Face masks have become a necessity for many people, but two lawmakers revealed yesterday that thousands of people found themselves cheated while trying to order the much-hailed N95 mask from an Internet retailer.
Five representatives of the victims attended a press conference held by DPP lawmakers Chiu Yeong-jen (
The retailer, known as "QQ Girl," began to sell surgical masks on the Web site 104beauty.com on May 8, when the nation was undergoing an acute shortage of surgical masks.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
QQ Girl sold each "N95 surgical mask" for NT$72, claiming that they were provided by the American Red Cross.
The victim's representatives said after they submitted orders to QQ Girl to purchase N95 surgical masks, the retailer told them on May 14 he (or she) would offer them the even higher quality N98 surgical masks rather than the products they intended to buy.
The victims, who wished to remain unnamed, said they sensed something was wrong with QQ Girl's behavior by the time. Some demanded the retailer return them the money but QQ Girl rejected the request.
When the purchasers received their order, they found the face masks were run-of-the-mill, similar to the ones they could easily purchase in pharmacies.
The normal face masks are not effectively anti-SARS and could not be sold higher than NT$18 each, as per new government regulations.
Victim representatives exhibited a photocopy of QQ Girl's ad on 104beauty.com which to promote surgical masks in the press conference.
"QQ has attempted to secure some respirators to help people. We are not taking advantage of our national crisis to get rich but just want to help people," wrote the retailer.
"The masks were offered by a factory associated with the American Red Cross. We only provided 5,000 respirators. A US test has proven the respirators can bar 98% of viruses away. The New York Times once reported on the product," QQ Girl continued.
Victims informed the police off the fraud. The police, however, told them the incident was a consumption dispute and asked them to seek help from the Cabinet-level Consumer Protection Commission and Fair Trade Commission.
When the victims contacted the commissions, they were told the event was a fraud case and that they should report the deception to the police.
The victims finally sought help from the lawmakers because no governmental agencies were willing to handle the case.
Chiu and Shieh invited officials from the commissions and the National Police Administration (NPA) to join the press conference to explain how they will cope with such fraud.
The Web site 104beauty.com, on the other hand, said it is not responsible for any consumer disputes taking place on the Web because it was only offering a place for trade.
Chung Ching-yu (
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