Consumer Complaints about Fake Products IncreasingConsumer complaints about fake and shoddy products took a lion's share of all complaints filed in the first quarter this year, although buyers spending enthusiasm seems to have recovered slightly.Gripes about substandard goods made up of 65 percent of all cases handled with the China Consumers' Association in the first three months, according to China Daily. The association handled 134,529 consumer complaints in the first quarter, down 30 percent from the last quarter of 1999. Low-quality daily necessities, food, services garnered most criticism, accounting for 33 percent, 20 percent and 13 percent of the total respectively, said Wang Qianhu, director of the association's complaint and legal affairs department. He also noted that the January-March period also witnessed 170 accidents caused by fake and shoddy products that resulted in five deaths, 92 injuries and an estimated economic loss of 1.3 million yuan (156,000 U.S. dollars). The majority of the accidents were caused by inferior bottled beers, construction materials and farm vehicles, the paper said. |
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