China Consumer Association: Complaints related to new energy vehicles have increased significantly in 2021

IT Home news on January 29, according to the statistics of complaints accepted by the National Consumer Association, in 2021, the National Consumer Association accepted a total of 1,044,861 consumer complaints, an increase of 6.37% year-on-year, resolved 836,072 cases, and resolved 80.02% of the complaints, saving 1,515.92 million yuan for consumers.

Among them, there were 10,675 complaints of double compensation for fraudulent acts of business operators, and the amount of double compensation was 11.81 million yuan. Received 1.31 million consumer visits and inquiries throughout the year.

In addition, there were 491,040 complaints about commodities, accounting for 47.00% of the total complaints, and 41,624 complaints about automobiles and auto parts, accounting for 3.98%.

The China Consumer Association said that the number of complaints about automobiles and auto parts has increased significantly, and the gradual promotion and ownership of new energy vehicles continue to increase, and in 2021, complaints related to new energy vehicles have increased significantly, and it is difficult to prove and protect rights.

With the gradual promotion and ownership of new energy vehicles, related complaints have gradually increased. The main problems of consumer complaints are: First, the safety problems of new energy vehicles, such as driving power outages, spontaneous combustion of cars, and failure of automatic driving systems. Second, the battery quality problems are prominent, such as charging failures. Third, the mileage is shrinking, especially in the winter low temperature, the endurance loss is fast. The fourth is not to fulfill promises, such as publicizing the use of high-performance chips, but this is not the case. Fifth, the price change caused controversy, consumers just signed the contract has not yet picked up the car, the purchased model will reduce the price, or launch the same price but higher performance configuration of the product, resulting in consumer dissatisfaction. Sixth, for the sold models, modify the online promotional materials and instructions at will. Seventh, the supporting after-sales service system, maintenance outlets, maintenance technicians, etc. cannot meet the needs of high-speed growth of new energy vehicles, affecting consumers' experience and after-sales satisfaction. Eighth, the issue of car data storage and provision has aroused widespread concern. With the improvement of the intelligence of new energy vehicles, the relevant data is monopolized and refused to be provided by manufacturers, and disputes have arisen.

For example, in July 2021, Ms. Song, a consumer, complained to the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Commission of Lucheng District, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, that her electric vehicle spontaneously combusted while charging, and the consumer believed that the electric vehicle sold by the 4S store had quality problems and demanded compensation. After mediation by the Lucheng District Consumer Protection Commission, the two sides reached an agreement that the 4S store refunded 96,800 yuan of car purchase money, subsidized 20,000 yuan for burned items in the car, gave 16,000 yuan of lost work subsidies and 30,000 yuan of mental damage compensation, a total of 162,800 yuan.

For another example, on September 19, 2021, consumer Ms. Wang pre-purchased a pure electric vehicle at a new energy vehicle 4S store in Suzhou, and the model was a green version of the mechanical brake. Ms. Wang paid the deposit, and the two parties signed a vehicle pre-sale contract, but the delivery date column in the contract was blank. A month later, Ms. Wang contacted the 4S shop to deliver the balance and pick up the car, but the 4S shop told Ms. Wang that due to the manufacturer's adjustment of production, the model ordered by Ms. Wang had been discontinued and was now upgraded to an electronic handbrake, and only cyan, the upgraded model needed Ms. Wang to pay an additional 3,000 yuan to pick up the car. Ms. Wang believed that the 4S store was in breach of contract and demanded that the car be picked up as agreed or the deposit be refunded and the loss compensated. 4S Shop disagrees. Ms. Wang then complained to the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Committee of Suzhou Municipality, Jiangsu Province. After repeated mediation by the Suzhou Municipal Consumer Protection Commission, Ms. Wang purchased a new model at a small markup, and the complaint was resolved.

For another example, on September 29, 2021, Mr. Zhang, a consumer in Hubei Province, complained that he spent 200,000 yuan to buy a brand of new energy vehicles, and claimed that he could charge once and have a range of 510 kilometers, but the cruising range when the consumer actually used it was only 300 kilometers. Consumers believe that there is false publicity and complain and ask for help. After the local consumer coordination solution, the operator replaced the battery for the consumer.

