They Said They Wouldn't Ask Questions... Returns Refusal Leads to Surge in Consumer Complaints

Naver, Coupang, and 8 Other Online Shopping Platforms
12,961 Cases Increased Last Year
Return Delays Due to Postponed Product Collection
161 Consumer Damage Relief Cases by KCA

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] # Mr. A experienced a frustrating situation after purchasing an air fryer through online shopping. When he opened the delivery box, the product was already damaged, so he requested a refund from the seller, but the seller refused to refund the payment, offering a discount coupon instead.

As more people purchase items through online shopping, the number of consumer consultations related to returns has also increased significantly. Major e-commerce companies have introduced instant return and same-day return services, providing paid members with hassle-free return services, making the process easier than before. However, many consumers still face difficulties with returns on open markets where individual sellers operate.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 7th, the number of consumer consultations related to returns from eight major online shopping platforms including Naver Shopping, Coupang, Gmarket, Auction, G9, 11st, Lotte ON, and SSG.com has steadily increased: 5,698 cases in 2017, 7,848 in 2018, 11,276 in 2019, and 12,961 in 2020.

The continuous increase in consumer consultations related to returns is due to the growth in the scale and volume of online shopping. According to Statistics Korea’s announcement last month, the online shopping transaction amount in January was 15.0623 trillion KRW, a 22.4% increase compared to the previous year. The domestic e-commerce market has grown from 78 trillion KRW in 2017 to 113 trillion KRW in 2018, 135 trillion KRW in 2019, and 161 trillion KRW in 2020.

Among consultation cases, delays and refusals of returns were common. In Mr. B’s case, after purchasing a basketball, he requested a return, but the product was not collected, causing continuous delays in processing the return. Mr. C bought clothes but was dissatisfied and requested a refund; however, the seller claimed that the refund was impossible due to damaged tags and sent the product back to his home.

Actual cases that proceeded to damage relief through the Consumer Agency related to returns were 201 in 2017, 271 in 2018, 265 in 2019, 161 in 2020, and 48 cases up to March 2021. This is analyzed as many issues being resolved through consumer consultations before the Consumer Agency initiated dispute mediation.

Damage relief is a system that recommends fair and objective settlements to both parties based on fact-finding and expert advice according to relevant laws and regulations to compensate consumer damages. Unlike court rulings through civil lawsuits, this system has no enforcement power but can resolve disputes quickly without additional costs. However, cases where contact is impossible due to business bankruptcy or closure, where the location cannot be identified, or where the applicant cannot prove their claim are excluded from damage relief.

A Consumer Agency official explained, "In e-commerce, under the Consumer Protection Act, consumers’ rights are legally clearly protected if they exercise withdrawal of subscription within seven days in most cases."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.