"Old People Are Bong" Increasing Complaints of Incomplete Sales of Mobile Phones to Elderly... 437 Cases in 3 Years

Korea Consumer Agency: "Must Verify That Oral Explanation Matches Contract"

Status of Elderly Consumer Damage Relief by Year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] It has been revealed that cases of damage related to mobile phone services among the elderly are increasing every year.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 16th, a total of 437 damage relief applications related to mobile phone services from consumers aged 65 and over were received from 2019 to August of this year. By year, there were 143 cases in 2019, 157 cases in 2020, and 137 cases up to August this year, showing an increasing trend each year. The proportion of elderly consumers among all age groups also rose from 12.6% in 2019 to 15% up to August this year.

By type, damages occurring at the mobile phone service subscription stage accounted for the largest share at 65.7%. Among these, the most common issue was that the subscription conditions explained at the time of subscription differed from the contract contents, accounting for 38.4%, followed by unfair subscriptions due to seller coercion (17.4%), and insufficient explanation of key details (9.9%).

In particular, there were many cases where families discovered later that sellers induced elderly consumers with low ability to use communication devices and economic vulnerability to purchase new devices or subscribe to expensive plans, and raised concerns about the issue.

The Korea Consumer Agency advised consumers to verify that the verbal explanations and the contract match when subscribing to a service, and to check the billing statement every month. If charges differ from the contract details, they should immediately contact the customer center.

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