Hong Kong brides and grooms urged to shop with care as wedding rental complaints double

Excited couples looking to rent a wedding outfit for their big day should shop around with care, according to the city’s consumer rights watchdog.

The Consumer Council saw the number of complaints it received regarding wedding outfit rental services double to 38 cases last year from 19 cases in 2014.

Michael Hui King-man, chairman of the council’s publicity and community relations committee, said couples should take their time to study rental contract terms before reaching any decisions.

“There are many things to work out in planning a wedding,” Hui said. “People often get very excited.”

Hui also advised consumers to examine the condition of the apparel they wish to rent before entering into a contract with a service provider so that they avoid future disputes.

Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han reminded consumers to rent outfits only from reputable businesses.

She cited a case of a rental service provider asking for HK$500 in compensation from a complainant for losing a cloth string from a wedding dress despite the piece being easily replaceable.

Wong advised consumers to check whether a rental contract contained terms to cap compensations for stains or damage found on the apparel.

Separately, as the summer approaches, the Consumer Council tested 14 models of air conditioners. It found that inverter type air conditioners used 40 per cent less energy annually than conventional fixed capacity type air conditioners even though price difference between the two types might not be significant.

Invertor technology allows the control of speed of the compressor motor inside an air conditioner.

While the two types of air conditioners might not be easily distinguished, the council said consumers should check with retailers.

Meanwhile, the council regularly received complainants from consumers regarding charges and service quality of windows works since the government introduced a mandatory inspection scheme in 2012.

In one case, a complainant paid HK$12,000 for windows maintenance works, on the premise that British stainless steel rivets would be used.

The complainant was then persuaded to pay another HK$9,000 to replace waterproof membranes and repair glass gaskets to prevent water seepage.

However, when the work was completed, the complainant discovered the rivets were not made in the UK.

The complainant also found out from the Buildings Department that waterproof membranes and glass gaskets were not mandatory inspection items.

Lastly, the provision of internet services remained to be an area of concern to the council despite seeing a drop in the number of complaints from 1,218 cases in 2014 to 885 cases last year.

The council found the monthly fees for the same broadband service plan offered by an operator through different subscription channels could vary by over 40 per cent.

It was also tedious for consumers to terminate their services, the council said.