【Opinions of the Consumer Association】

To solve the difficulty of safeguarding the rights of new energy vehicles, the operators have the main responsibility. First, we must pay close attention to product safety, especially to strengthen the data security, network security, software upgrades, and functional safety of intelligent and connected vehicles, strengthen the risk notification and quality control of auxiliary automatic driving, and ensure the safety of consumers' personal and property. Second, it is necessary to truthfully and comprehensively inform the product situation, fairly and reasonably agree on the rights and responsibilities of both parties, and do not exaggerate or falsely publicize. Third, we must earnestly implement the obligation to deliver qualified products, assume contractual responsibilities, and fulfill the commitments made. Fourth, we must protect consumers' right to know data. Automobile data is an important certificate for consumer rights protection, and consumers have the right to know, consult and obtain raw data related to themselves without tampering. Fifth, we must do a good job in after-sales service, fully respect consumers, humbly listen to consumer opinions, face up to their own problems, actively and properly handle relevant complaints, and put an end to delay, bullying, coercion and intimidation. In addition, the new three guarantees of automobile regulations are officially implemented, and automobile operators should conscientiously study the new regulations, update the three guarantees policy in a timely manner, strengthen the training of enterprise employees, and implement the three guarantees regulations in place.

(2) Intelligent customer service is not "smart"

With the development of artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies, some companies have successively launched intelligent customer service in order to reduce costs, replacing manual customer service, but intelligent customer service has also led to new consumer disputes. The main problems of consumer complaints are: First, intelligent customer service cannot actually solve the problem, answer non-asked questions or repeat the cycle. The second is to provide only intelligent customer service, not to provide manual customer service, such as shared charging treasures, drink vending machines and other intelligent equipment failure, can not timely and effective contact human customer service. Third, it is difficult for intelligent customer service to manual customer service to connect, the queue is long, and consumers are forced to communicate online. Fourth, the intelligent customer service entrance is hidden, difficult to find, or complex to operate, and not friendly enough to elderly consumers.

For example, Mr. Jin, a consumer in Nanjing, purchased 2 barrels of edible oil at the official flagship store of a platform during the "Double 11" period, and found that there was only 1 barrel when receiving the goods. Consumers immediately contacted customer service and uploaded photos to request reissues, but they did not receive reissues until December. During the period, Mr. Jin continued to contact customer service, but intelligent customer service could not solve the problem, and manual customer service was difficult to connect. Mr. Jin complained to the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Commission, asking the merchant to replenish the goods and make a reasonable explanation. After mediation by the staff of the Consumer Protection Commission, the person in charge of the flagship store arranged a reissue for the consumer and apologized by phone.

For another example, on July 7, 2021, the consumer Mr. Pang rented a certain brand of charging treasure, and after returning, the device showed that it had been returned, and prompted the cost of 6 yuan, the consumer observed more than 10 seconds after the device had no other prompts, the charging treasure did not pop up, and the consumer left. After 3 days, the consumer received a notice that 199 yuan was deducted, and repeatedly contacted the customer service of the merchant, who said that he could not confirm whether to return it. On the 21st, the consumer called customer service again, and the customer service said that the charging treasure was returned successfully on the same day, and the previous deduction could not be processed. After being handled by the Shenzhen Municipal Consumer Commission, the two parties reached a settlement.

Intelligent customer service is the product of technological progress, operators in the use of technical means to reduce repetitive labor, improve the popularity of services at the same time, should also pay attention to effective communication with consumers, effectively solve consumer problems. Consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods purchased or used or the services received. Providing after-sales service is a legal obligation of business operators, and business operators shall provide convenient means of communication to facilitate consumers to communicate with them and listen to consumers' opinions on the goods or services they provide. Can not pre-sales "manual", after-sales "intelligent", and even under the guise of intelligent customer service, deliberately create communication barriers, block consumers from contacting operators, refuse to assume due obligations and responsibilities.

