"Connection Not Working"... Complaints About Fans and Air Conditioners Surge Amid Intense Heat

"June Consultation Cases More Than Double Compared to Previous Month"

As the use of cooling devices increased due to the heatwave, consumer complaint consultations related to these devices also saw a significant rise.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 21st that the number of consultations for fans and air conditioners received last month increased by 167.9% and 100.6%, respectively, compared to the previous month. Most complaints about fans (300 cases) were related to after-sales service (AS) issues, such as customers contacting the service center for repairs but being unable to get through. For air conditioners (638 cases), the majority of inquiries concerned regulations related to leakage and installation defects, the agency explained.

Compared to the same month last year, the item with the highest increase in consultations was overseas travel (488 cases), which surged by 256.2%. Complaints mainly arose from excessive cancellation penalties. The second highest was credit card-related cases (286 cases, up 88.2%), with many consultations regarding spam text messages about credit cards being issued abroad without consumer consent.

Among the items with frequent consultations last month, 'health clubs' (1,539 cases) had the highest number, followed by 'mobile phone services' (982 cases) and 'clothing and textiles' (865 cases). The Consumer Agency added that analysis by ten-day periods also showed that health club-related consultations were the most frequent from the beginning to the end of the month.

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