Internet Education Services and Water Purifier Rental Consultations Increased Compared to the Previous Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Consultations related to internet education services, water purifier rentals, and air passenger transport services have increased compared to the previous month.

According to an analysis using big data systems of consumer consultations received at the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center by the Korea Consumer Agency and the Korea Consumer Organization Council, internet education services increased the most by 57.8% compared to the previous month, followed by water purifier rentals (51.8%) and air passenger transport services (51.4%). The total number of consultations in March 2022 increased by 11.3% compared to the previous month.

Complaints about internet education services increased due to delays in refunds by providers for conditional tuition refund lectures. For water purifier rentals, many consultations requested contract cancellations due to delayed A/S caused by repair technicians' strikes. In air passenger transport services, consultations demanding contract cancellations without penalties increased as consumers were unable to use airline tickets due to COVID-19 infection.

Compared to the same month last year, the consultation increase rates were highest for indemnity insurance (173.6%), various accommodation facilities (111.8%), and new types of gift certificates (69.6%). Indemnity insurance saw many complaints about refusal of insurance payments when medical advice was not agreed upon. Various accommodation facilities had many cases requesting mediation due to cancellation fees incurred when contracts were canceled because of COVID-19 infection. New types of gift certificates saw increased complaints due to providers refusing refunds for expired gift certificates.

By age group, those in their 30s accounted for the highest number with 12,273 cases (28.8%), followed by those in their 40s with 11,946 cases (28.0%), and those in their 50s with 8,307 cases (19.5%).

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