"4 out of 10 Dog Kindergartens Make Contract Termination Difficult"

Korea Consumer Agency Conducts Survey and Investigation
"Carefully Check Refund Terms When Contracting"

#. Mr. A paid for a one-month pass at a dog daycare center in Seoul but ended up losing about 200,000 won without properly using the service. About a week after payment, his dog's health deteriorated, making it difficult to continue using the daycare, so he requested a refund. However, the business refused, citing that refunds were not possible because a discount had already been applied to the one-month pass price.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 25th that this was revealed through a field survey of 64 dog daycare centers in Seoul and a questionnaire survey of 300 people who had experience using dog daycare centers.

As the pet-related market grows* and single-person households increase, dog kindergartens that provide care services and socialization training for dogs are gaining popularity. Photo unrelated to the content.

According to the Consumer Agency, over the past five years (2019?2023), there were a total of 95 consumer complaints related to dog daycare centers received by the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center. Among these, issues related to 'contract cancellation or termination,' such as refusal to refund upon mid-contract termination, accounted for the largest portion at 70.6% (67 cases).

Regular passes with a usage period of one month or more are considered continuous transactions, and under the "Door-to-Door Sales Act," businesses must not unjustly refuse refunds for the remaining usage sessions when a contract is terminated early. However, 37.5% (24 businesses) of the surveyed companies did not allow refunds for mid-contract termination of regular passes.

Among these businesses, some did not prepare contracts at the time of dog boarding, as revealed by the survey results. According to the "Enforcement Rules of the Animal Protection Act," animal boarding management businesses such as dog daycare centers and dog hotels must provide a contract to consumers when concluding a transaction.

Additionally, 31.3% (20 businesses) of the surveyed companies did not display their business registration numbers and transaction amounts on social media (SNS), websites, or other platforms. Animal boarding management businesses are required by the "Animal Protection Act" to display their registered business number and transaction amount together when advertising or displaying information related to animals to the relevant local government, but some businesses failed to comply.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the regular pass fees of the surveyed businesses showed that the average price for an 8-session pass, which is popular among consumers, was 279,500 won, and a 10-session pass was 290,400 won. Even for passes with the same number of sessions, prices varied by more than four times between different businesses.

Based on the results of this survey, the Consumer Agency plans to recommend that daycare operators improve unfair contract terms that disadvantage consumers, such as unjust refusal of refunds. Seoul City also plans to verify whether businesses provide contracts containing essential items such as business registration numbers, types of services offered, duration, and costs, and will take administrative action against violators.

The Consumer Agency urged, "When entering into a contract with a dog daycare center or boarding service, be sure to secure a contract, and carefully consider long-term usage agreements."