Losing money because of Chinese goods 'disguised' as Korean or Japanese

According to the Competition Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), consumers when buying online need to be wary of tricks of selling Chinese goods but advertising them as Korean, American, or Japanese goods.

In Vietnam, over the past 5 years, online shopping has become increasingly popular. E-commerce platforms offer a wide variety of products and flexible payment methods, allowing consumers to shop online quickly and conveniently.

However, according to complaint data in 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 from the Competition Management Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, violations of consumer rights in online shopping occur quite frequently.

Violations of consumer rights in online shopping occur quite frequently.

Typical issues reported and complained about include: Wrong product delivery, products with different specifications than advertised on the website; slow delivery; missing promotional items; damaged products delivered but not taken back; incorrect price posting (typically posting a very cheap price and then canceling the consumer's order), vouchers that cannot be used even though they are still valid, no invoice provided... In particular, there is a situation of fake origin, products without labels/labels stating they are made in China even though they are advertised as Korean, American, or Japanese products.

The above complaints still occur because consumers are not provided with complete information about products and services. Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Consumer Protection clearly stipulates one of the rights of consumers: "To be provided with accurate and complete information about organizations and individuals trading in goods and services; the content of transactions of goods and services; the origin and source of goods". However, there are still situations where organizations and individuals trading in goods and services deceive or confuse consumers.

As the Internet continues to grow, online shopping is increasingly becoming the choice of many consumers. However, this form of shopping is fraught with many risks, so consumers need to set up their own “barriers” to avoid being scammed.

To truly benefit from online shopping, consumers need to research and learn carefully about this form of shopping. Consumers can refer to the following notes from the Competition Management Department:

- You should buy products from reputable websites, licensed to operate, with clear contact information (address, phone number, tax code...).

- Read the website's terms and conditions carefully, especially those regarding warranties, returns, refunds, and delivery.

- Learn carefully about the product/service before buying: consumers can search for information about the product/service on the internet such as: origin, features, reviews of the product/service to avoid buying poor quality products/services.

- Be wary of requests for information from strange websites such as: full name, phone number, date of birth, address, hobbies, medical history... These may be websites that use consumer information against the law, causing inconvenience to consumers or even stealing consumers' financial information.

- Be wary of strange websites/social media accounts that advertise products/services at very low prices or big promotions, asking consumers to provide information and share the program.

- Beware of notices about winning vouchers to buy the company's products, according to which the voucher is usually worth less than the value of the product, the consumer must pay an additional amount. However, when receiving the product, the product is often worth less than the amount of money the consumer spent. Be similarly wary of notices of winning and the consumer must pay taxes/fees to receive the product.

T.Huong /Tin Tuc Newspaper