Mobile games prompted the most consumer complaints for the second consecutive year last year, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said on Tuesday.
The agency received 70,626 consumer complaints last year, a 5.44 percent drop from the previous year, but the third consecutive year in which complaints exceeded 70,000, it said.
There were 4,215 complaints about mobile games, most about allegations of arbitrary adjustments to game mechanics or windows to purchase virtual items, the committee said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
There were 3,323 complaints about the transportation industry, surging 825 from a year earlier and putting it second behind mobile games after it was not in the top five in 2021, it said.
Almost the entire increase was due to complaints about Foodpanda, the committee said.
There were 800 complaints in 10 days after the company on June 6 last year implemented a subscription charge without warning in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan and Hsinchu County, the committee said.
Foodpanda has changed its terms of service to refund the charge for people who did not make purchases of special deals in the seven days after they subscribed or renewed their subscription, the committee said, adding that the firm now includes subscription charges on its bills.
Complaints linked to garments, accessories and shoes totaled 3,085, with most about refund disputes in which vendors were accused of imposing a charge or refusing to accept returned products, it said.
There were 2,534 complaints about the food and restaurant industry, with the most common dispute related to charges and deposits incurred from wedding banquets that were canceled, rescheduled or relocated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
Gym users made 2,460 complaints, usually about attempts to cancel subscriptions during the pandemic or disputes stemming from gyms failing to replace coaches who quit, it said.
A standardized contract with clauses that forbid gym owners charging punitive or extra fees for termination of a subscription has been drafted, it added.
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