consumer complaints, accounting for 42.45% of the total. The other two industries received 27,949 and 8,189 complaints, accounting for 16.13% and 4.73%, respectively.

According to the council, prepaid consumption has always been the focus of complaints, and industries such as education and training, beauty and hairdressing are the hotbed of complaints.

In particular, the number of prepaid consumption complaints in the domestic service industry surged by 840.4% year on year.

The council advises consumers to avoid large upfront payments, stay cautious about applying for membership cards with a large sum or a long service cycle, and choose reputable businesses that have been open for a long time, so as to avoid personal property losses due to mismanagement and closure.

Contract complaints accounted for the largest number of consumer complaints, with 114,395 in total, accounting for 66.02% of all complaints, according to the council. Service contract complaints were particularly prominent, mainly manifested in contract breaches, unfair contract terms and contract frauds.

In 2022, the domestic service and cosmetics industries had seen complaints soaring by 246.96% and 95.12% year on year, respectively.