Press here to Skip to the main content
Font Size
Default Font Size Larger Font Size Largest Font Size RSS Subscription Advanced Search Sitemap Mobile/Accessible Version 繁體 简体
Buyer beware

Buyer beware:  Customs officers display a pamphlet series that aims to educate consumers about common unfair commercial practices.

Misleading practice

Misleading practice:  The Customs special duties team is targeting dispensaries that pass off look-alike products to customers who are looking for the genuine famous brand.

Trade law curbs unfair practices

July 14, 2014

Both consumers’ and traders’ awareness of unscrupulous trade practices have increased since the amended Trade Description Ordinance came into effect a year ago, the Customs & Excise Department says.

 

The amended law bans misleading or non-factual advertising and unfair commercial practices, to ensure that trade descriptions of goods and services are clear and accurate. A wave of publicity followed its implementation and appears to have had an impact.

 

The department sees two encouraging signs: Consumers are lodging complaints when they feel they have been wronged, and traders are curbing unscrupulous practices.

 

Trade-practice complaints rose abruptly after the amended law came into force. From last July until mid-June, Customs had received 4,471 complaints from consumers. About three-quarters of them related to goods, mostly food and electronics. The services complaints were mostly related to travel and beauty sectors.



Many of the complaints were repeat reports, and some did not include sufficient information. Customs has investigated about 1,000 cases, most involving false trade descriptions and misleading omissions. It successfully prosecuted 18 cases, and three offenders were sentenced to jail or fined.

 

To comply with the law, traders are providing clearer and more honest messages. Travel agencies now avoid using the phrase “tours depart daily” in their promotions if, in fact, they depart only when a minimum number of people have signed up for a tour.

 

Published air ticket prices now state whether or not they include airport tax and surcharges, and tutorial centres provide the number of students who have achieved top marks instead of exaggerating their claims to being the “best” without any supporting data.

 

Undercover research

Last year, Customs set up a special duties team with 27 officers to deal with complicated cases or cases which required officers to work undercover, posing as customers.

 

Superintendent of Customs Liu Ping-tong, the team’s leader, said it mainly targets shops selling dried seafood and medicinal goods that advertise prices without a measure unit such as per catty or tael; dispensaries using suspected false descriptions in passing off look-alike products as genuine brand-name medicinal products; and companies selling travel club memberships that use misleading information or coercion.

 

Some crafty dried seafood traders have put the measurement unit on their price tags – but in tiny text, so customers could still be duped, Mr Liu said.

 

Forewarned is forearmed. The department has published pamphlets to educate consumers about common unfair commercial practices, particularly in sales of beauty-treatment packages, restaurant group discounts, and gym memberships, to protect them from becoming targets.

 

Consumers who have a trade-practice complaint can call the Customs hotline, 2545 6182.



Top
Active Overseas ATM Services