In an effort to further enhance the protection of consumers' rights, the Consumers' Foun-dation (消基會) launched yesterday a new "blacklist" mechanism on its Web site, disclosing names of companies that did not fulfill their duties of protecting consumers.
"The aim of this blacklist site is to urge enterprises to take the rights of consumers seriously while aggressively promoting their businesses," said Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏), the foundation's secretary general.
"Consumers can refer to our blacklist for companies with unfavorable records in consumer protection before making purchases in order to protect themselves," Chen added.
The blacklist board, called the "Consumer Protection Farm" (消保牧場), which has disclosed nine cases regarding disputes over weight-loss products, beauty-treatment services and real estate services, can be found on the foundation's Chinese-language Web site (www.consumers.org.tw).
There are two companies that have two complaints included on the site. One is Chun Hun International Beauty Group (
Chun Hun sold over 600 beauty treatments to one consumer, at a cost of NT$1 million to NT$2 million, and refused to refund the unused treatments, worth nearly NT$700,000, while Hsin Ti Lai Hun did not offer customers the statutory 5-day period to check the contract and refused to return a NT$500,000 deposit.
Hsin Ti Lai Hun's behavior was also punished by the Fair Trade Commission with a fine of NT$1.5 million for it's violation of Article 24 of the Fair Trade Law (
The foundation deals with more than 6,000 complaints every year.
Significant complaint cases pertaining to infringement of life and health would be announced via a press conference, while the rest of the cases regarding financial loss will be revealed on the blacklist after verification.
Enterprises that do not improve their consumer protection mechanisms after consumers file complaints through the foundation will be placed on the blacklist, divided into four categories according to the degree of severity of the customer complaints.
Companies placed on the list still have chance to be removed, as long as they handle complaints with sincerity or ensure that they are taking steps to protect consumers.
"This disclosure mechanism can be taken as a milestone in consumer protection, achieved in only 10 years after the passage of the Consumer Protection Law," Cheng said.
"We hope to raise businesses' attention to the issue of consumer protection and achieve a win-win situation between consumers and businesses through the efforts we have been making," Cheng said.
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