Cross-border online shopping is more problematic

Affected by the epidemic, consumers cannot go abroad to consume, and online overseas shopping has become the main channel for purchasing foreign goods. The main problems of consumer complaints are: First, after-sales service problems. For example, after-sales negative treatment, non-performance of warranty commitments, etc. The second is the quality problem. For example, the overseas products purchased by consumers do not match the offline counters. The third is the problem of counterfeiting. For example, three no products, old to new, shoddy and so on. The fourth is the problem of false propaganda. For example, exaggerating product efficacy and function. Fifth, the problem of measurement. For example, the actual quantity does not match the label. Sixth, the cross-border shopping logistics cycle is long, and the goods received even exceed the shelf life. Seventh, domestic shopping platforms divert cross-border channels and refuse to take responsibility. Eighth, the problem of small programs in duty-free shops, such as poor return and replacement of goods, unfulfilled publicity and preferential treatment, lost parts of logistics goods, and inaccurate measurement of points.

For example, in early May 2021, consumers purchased cosmetics on a cross-border online platform and shipped them to China through a cross-border e-commerce logistics co., LTD. in Shenzhen, and did not receive the relevant goods until September 8, 2021, but the product packaging box indicated that it was valid for September 2021, and some of the goods purchased out of the box had expired when the goods were received. Subsequent consumers contacted the logistics company to claim claims, and the person in charge of the logistics company said that the validity period of the product packaging was invalid, and the results of the third-party software cosmetics batch number inquiry were subject. After that, the logistics company refused to compensate for various reasons, and in desperation, consumers complained to the Shenzhen Municipal Consumer Commission and demanded compensation. After mediation, the logistics company compensates the consumer.

Another example, in August 2021, Ms. Fei, a consumer, complained to the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Committee of Wuxing District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, that she ordered a set of cosmetics on a newly launched App in a shopping mall, according to relevant introductions, the products on the shelves of the App are all Haitao products, the price is lower than the shopping mall counter, and the system handled an automatic refund for it in September without giving any explanation, Ms. Fei thought it was unreasonable, so she complained to the Wuxing District Consumer Protection Commission. After mediation by the staff of the Consumer Protection Commission, the staff of the mall apologized to the consumer and provided the product according to the order price.

For another example, in November 2021, consumers complained to the Shenzhen Municipal Consumer Commission that they purchased skin care products on a duty-free group Mini Program, and the home page of the Mini Program advertised that "Double Eleven" could use a preferential expansion coupon of 1,000 yuan minus 200 yuan. After placing an order in the early morning of November 11, the consumer found that the coupon was only deducted 100 yuan, which was inconsistent with the advertisement, so he applied for a refund, but the Mini Program did not have an online refund application channel. After contacting customer service during the day on the 11th, consumers were told that the online refund application channel has been developed, and consumers can apply for refunds and re-take pictures of the goods. After the consumer applied for a refund, but received the product that had requested a refund on November 14, he contacted customer service to return the refund and was rejected, so he complained. After supervision, the operator handled the return refund for the consumer, and the two sides settled.

Cross-border e-commerce platforms engage in various types of business activities, such as third-party platforms and direct procurement and self-operation. Under the third-party platform model, a sales contract relationship is established between consumers and overseas merchants, and the platform matches transactions. Under the direct procurement and self-operation model, consumers and cross-border e-commerce platforms establish a sales contract relationship. In addition, some domestic online shopping platforms have diverted cross-border channels and developed overseas shopping business. From the perspective of business operators' responsibilities, first, domestic online shopping drainage platforms, cross-border e-commerce platforms, and operators within the platforms shall clearly perform their notification obligations, and disclose their respective responsibilities, relevant risks, return and replacement methods and procedures, and application of law in a conspicuous manner. Second, where the direct procurement and self-operation model is adopted, the cross-border e-commerce platform shall bear the responsibility of the commodity seller or service provider in accordance with the law, and should not obscure the business entity, mislead consumers or prevaricate the responsibility. Third, where a third-party platform model is used to operate, the cross-border e-commerce platform shall strictly review the true situation and operating qualifications of the business operators on the platform, perform the statutory responsibilities and obligations of the platform, strengthen the management of transaction behavior within the platform, severely punish false publicity, counterfeiting and shoddy and other infringements, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Fourth, domestic online shopping drainage platforms, cross-border e-commerce platforms, and operators within the platform should actively assist in handling complaints, providing relevant evidence, and properly resolving consumer demands. From the perspective of consumers, there are many risks in cross-border online shopping, consumers should be careful to choose the transaction object, fully understand the status and reputation of the merchant, especially through personal overseas purchasing, to ask more about the shopping-related situation, do not easily deliver the deposit, or private transfer. It is necessary to pay attention to the preservation of chat records, transaction information, etc., and can ask the purchaser to provide shopping vouchers, such as cashier documents, payment screenshots, contact information of the seller, logistics and transportation certificates, etc., so as to facilitate possible rights protection in the future.

