Consumers get new outlet for complaints

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce announced on Tuesday that the National Internet Platform of Consumer Dispute Resolution will go into operation on Wednesday, in a move to cater to consumers' growing need to complain.

The online platform marks a new era in Internet Plus governance, with the improved quality and efficiency of government services.

Tang Jun, deputy director of the SAIC, said with the thriving e-commerce sector, cross-border shopping and other new consumption patterns, there is a strong need for transformation of the traditional consumer complaint hotline 12315.

"The online platform and the traditional 12315 hotline will play different roles, providing convenient services for consumers.

"We will also use the big data to target changes in the market and then strengthen market supervision accordingly, creating a market environment featuring fairness and good faith."

The new platform allows consumers to complain or report to local regulatory authorities once they complete the required registration via PC or an app. With the support of the platform, local authorities can directly be informed and then deal with consumers' requests.

According to a report by the SAIC, industry and commerce authorities across the country handled more than 8 million consumer complaints and requests last year, growing 3.9 percent from 2015. Among the requests, more than 1.6 million cases were consumers' complaints, with a significant year-on-year increase of 29.1 percent.

Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the China Consumer Protection Law Society, said it is important to use new methods and big data to supervise the market.

"The booming internet economy created new business patterns, such as the sharing economy and internet finance," Chen said.

"Thus there is a lack of regulation in those new areas. To enhance the protection of consumers' rights, we now need to include those new patterns into regulatory systems."

"Enterprises should not regard economic growth as the only priority, or they will lose a bigger market share in the long run."

According to the SAIC, the platform will add more functions to settle inter-regional and cross-border consumer disputes by the end of 2017.

Contact the writers through ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn