ENG-2019 — Page 139

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Commerce and Industry

Consumer Protection

Consumer Council

The statutory, government-appointed Consumer Council protects and promotes the interests of consumers of goods and services and purchasers, mortgagors and lessees of immovable property.

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 to enhance consumer access to legal remedies. In 2019, the council received 24,615 consumer complaints and 70,128 consumer enquiries, and completed 43 product tests, 30 surveys and 11 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 2019, the department carried out 9,570 spot checks and concluded 284 enforcement cases.

The Government Laboratory provides analytical and advisory services to the department in the enforcement of consumer protection legislation, and conducts on-site investigations to support the enforcement of the Weights and Measures Ordinance. In 2019, the laboratory carried out 33,378 tests to check the compliance of toys, children's products and consumer goods with safety standards, and to determine the weight of retail goods. It also carried out 4,995 tests to examine the authenticity of commodities and the correctness of trade descriptions under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.

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