Gaps in consumer protection

Market management forces inspect and review the business and trade of electronic goods in Dien Bien Phu City. *Photo: Contributor*

In fact, most people today who encounter problems related to their rights when shopping and consuming accept or resolve them themselves. Although the province has established steering committees and associations for the protection of consumer rights. However, due to fear or lack of information and knowledge, most victims do not seek these organizations when their rights are damaged. Especially when they are damaged in e-commerce.

For example, Ms. Tran Thi Tuyen, in Group 1, Him Lam Ward (Dien Bien Phu City). According to her, since the Covid-19 epidemic appeared, she started shopping on e-commerce platforms. Gradually becoming a habit, up to now, on average, she has 5-7 orders from other provinces shipped to her home each month, not to mention food and daily necessities ordered from local establishments. Convenient because it reduces shopping time and has a variety of products, but Ms. Tuyen also admitted that she has had to accept bitter consequences many times when the goods are far from the advertised ones. “They gave me the price and sample of one product, but when I received it, it was another. There are places that allow me to check and return the product, but in many places, I have to pay before I can unpack the product, so I don’t know the quality of the product in advance. I was annoyed and frustrated, but I had to accept it because I had complained to the store many times without any response. I didn’t know where to go to the authorities, what the procedures were, and the price of the product was only a few hundred thousand, so I was hesitant,” said Ms. Tuyen.

Indignation is the common mood of the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Thanh Truong Ward (Dien Bien Phu City). Her mother, Ms. D. TVA, was diagnosed with early-stage liver cancer in mid-2021. The family took her for treatment, completely removed the tumor, and the surgery was considered successful, with good health progress. However, near the end of 2022, the family discovered that Ms. VA had ordered many types of functional foods of unknown origin online, for a sum of up to hundreds of millions of VND. At the same time, following the seller's advice, Ms. VA abandoned the hospital's treatment regimen, did not eat or drink anything else, and only used the above products. By mid-February 2023, her health deteriorated and she died. There is no basis to confirm the quality of the product. What upsets Ms. Trang's family the most is that the seller's advice goes against science and the medical profession. However, she could not sue because her mother had passed away and her purchase was only done online, without any invoices or documents. Even the seller's address was unclear, and the phone number could not be contacted afterwards.

It can be seen that e-commerce has developed for many years and has now expanded to all areas, including remote areas. Besides the conveniences it brings, consumers also face many risks. Regulations related to inspection and handling are not strict enough, creating many loopholes that cause many disadvantages for consumers. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha signed Decision No. 1012/QD-TTg, promulgating the Plan to implement the Law on Consumer Protection. The new law with many amended, replaced and supplemented regulations is expected to be a powerful "stick" to fight fraud and violations in business. At the same time, it creates a legal corridor to better ensure consumer rights.

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