Telecom companies were the focus of consumer complaints last year, according to a recent Consumers' Foundation survey.
Last year the consumer protection group received a total of 11,288 complaints, of which 827 were telecom service-related, followed by 486 disputes regarding bank services.
"With many new telecom sector services [compared to other industries], both service providers and consumers are still trying to figure out suitable market practices," said Cheng Jen-Hung (
Telecom services include mobile phone services, Internet services as well as long-distance calling services.
He added that as competition in that market is tough, companies often run ads that the public find hard to comprehend.
For instance, many consumers frequently complained about unclear charges on their mobile phones or international bills.
"Most users don't know the discount rates only apply to certain time slots, because the ads don't make it clear," Cheng said.
In addition, with an increasing number of Internet companies starting to offer online shopping or online gaming services, the Consumers' Foundation expects more disputes to emerge from this sector, he added.
As for the banking sector, consumers were particularly peeved with credit card services.
"Consumers didn't feel very comfortable using plastic money with credit card fraud running rampant," Cheng said.
In September of last year, three employees of the Financial Information Service Co (FISC,
More than 1 million card numbers were leaked, resulting in at least NT$3 billion in unauthorized charges on consumers' cards, according to Chinese-language media reports.
Cheng added that over the past year, other bank-related disputes the foundation handled involved credit card holders who were levied high interest rates or charged for products they didn't buy.
Rounding out the next three sectors in the list were insurance services, vehicle purchases and recreational services such as fitness centers and spas.
Consumer complaints rose 36 percent last year over the previous year from 8,309 to 11,288 cases.
"The increase demonstrated consumers are more aware of their rights and turned to public groups for protection," Cheng said.
"We are glad to see the public's reaction ? in an effort to build a better marketplace, we need consumers to let companies know right from wrong," he added.
Cheng also urged companies to put consumer protection as their top priority.
"As market competition continues to grow, only companies building strong and trustworthy relationships with consumers can win the game in the long run," he stressed.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
RSS