Complaints filed involved issues such as the inability to return products, delays resulting in fines and missing packages
Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog recorded 17,000 complaints linked to online shopping last year, accounting for about 40 per cent of all cases, with problems including an inability to return products, delays that caused fines and loss of packages.
The Consumer Council also revealed on Thursday that 148 online shopping complaints related to logistics services were received between January and July in 2024, which nearly doubled to 279 this year over the same period.
One such complaint involved a defective computer monitor, valued at 1,650 yuan (US$230), that could not be returned, despite the mainland Chinese e-commerce platform advertising a local return service in Hong Kong.
The complainant initially brought the product back to the logistics provider’s service point in Fo Tan as per the local return policy and received her HK$72 delivery fee refund. But she was told her product was “ineligible” for local return service, prompting her to file a complaint with the platform.
