Online problems top holiday complaints list

Shanghai's market watchdog received 4,380 complaints during the three-day New Year holiday, with clothing, food and Internet services topping the list, authorities said on Monday.

Of the total, 82 percent related to online purchases, up 13 percent from the same period last year, the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said.

The sudden cold wave and pandemic factors had triggered an online boom, the administration said, and most complaints concerned clothing and shoes, food and home furnishings bought online.

Over 320 complaints related to Internet services, a significant increase.

Clogged operation of eSports and online games, blocked games accounts, lost eSports inventory items and loss of virtual assets angered players, the administration said.

There were fewer complaints about transport, culture and entertainment, catering and accommodation, and tourism during the holiday.

Some 55 percent of all complaints were about after-sales services and contract fulfilment, up 6 percent, and there was a surge of complaints about repairs to home appliances triggered by the sudden chill, the administration said.

Complaints about product quality were down to 19 percent of the total.

Market watchdogs in the Yangtze River Delta region received 13,737 complaints during the holiday, with 67 percent of them related to online purchases.

The majority concerned clothing and shoes, food, home furnishings, Internet services and home appliances in terms of after-sales services, quality, fake promotions and charges.