Consumer Agency Warns "GetDeal" Purchasing Service... Urges Caution After Cash Payment Induced and Contact Lost

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Korea Consumer Agency has recently received numerous complaints from consumers using the purchasing agency 'GetDeal' and has issued a warning.

According to the Consumer Agency on the 6th, the US-based business 'GetDeal' advertised on internet shopping malls and cafes that consumers could purchase large domestic TVs cheaply through reverse import. They then induced cash payments by offering discounts on the product purchase price as bait.

However, after consumers paid for the goods, delivery was delayed citing reasons such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and then contact was cut off. From the 20th of last month, 30 consumer consultations related to 'GetDeal' were received within a week.

The Consumer Agency warned that considering past cases, such purchasing agency businesses are likely to continue operating by changing their shopping mall names, so consumers need to exercise special caution.

Meanwhile, consumer complaints related to overseas direct purchase or purchasing agencies for TVs have been increasing every year.

From 2017 to 2019, a total of 1,328 consumer complaints related to overseas-purchased TVs were received through the International Transaction Consumer Portal and the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center. Complaints numbered 230 in 2017 and increased to 612 in 2019.

Delivery-related complaints such as delays or damage accounted for the largest portion at 39.3%, followed by quality defects at 33.4%, and refund delays and refusals at 9.9%.

The Consumer Agency requested that to prevent damages from overseas purchases, consumers should avoid shopping malls that induce cash payments as much as possible and pay with cards that support 'chargeback' services, which allow cancellation requests for large transaction amounts.