"Leaving Clothes at the Laundry During the Changing Seasons"... Surge in Consumer Inquiries

81% Increase Compared to Previous Month... Delay or Product Damage

As the number of people entrusting their clothes to laundries increases during the changing seasons, related consumer consultations have noticeably risen.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 24th that consumer consultations in April reached 41,878 cases, a 2.9% increase compared to the previous month (40,687 cases). Compared to the same month last year (39,043 cases), it is a 7.3% increase. The highest consultation growth rate compared to the previous month was in "laundry services" (81.0%). Laundry service consultations mainly involved delays in laundry or requests for compensation due to damage to products after washing.

Compared to the same month last year, the consultation increase rates were highest for "ladies' shoes" (93.0%) and "various health supplements" (87.8%). For ladies' shoes, many consultations arose from delayed deliveries or companies refusing exchanges or refunds. For various health supplements, most complaints were due to companies refusing partial refunds requested by consumers or charging excessive penalties.

In April, the items with the highest number of consultations were fitness centers (1,208 cases), followed by laundry services (990 cases) and mobile phone services (801 cases). Fitness center consultations mostly involved excessive penalty charges and refund refusals upon early contract termination. Mobile phone service consultations mainly concerned insufficient explanations of contract terms by companies and refusals to cancel activations.

A representative from the Consumer Agency stated, "If consumer damage occurs, you can apply for consultation through the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center or Consumer24 by preparing transaction records and supporting documents."