Complaints handled by consumer' associations from across the country have been assessed and six major difficulties identified that face China's consumer market.

Mobile phones: pleasant to the eye, but of little use

Last year, the number of complaints regarding the quality of mobile phones ranked first among those about all products, reported the China Consumers' Association. Complaints focused on sudden cuts in power, noisy lines, code failure and broken covers. Some mobile phones look impressive, but are actually worthless. The manufacturers' neglect of quality resulted in frequent problems.

Automobile safety

Sales of private cars accounted for over half the country's total automobile sales last year. But the number of complaints concerning the quality of automobiles rose 30 percent from the previous year, with those involving safety issues rising by two-thirds. Complaints included noisy engines, broken axles, oil leaks, ineffective clutches and brakes, and water dripping along cracks in windows and doors. All the problems present hidden dangers for consumers.

Exaggeration about health products

Consumers complain that some manufacturers and agents exaggerate the power of health products. Taking glossy products that contain ganoderma (Ganoderma lucidum) as an example, some manufacturers and agents have exceeded advertising guidelines by claiming cancer-fighting properties. They use medical terms in their advertising slogans that give the impression of greater therapeutic effects, and even claim that some products are medicines. Some illegally use the names of famous medical institutions and doctors to add credibility.

Tricky house-buying contracts

Some developers shirk their responsibilities by not using demonstration copies of contracts, or increase consumers' responsibilities by adding unfair clauses. Some force consumers to give down payments for "advance booking" but later seize the money unfairly for items previously not disclosed. Others deliberately change the structure and area of properties, simply ignore contract terms and delay issuance of property rights certificates.

Fake and inferior goods entrap farmers

In July 2004, a consumer association in Zhuozi County of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region received 3,800 complaints from farmers asserting that the corn seeds they bought from a local company had resulted in total crop failure of more than 4,500 mu (300 hectares) of farmland. Investigation showed the company had got the seeds mixed up.

Other complaints included poor quality of agricultural machines, mixing up of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and difficulties in claiming damages and bringing lawsuits.

Tricky short message service (SMS)

Consumers complain that some short message service operators and agents make money unscrupulously. For example, in lottery-attached contests, chat or interactive activities, consumers who reply to messages will automatically be regarded as monthly payment clients. Those who receive the message without replying also face charges, since SMS providers set a system where silence can mean tacit consent. Some consumers are even debited for nothing.

(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong, March 20, 2005)