Telecom products and services topped the Consumers' Founda-tion's list of consumer gripes last year, the head of the foundation said yesterday.
"The public's shopping preference changed a lot in 2001, with popular telecom products and services generating the most issues," said Yu Ming-kuo (
Yu added that, in the last two decades, this is the first time the telecom sector topped the list, with 708 complaints.
"As the [telecom] industry expanded rapidly last year, tough competition spurred a wide variety of new promotional schemes and, subsequently, disputes arose," Yu said.
In that category, the public was the most dissatisfied with defective handsets and confusing phone rates.
Established in 1980, the private foundation has annually compiled and publicized consumer complaints for more than 20 years.
In 2001, it received about 80,000 telephone inquiries and 5,697 written complaints requiring further investigation, up slightly from 5,685 in 2000.
Rounding out the next five slots on the list were disputes over life insurance services, door-to-door sales of books and magazines, automobiles, real estate as well as banking services.
Credit card fraud accounts for nearly one-third of bank-related issues, leaving the public uneasy about using plastic, Yu said.
Interestingly, following last year's poor economic climate, real estate dropped to No. 5 after topping the list for the last decade.
"As the economy seems poised to rebound this year, real estate gripes might increase as well ? the best way to deal with the issue is to read between the lines of contracts," Yu said.
Meanwhile, another senior foundation official pointed out a potential new area for controversy this year.
"I estimate the number of complaints about online games and online shopping will jump significantly this year," said Mark Chang (
The nation's Internet connection services developed quite fast, while government regulators have been hard-pressed to keep up, he stressed. "As more users pay for online services the issue will be more critical," he said.
Chang also urged the government to enact Internet related laws as soon as possible, such as setting official contracts for online game operators.
Meanwhile, life insurance is another sector where consumers have to be more careful.
"Since many sales staff are unlikely to reveal all premium details before consumers sign contracts, the insured might not be able to get fair compensation," Chang said.
Insurance companies must better train their sales staff and ask them to be specific on the details.
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