Beijing Consumers Association: cross-border E-commerce has become a severely-afflicted area for sales of counterfeit health care food products

 

As indicated by the statistical data of complaints handled by China Consumers Association, complaints of health care food reached 2389 cases, with quality problems (903 cases) and false propaganda (436 cases) accounting for the largest proportion. In addition, complaints about medical equipment, health care products, traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese patent medicines also hold a higher proportion.
 
Beijing
Failure to retain an operative receipts may cause difficult problem for handling
In Beijing area, as indicated in the statistics of complaints about food products during the first half of last year released by Beijing Consumer Association, complaints about health care products ranked first in the food products-related complaints, accounting for 9.15% of the total complaints about food products, and the complaints about false propaganda accounted for 26.09% of health care product-related complaints. In this category of complaint, most elderly consumers are deceived. By grasping the mentality of paying attention to health among the elderly, in the name of health lectures, compulsory medical examination, guarantee to cure all diseases other exaggerated propaganda, and the utilization of discount, prizes, gifts and other means, some unscrupulous operators seize the opportunity to ballyhoo, peddle health care products and even pass off ordinary food as health care food products.
As pointed out by Beijing Consumer Association, although the complaints and queries about health care products remain high, yet there are few cases truly accepted due to the unclear subject of defendant, failure to retain operative receipts and other evidences. Even if cases are accepted, yet it is very difficult to request a full refund, let alone compensations, due to the difficulty in determining the responsibility for the quality of health care products which tend to be ineffective, yet have no obvious harmful effect. By taking the complaints about exaggerated propaganda and advertisements in the marketing process of health care products, it is difficult for consumers to provide the evidences of exaggerated advertising, since word of mouth recommendation and other means are mostly adopted by merchants.
Nationwide
Counterfeit articles of health care food products are sold via remote shopping platform
It is noteworthy that remote shopping represented by online shopping and TV shopping has also become a field where consumer complaints are prone to occur. In 2015, National Consumers Association accepted 20083 cases of complaints about remote shopping, accounting for 69.86% of sales and service complaints. Cross-border online shopping has become a severely-afflicted area of online shopping complaints, and proliferation of counterfeit commodities is one of the main reasons. As a result, some well-known health care food manufacturers and consumers are deeply hurt.
According to Amway (China), it previously entrusted a third party inspection and accreditation agency to carry out sampling and testing of Amway products sold on China's largest e-commerce platform, and the results show that 46% are counterfeit products. According to the briefing, in June 2015, Amway worked with the Public Security Department from, Chaonan District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province and cracked down a den where counterfeit Amway protein powder are packaged and distributed. There are 416 finished products of counterfeit Amway protein powder are sized at the site, together with a batch of semi-finished products and packaging materials. The total value involved in this case amounted to RMB 2.22 million.
 [Case]
In last May, 77-year-old aunt Zhao heard that health care lectures would be held by the neighborhood organization, and there would be five famous hospital experts who provide volunteer medical consultation. For this reason, she came to a grand hotel to attend the lectures on schedule. "Experts" fervently took her blood pressure, pulse, wrote out a prescription, and also guarantee the curative effect. The said medical staffs enthusiastically sent "Medicine" to her home and charged RMB 2700 before they left. When she opened the package, finding that the so called "Medicine" was merely soft capsule health care products produced by a biotechnology company. Unexpectedly, allergy symptoms appeared in her body after she took such medicine. Afterwards, she was diagnosed as a rash in the hospital. When aunt Zhao argued with the salesmen who sold her this medicine, that gay persuaded her to go on taking such medicine. Aunt Zhao was so angry that she become out of breath. However, such gay refused to receive phone calls from aunt Zhao. Finally, thanks to the mediation of consumer association, the operator called back the remaining health care products, and refunded RMB 2250.