Live streaming still needs to be regulated

Because of its interactive and other characteristics, live streaming has become an important way of online shopping, because the anchor has a low entry threshold, the live streaming with goods is diverse, and the infringement of consumer rights and interests occurs from time to time. The main problems of consumer complaints are: First, the goods are not on the right board, with false and genuine, shoddy, and the "three noes" products have become "Internet celebrity explosions". The second is false propaganda. Some anchors wantonly exaggerate the efficacy of products, and some use exaggerated acting skills to declare that "jump prices" and "only 100 groups", in fact, these preferential prices and quantities are fictitious anchors; some anchors fabricate false plots to sell tragic goods, using the public's sympathy and goodwill to sell low-quality goods. Third, after-sales service is difficult to guarantee. It is difficult to return and exchange goods, and refuse to bear the after-sales responsibility. Fourth, the best price has moisture. For example, the anchor claims that the goods he sells are the lowest price on the whole network, but the promised price is not the lowest price by the consumer. Fifth, some valuable items such as jade gold have low prices and lower quality, and even use false product identification certificates to deceive consumers. Sixth, some anchors use vulgar language and even insult consumers. Seventh, some live broadcast marketing platforms neglect to manage or even allow the infringement of live broadcast room operators and live broadcast marketers, and the punishment they adopt is low, failing to help consumers protect their rights, resulting in obstruction of consumer rights protection.

For example, on January 1, 2021, consumer Ms. Wu watched the live broadcast of a certain anchor's jade bracelet on the live broadcast platform and purchased a custom bracelet with a total price of 38906 yuan. On January 4, the merchant notified Ms. Wu that the finished product was out and sent the video photo to Ms. Wu. After watching it, Ms. Wu believed that the color and transparency of the finished jadeite were very inconsistent with the description of the anchor at the time, so she negotiated the return but was rejected by the merchant on the grounds that "the customized product has no quality problems and will not be returned", ms. Wu refused to accept the goods after several negotiations without results, so she complained to the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Committee of Zhuji City, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. After mediation, both parties took a step back, and the merchant deducted 2,000 yuan of customized fees and refunded 36,906 yuan to the consumer.

For another example, on October 27, 2021, consumer Li complained to the China Consumers Association, saying that he watched the live broadcast on the online shopping platform on August 29 and clicked on the link to jump to the online store and purchased a foreign brand Jachua bucket women's bag. After receiving the goods, the consumer found that its appearance was inconsistent with the products displayed in the original live broadcast, and there were problems in the use of the hardware equipped with the bag, and suspected that the bag was not genuine. After consulting the brand's physical counter, the reply is that there are many obvious differences between the online shopping bag and the genuine product. Consumers communicate with merchants, who refuse to admit to selling fakes and have a tough attitude. After repeated communication without results, consumers complained to the online shopping platform, and the platform let consumers negotiate with merchants on their own. Consumers are worried that if they take the "return refund" method, they may not get a refund, and the fake goods will be sold again, so they propose "refund without return", but the merchant refuses. After mediation, the merchant refunded the purchase price to the consumer.

