Consumer Agency Reports 263% Increase in Hair Dryer Inquiries in November Compared to Previous Year

"Frequent Sudden Notifications of AS Unavailability"

On the 22nd, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that among the 44,261 consumer consultations received by the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center in November, consultations related to hair dryers showed the highest increase rate, rising by 263.6% compared to the previous year.

Most of the complaints regarding hair dryer consultations were due to consumers being promised refurbished products as after-sales service (AS) for product malfunctions, but then being notified that AS was not possible due to sudden policy changes by the companies.

Following hair dryers, consultations related to apartments increased by 59.4%, and those related to credit cards rose by 57.7%. Apartment consultations were mainly due to contract breaches by construction companies, while credit card consultations involved random smishing scams impersonating credit card companies using overseas phone numbers.

Compared to the previous month, the consultation increase rates were highest for jumpers and jackets (87.3%), electric mats (58.1%), and so on, coinciding with the start of the winter season. Complaints about jumpers, jackets, and electric mats mostly arose from consumers requesting exchanges or refunds due to product defects, which companies refused to acknowledge.

Based on the number of consultations last month, health clubs had the most cases (1,183), followed by laundry services (1,047), and clothing and textiles (1,018).