The government wants to have people who mislead you into buying services put in jail.
The move has been prompted by a rising number of complaints of unscrupulous sales practices - of people locked indoors and coerced into joining travel membership schemes and yoga club members talked into prepaying fees days before a chain closed.
Now, two years after the Consumer Council outlined how the government should step up consumer protection and two months after a yoga club with more than 10,000 members shut, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau has kick-started a public consultation on the issue.
The bureau proposes a seven-day 'cooling-off period' for the sale of memberships in travel schemes and any transaction made during unsolicited visits to homes and offices, such as the sales of TV set-top boxes and pay-TV services. During this period, consumers could cancel purchases and be repaid in 30 days.
The existing trade description law - which regulates physical goods - should be extended to cover services, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan says in the consultation paper introduced yesterday.
Misleading and aggressive sales tactics, and accepting payments without the intention or ability to provide goods or services, would be made criminal offences subject to a maximum fine of HK$500,000 and up to five years in jail.
