Page 23 - FAIR TRADE COMMISSION 2023 ANNUAL REPORT

● Five beauty businesses adopted illegitimate means to market products
The Commission received consumer dispute appeal cases transferred from county and city governments as well as complaints from a number of consumers accusing Milan Enterprise Co., Keneshi Enterprise Co., Mushina Enterprise Co., Yazhuang Co., Ltd. and Jinma Enterprise Co. of using illegitimate approaches to market beauty products. The Commission launched an investigation and discovered that these beauty businesses had adopted interrelated practices at different stages, from contacting consumers, pushing products (services), signing contracts, collecting payments to obstructing contract cancellation, and made particular arrangements designed specifically for male consumers to entice them to take out money and make purchases step by step.
In order to sell beauty products, these businesses used the pretext of making friends (especially with male consumers) to force customers to make purchases. The practices adopted included using friendship apps to entice consumers to visit the shop for a facial or massage. Then, the beauticians pushed the businesses’ products and used sales pitches to force consumers to buy products that were worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Finding the harassment unbearable and not having much time to think or erroneously believing in the possibility of making friends, consumers made transactions in a hurry and even signed the promissory note. Furthermore, the businesses also used the excuse of checking for defects to talk consumers into unpacking the products, making refunding impossible.
The Commission concluded that the marketing practices were carefully schemed and organized and constituted illegitimate marketing conduct. Surprisingly, different businesses turned out to adopt similar practices that had serious negative impacts on the trading order in the beauty market and damaged consumer interests. It was deceptive and obviously unfair
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Important Achievements in 2023