The prohibition on unfair trade practices is going full steam ahead.
In the wake of the enactment of the newly amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) in July 2013, a total of 3,463 cases alleging unfair trade practices were brought to the Consumer Council for redress assistance.
This is in no small part due to the massive educational publicity generated collectively by the Government and the Council which has resulted positively in consumer awareness.
Visiting tourists, primarily from the Mainland, were particularly hard hit in the rash of unfair trade practices complaints, representing more than one-quarter (921 cases with 820 cases from Mainland visitors alone) of such complaint cases ( Table 1 ). Tourist complaints usually account for only around 10% of the Council's overall total complaints.
Furthermore, over 10% of the cases alleging unfair practices were levelled against medicine and Chinese herbal medicine shops that target mainly Mainland tourists.
TDO is therefore vital and of benefit in upholding the reputation of Hong Kong as a "shoppers' paradise" and enhance Hong Kong's image as a city that attaches great importance to consumer protection.
The statistics of the Council showed that the cases spread fairly evenly between goods- and services-related complaints at 1,811 and 1,652 cases respectively; this is at odds with the current trend of the services sector outnumbering the goods sector in consumer complaints. Understandably tourist complaints are related more to the purchase of goods rather than services, especially those domestic in nature ( Table 2 ).
While the full effect of TDO on consumer protection would only realize through time, the Council welcomes the heightened public awareness and vigilance against such malpractices in the marketplace.
The Council believes that this new regulatory regime in consumer protection can maintain consumer confidence and protect the interest of legitimate traders from the unfair competition that arises from delinquencies and, as a result, fairness in the marketplace.
Major allegations of Unfair Trade Practices
Most complaints (2,005 cases) of this nature involved alleged unfair practices concerning broadly with false trade descriptions of one kind or another - different problems in sales representation, advertisements or display notices that were purportedly false, misleading or exaggerated in the description of the related goods or services ( Table 3 ).
On the other hand, traders will find that a comprehensive set governing unfair trade practices will clarify their obligations and enhance their understanding as to compliance.
Top five complaint regarding sales practices
The top five culprits of these complaints together accounts for 43% of the total TDO related cases. They were: Medicine & Chinese Herbal Medicine (431 cases), Telecommunication Services (380 cases), Recreation / Health Clubs (240 cases), Foods & Entertainment Services (227 cases), and Telecommunication Equipment (210 cases) ( Table 4 ).
A breakdown of complaints in relation to these 5 sectors indicated that next to the most prominently alleged sales practices involving "False Trade Description", "Aggressive Commercial Practices" was another major alleged offense reported in the Medicine & Chinese Herbal Medicine as well as the Recreation / Health Club sectors ( Chart 5 ).
"Misleading Omissions", on the other hand, seemed to proliferate in the Medicine & Chinese Herbal Medicine and Telecom Services while "Wrongly Accepting Payment" was more common in Food & Entertainment Services and Telecom Equipment sectors.
A considerable number of cases involved allegation related to the newly-enacted offences "Aggressive Commercial Practices" (446 case); "Wrongly Accepting Payment" (396 cases) and "Misleading Omissions" (360 cases), reflecting the prevalence of these undesirable practices.
With the consent of the complainants, a number of the complaints (281 cases) were referred to the Customs and Excise Department for consideration of further investigation under TDO, and the rest for complaint resolution of the Council by conciliation.
It is hoped that the enforcement of the TDO provides a consistent legislative framework that is comprehensible and convenient for consumers to understand, and exercise, their legal rights against unfair trade practices.
The Council will continue to monitor the trend of consumer complaints to foster greater consumer awareness of any entrenched or nascent unfair trade practice in the marketplace, on the one hand, and to help enhance effective law enforcement, on the other.
Table 1 Complaints against unfair trade practices (July 2013 - June 2014)
Table 2 Complaints against unfair trade practices (July 2013 - June 2014)
Table 3 Alleged Nature of complaints concerning TDO (July 2013 - June 2014)
Table 4 Top five categories under complaint (July 2013 - June 2014)
Chart 5 Alleged nature of malpractices of the top five complaints (TDO cases only) (July 2013 - June 2014)