Commerce and Industry
Consumer Protection
Consumer Council
The statutory Consumer Council protects and promotes the interests of consumers of goods and services and purchasers, mortgagors and lessees of immovable property. Members of the council, including the chairman and vice-chairman, are government-apppointed.
The council tests consumer products, conducts market surveys, monitors prices and trade practices, handles complaints and enquiries, advises the government and public authorities on consumer protection, and raises awareness of consumer rights. It maintains close contact with its counterparts round the world to promote and protect consumer interests, and administers the Consumer Legal Action Fund, which enhances consumer access to legal remedies.
In 2017, the council received 24,881 consumer complaints and 82,085 consumer enquiries, and completed 44 product tests, 30 surveys and 22 in-depth studies. It published the findings and disseminated practical consumer advice in its monthly magazine, Choice.
Enforcement of Legislation
The Customs and Excise Department enforces the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance, Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, Trade Descriptions Ordinance and Weights and Measures Ordinance.
The Trade Descriptions Ordinance prohibits unfair trade practices commonly deployed against consumers of goods and services, including false trade descriptions, misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch and wrongly accepting payments.
The Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance is updated regularly to ensure toys and other children's products supplied in Hong Kong comply with operative, up-to-date international safety standards.
The department carries out spot checks and investigations to ensure toys, children's products and consumer goods supplied locally are safe and that the quantity of goods supplied in the course of trade by weight and other measures is accurate, and to guard against false trade descriptions and other unfair trade practices over goods and services. In 2017, the department carried out 8,824 spot checks and concluded 299 enforcement cases.
The Government Laboratory provides analytical and advisory services to the department in the enforcement of consumer protection legislation. In 2017, the laboratory carried out 34,052 tests to check the compliance of toys, children's products and consumer goods with safety standards, and to determine the weight of retail goods. Where necessary, it conducted on-site investigations in support of the enforcement of the Weights and Measures Ordinance. The laboratory also carried out 5,023 tests to examine the authenticity of commodities and the correctness of trade descriptions as part of investigations under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.
99