Tourism, culture service complaints up in 1st half

Consumer complaints about culture, entertainment, fitness and tourism services surged in the first half of this year, the Shanghai Consumer Council said yesterday.

Specifically, the council received 1,817 complaints related to culture and entertainment services between January and June, up 74.2 percent from the same period last year.

Most complaints were related to orders, seat selection, account management and after-sales services, according to the council. Officials attributed the rise in complaints to the growth of ticketing channels and an increase in online sales.

Failure to return already issued tickets, price discrepancies and extra service charges for ticket refunds drew the ire of many consumers, according to the council.

The council also received 2,419 complaints against fitness services, represent a 52.5 percent increase.

These complaints touched upon issues like contract loopholes, exaggerated promotions, high service charges and refund troubles, the council said.

Tourism services drew 5,535 complaints in the first six months, up 129 percent year on year. High fees to change or return air tickets, disappointing services, cancellations, and schedule delays were frequent subjects of complaint, according to the council.

In total, the council received 81,442 complaints in the first half, up 8.8 percent from last year. Of these, 30,308, or 37.2 percent of the total, were related to products, with home appliances, clothing and vehicles topping the list.

Online shopping remained a hotbed of grumbling, with product quality, after sales services, delivery, fake products, refunds and false promotions among the most common issues reported to the council.