Consumer Complaints About Earphones: 1 in 2 Cases Involve 'Quality and After-Sales Service Dissatisfaction'

Analysis Results of Consumer Agency's Damage Relief Application Status

Status of Damage Relief Applications by Type of Damage.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] # Mr. A purchased Bluetooth earphones for 109,000 won in February last year. A problem occurred where the power would not turn on even after charging, and he visited the after-sales service (AS) center to exchange it for another product of the same model in January this year. The same problem occurred on the day he received the new product, so he applied for AS again, and on February 3rd, he received another product, but the same defect still existed. Mr. A requested a refund from the manufacturer but was refused.

It was found that many consumers applied for damage relief related to earphone quality or AS. On the 6th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that among 346 earphone-related damage relief applications received over three years from June 2019, the most common type was "quality and AS complaints," with 191 cases (55.2%). There were cases where product defects occurred within the warranty period and compensation was requested, but the business operator refused, claiming consumer fault.

The "refusal of withdrawal of subscription" type followed with 54 cases (15.6%). Withdrawal of subscription is the consumer's right to cancel a purchase within a certain period without penalty or liability for damages due to simple change of mind, etc. Reports were received that withdrawal requests were refused because the packaging had been opened, even though the product delivery was delayed. Next were non-delivery of goods (12.1%), failure to fulfill labeling/advertising content (8.4%), and unfair practices (6.4%) in order of frequency.

Among 287 damage cases where the product purchase price could be confirmed, damages related to products under 200,000 won accounted for 209 cases (72.8%), and those for products over 200,000 won accounted for 78 cases (27.2%). For damages related to products under 200,000 won, the proportions of withdrawal refusal (19.6%) and failure to fulfill labeling/advertising content (9.6%) were relatively high, while for products over 200,000 won, complaints related to quality and AS (66.6%) were relatively larger.

The Consumer Agency urged consumers to carefully check product information when purchasing earphones and to keep related materials such as receipts, warranty certificates, and advertising content in preparation for AS to prevent consumer damage related to earphones.

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