VietNamNet Bridge – Online shopping businesses that require customers to pay before goods are delivered pose risks for the public, according to the HCM City-based Anti-Trade Fraud and Consumer Support Association (AFCA).

The group's standing vice Chairman Phan Minh Nhut said that consumer rights violations relating to online shopping were on the rise.

From last year to this month, the association alone received over 250 complaints, of which 91 were solved.

Meanwhile, from 2006 to 2010, AFCA's precursor - Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper's Anti-Counterfeit and Customer Rights Protection Club - received about 500 complaints

Most of the complaints were about automobiles, motorbikes and goods purchased via online shopping sites that posted misleading advertisements, discounts or promotions to cheat customers.

Nhut said many consumers were too trusting, and therefore easily ripped off when asked to pay for some goods in advance.
In such cases, consumers who have been cheated but do not have a receipt for their payment face little chance of getting their money back.

In some cases, customers have had receipts but have failed to read the fine print of a deal or promotion on offer, said Nhut.

He gave an example of a customer who paid VND20 million (US$960) in advance to buy a car that she saw advertised online by the "agency of an automobile importer". However, after three days, she found that she had lost her money as the agency was not real.

AFCA general secretary Nguyen Tuong Minh said public awareness on customer rights was still limited, even though the Law on Customer Rights Protection took effect in July last year.

Minh noted that a Government decision on fines for violations on consumer rights took effect this month, and businesses now face fines for consumer rights violations as high as VND70 million ($3,360). However, independent surveys showed that few enterprises were aware of the new regulations.

The new regulations also require suppliers of necessities such as water, electricity, cable television, and mobilephone and fixed phones services must register so that their businesses can be supervised by authorised offices. Violators would be fined from VND10 million ($480) to VND70 million ($3,360).

Customers should not hand over money without getting a receipt, invoice and warranty, said Minh, adding that customers need to be especially careful when buying online from sites located at domain names ".com" as these addresses do not come under the responsibilities of local authorities.

Minh also encouraged customers to report violations related to substandard products and a lack of proper warranties.

He said customers can easily download sample forms for complaints on the association's homepage. To make a complaint, fill out the form and send it to the association together with other related documents.

The association would work with the involved companies to solve the complaint after seven days, he said.

Joining hands with enterprises to fight fake goods, customers should require invoices or receipts, he said, adding that violators could falsify warranty papers but would be punished more strictly if found to have falsified invoices.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News