For another example, in March 2021, consumer Mr. Deng bought a well-known brand women's bag in the live broadcast room of a direct store of an online shopping platform. After receiving the goods, it was found that the defects were serious, and the folds on the front and back sides were serious. After a week of communication with customer service, the merchant will not refund, only give 100 yuan compensation, the remaining 1413 yuan will not be compensated. After mediation by the local consumer association, the platform handled the return refund for the consumer.

Laws and regulations such as the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, the E-commerce Law, the Advertising Law, and the Measures for the Administration of Online Live BroadcastIng Marketing (Trial Implementation) clearly regulate online sales behavior, and relevant business entities should perform their statutory obligations and responsibilities. First, live marketing platforms should strengthen the obligation of review and management. Strengthen the disclosure of entity information for live broadcast room operators and operators within the platform, preventing the establishment of multiple accounts, confusing the identity of the subject, and evading legal responsibility and administrative supervision. Second, live broadcast marketing platforms should increase the management of the behavior of live broadcast operators, live broadcast marketers, and anchors, take effective measures to stop false publicity, misery and inducements, counterfeiting, vulgarity, insults and other infringements, and actively assist consumers in safeguarding their rights. Third, anchors and live broadcast marketers should respect the majority of consumers, strengthen codes of conduct, emphasize taste and style, stress responsibility, transmit correct values to the society in the process of marketing, create a honest and healthy consumer atmosphere, and promote the benign development of the network economy.

Express delivery services need to be improved

Online shopping has led to the rapid development of the express delivery business, but its safety, timeliness and standardization are still far from consumer demand. The main problems of consumer complaints are: first, the courier puts the courier into the express delivery cabinet or the door of the home without the consent of the consumer; second, after the consumer refuses to accept, the courier company forges the consumer to sign; third, after the express delivery is sent, it has not been delivered for many days, and the damage cannot be dealt with in time; the fourth is that the insurance terms are unfair, the insured claim is unreasonable, the amount of insurance is exaggerated, and the valuables are not reminded of the insured price; fifth, when the online shopping is returned, the inflammable and explosive goods such as lithium batteries cannot be sent back through express delivery, and the rights and interests of consumers are difficult to realize Sixth, the express delivery fee in remote areas is unknown, and the price increase can be received after arrival; the seventh is that the advertisement on the express delivery bill is flooded, and most of the free benefits are used as a gimmick to induce consumers to participate, and it is actually necessary to fill in personal information, and it is difficult to obtain benefits; eighth, after the dispute, consumers are threatened by the courier phone.

For example, on August 3, 2021, Ms. Qi, a consumer, complained to the Consumer Association of Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, saying that she spent a total of 402 yuan on freight and insured fees in July of that year, and entrusted a courier company to send the returned furniture from Wuhai City to an online merchant in Foshan, Guangdong Province, with an insured amount of 2,000 yuan. When the merchant received the goods for inspection, he found that the returned home was damaged, did not sign for it, and said that he could not refund the payment. So the consumer submitted a compensation request to the courier company, and the courier company said that it would negotiate compensation with the merchant, but the merchant said that Ms. Qi should communicate the claim with the courier company. After repeated supervision and mediation by the Wuhai Consumer Association, the courier company compensated Ms. Qi.

For another example, on November 15, 2021, the Consumer Committee of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, received a complaint from Ms. Guo, saying that she spent 801 yuan to buy a pair of trousers online in late October, found that the size was not suitable after arriving, and submitted a return application to the merchant, and on November 4, the trousers were sent back to Shanghai through express delivery, and paid 8 yuan of freight, and after 20 days, the merchant said that it had not yet been received. Consumers inquired through the official website of the express delivery and found that between November 4 and 14, the express delivery was returned four times in Jingmen and Wuhan, and it was not sent to Shanghai. After 14 days, the courier information was not updated, and the item was suspected of being lost, so he called the courier company's hotline twice, but did not get a response, so he complained to the Council. After mediation, the after-sales commissioner of the courier company apologized to Ms. Guo and compensated the equivalent price and freight of the goods totaling 809 yuan.