"I believe the 4S store must know how this car was scratched, I cannot condone their behavior," Mr. Wang said, adding that if he let them get away with it this time, more consumers would be deceived. In May this year, Mr. Wang from Fushun bought a certain brand of sedan from a car 4S store in Dongling District, Shenyang. "It rained continuously after I picked up the car, so I didn't go out much. When the weather cleared up and I went to wash the car, the young man washing the car told me there was something wrong with my car." Mr. Wang said that when the car washer was wiping the car, he found that there was a paint area of about four or five square centimeters on the front of the car that was different from the rest. Not only was there a color difference, but that piece of paint was clearly thinner. After checking, the boss of the store determined that this paint was sprayed later, possibly due to an accident the car had been involved in before, or being scratched by a hard object.
The detection barrier blocks the way for consumer rights protection.
Recently, I contacted ten domestic inspection institutions capable of detecting cars and auto parts, all of which stated they could not detect this item.
A relevant person in charge of the Shenyang Administration for Industry and Commerce said that since last year, the industry and commerce department has received many complaints regarding car 4S stores. The issues complained about are varied, some of which are quite serious, such as consumers complaining that new cars purchased from 4S stores already showed hundreds of kilometers on the odometer, and some 4S stores illegally increasing prices for certain tight supply models. After verification by the industry and commerce department, some problems have been resolved, but for some issues, they were unable to protect consumer rights due to difficulties in detection and lack of evidence.
And for other issues, they are also unable to protect consumer rights due to difficulties in detection and lack of evidence.
What other rights protections are blocked outside of detection?
Case two: The cost of testing a down jacket is enough to buy three or four pieces.
After the furniture arrived at home, Mr. Huang noticed a smell. The installation worker said it was normal, so Mr. Huang didn't pay too much attention. After nearly half a year of ventilation, in March this year, Mr. Huang moved into his new house and found that the furniture still smelled strongly. After living there for a while, he felt dizzy. However, when Mr. Huang approached the distributor, he was told that the furniture was fine. If the consumer thought there was a problem, they could test it, and if the results showed it was substandard, a full refund would be given.
In real life, the awareness of consumer rights protection has increased, but they encounter many objective helplessnesses.
Mr. Qin Dajun, the director of Liaoning Chengming Law Firm, said that many consumers complain or sue without sufficient evidence. Consumers should note that they should not rashly test themselves. If the merchant acknowledges the testing action, they can request a written commitment. If the merchant does not acknowledge the testing action, they can file a lawsuit through legal channels and apply for testing to the court, then the court will designate a third-party testing institution for testing.
Recently, I consulted with the Liaoning Fiber Inspection Bureau, and the staff frankly admitted that the main testing items for down jackets are indeed expensive. Among them, the filling quantity is 280 yuan, the down content is 550 yuan, cleanliness is 180 yuan, and loftiness is 100 yuan. These items add up to a total of 1110 yuan. "Even if the tested product has a problem and they compensate me with another down jacket, it's not worth it!" Ms. Cai said, so she had to accept her bad luck.
However, after the goods were mailed home, Ms. Cai found that the fabric of the down jacket was different from the picture, and there was a significant color difference. She could feel the duck feather shafts with her hand, and the down jacket had a strange smell. "I suspect there isn't 90% duck down." Ms. Cai said, so she contacted the seller, who claimed the color difference was due to the camera. Regarding the duck down content, the seller insisted it was 90% white duck down. If she didn't believe it, she could test it, and if there was a problem, they could refund and compensate according to the Consumer Protection Law.
Recently, I learned from the Liaoning Provincial Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute that formaldehyde testing for furniture products indeed requires destructive testing, otherwise the formaldehyde content cannot be tested. Before the test, samples need to be taken from different parts of the furniture according to a certain ratio. "Furniture that has been tested definitely cannot be used anymore," the staff said.
Suspecting that the furniture costing over 8000 yuan exceeds formaldehyde standards, but during testing, the furniture would be destroyed...
However, recently, I contacted the National Sedan Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Tianjin Automobile Testing Center) mentioned by Mr. Wang, and the staff regretfully said that they could not conduct this test either. As for where in China it could be tested, he hadn't heard of any place.
Rights Protection: Unable to find a testing institution
News Background
For this reason, Ms. Cai consulted with a testing department and found that the testing cost was as high as thousands of yuan.
Finally, Mr. Wang approached the responsible person of the 4S store, who also claimed that the car couldn't have any problems when it was in the store, it must be the consumer's fault, and the car could not be returned or exchanged. They suggested the consumer could go for testing, and if the test result determined it was the 4S store's issue, they would take full responsibility.
However, to his disappointment, after consulting multiple testing institutions in Liaoning Province, none of them could perform this test. Eventually, Mr. Wang learned through a friend that there was only one institution in Tianjin that could conduct the test. But due to the long distance and his busy work schedule, he never managed to find the time to go. "Friends advised me to give up. It would be laughable to travel to Tianjin just for a patch of paint." Mr. Wang said, the path of rights protection for ordinary people is truly difficult.
Lawyer: Do not rush to test yourself
Last September, consumer Mr. Huang saw a bedroom set in a furniture mall in Shenyang. "The furniture in the store almost has no smell, the salesperson said her furniture has a high environmental protection coefficient, formaldehyde definitely won't exceed the standard." Mr. Huang said that what he cared most about when buying furniture was the environmental protection coefficient, so he bought the whole set of furniture, spending over 8000 yuan.
Testing Institution: High testing fees are due to complex processes
Recently, a relevant person in charge of a quality inspection agency in Shenyang said that for ordinary consumers, the testing fees are indeed relatively high, but the amount of testing fees is not determined by the testing agencies themselves, but approved by the price control department, making it fairly reasonable. The amount of testing fees is determined based on difficulty. Generally speaking, the minimum testing fee per item is only dozens of yuan, while more expensive ones are hundreds of yuan. However, when consumers protect their rights, they often need to test multiple items, and each item needs to be tested using instruments in the laboratory, which is a complex process and not as easy as consumers imagine.
Since May, Mr. Wang began his journey to protect his rights. High testing fees increase the cost of protecting rights, often making consumers hesitate, and some unscrupulous merchants also take advantage of the high testing fees and consumers' inability to bear them to defraud consumers extensively.
Not long after, Mr. Wang and his friend drove to the 4S store where he bought the car. "After telling the situation to the 4S store, the store denied it outright," Mr. Wang said.
Mr. Wang said that after checking, he found that this paint was indeed not the original paint, but if you didn't pay attention, you wouldn't notice it. "This is a new car, and such a problem with a newly purchased car makes me very upset," Mr. Wang said. He was most worried that the car had been in an accident, and if there were hidden dangers in other places, it would cause even more trouble in the future.
Case one: To test for formaldehyde, the furniture must be destroyed.
The industry and commerce department: Due to difficulties in testing and inability to find evidence, they are unable to protect consumer rights.
The industry and commerce department said that consumers should communicate more with the industry and commerce department or the Consumer Association to jointly seek solutions, sometimes deadlocks can be resolved.