Chinese consumer complaints rose markedly in the first quarter as the country's new law on consumer rights and interests demands higher product quality and after-sale services.
Â
Authorities dealt with 244,800 complaints from consumers nationwide in the Jan.-March period, up 20.85 percent year on year and marking the highest number from the same period in six years, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said.
Â
An official from the agency named Yang Hongcan attributed the surge to the new consumer rights law that took effect on March 15, which allows unconditional refunds within 7 days, higher compensation for buyers and heavy fines for substandard products.
Â
According to the data, 91.03 percent of the complaints had been addressed by the end of March, with around 280 million CNY (45.48 million USD) recouped for consumers.
Â
Yang asked relevant administrations to intensify their efforts to protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests.
Â
The authorities will pay more attention to home appliances, electronics, clothes, home furnishings and vehicles this year and crack down on deceptive contract loopholes in the banking and telecom sectors.
Â
In 2013, the administration received more than one million complaints from consumers nationwide and recovered 1.34 billion CNY to repay their economic losses.Â