'The complainants were compelled into the purchase on the grounds the merchandise had already been sliced up,' chairman of the council's Trade Practices Committee, William Archambaud-Chao, said.

'Or they were allegedly scared into submission by the burly characters which suddenly appeared to block their exit.' The council has tried to mediate in the disputes but all three shops denied wrongdoing and refused refunds.

Wah Chong employee Joe Chan said: 'We have co-operated with the council and all our prices are written out clearly for customers beforehand.' Both Hung Hing and Chung Ngai staff said their bosses were out and declined comments.

Misleading signs offered low prices if they were measured per Chinese catty but exorbitant when sold per tael, according to Mr Archambaud-Chao. One catty is equal to 16 taels.

The council has warned of a rising trend in the number of complaints against high pressure selling of dried food products.

It received 340 complaints last year, up from 320 in 1997 and 146 in 1996. There have been 144 complaints in the first four months of 1999.

Three Chinese medicine and dried food associations yesterday published their first code of practice for about 1,000 members. Hong Kong has about 3,000 such wholesale and retail companies.

'We don't want a few black sheep to blacken the reputation of the whole industry,' spokesman Tommy Li Ying-sang said.

Three stores selling dried seafood were yesterday accused of using misleading advertisements and unscrupulous sales tactics to press clients into buying nearly $30,000 worth of products.

The Consumer Council named the stores as Wah Chong Ginseng & Sea Products, Hung Hing Ginseng and Chung Ngai Ginseng & Seafood Products, after receiving 18 complaints involving dried abalone and scallops worth $28,804 since December.

The three stores are within two blocks of each other on Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei near the Eaton Hotel.

'The complainants were compelled into the purchase on the grounds the merchandise had already been sliced up,' the chairman of the council's Trade Practices Committee, William Archambaud-Chao, said.

'Or they were allegedly scared into submission by the burly characters which suddenly appeared.' The council had tried to mediate in the disputes, but all three shops denied wrongdoing and refused refunds.

Wah Chong employee Joe Chan said: 'We have co-operated with the council and all our prices are written out clearly for customers.' Hung Hing and Chung Ngai staff said their employers were out and declined to comment.

Misleading signs offered low prices if goods were measured per Chinese catty, but exorbitant when sold per tael, Mr Archambaud-Chao said. One catty equals 16 taels.

The council has warned of rising complaints against high-pressure sales tactics at dried-food stores.

It received 340 complaints last year, up from 320 in 1997 and 146 in 1996. There have been 144 complaints in the first four months of the year.

Three Chinese medicine and dried-food associations published their first code of practice for about 1,000 members yesterday.