[Rapporto Sing Tao Daily]In recent years, banks or individual platforms have subsequently launched the emerging “Buy Now, Pay Later” (also known as BNPL) payment method, advertised as “Enjoy First, Pay Later” and claim to provide interest – Set up free. However, the Consumer Council recalls that “there is no free lunch in the world”, which will result in overdue refund fees, and “buy now, pay later” is actually “use future money first” and consumers are prone to overconsumption. . According to statistics, from January to August 2021 and 2022 respectively, the Consumer Council received 9 and 18 complaints about “buy now, pay later”. The number of complaints received in the first eight months of this year exceeds that of whole last year 1 times.
Set the account unlocking fee of the deferred payment admin fee
Most “buy now, pay later” platforms allow consumers to pay interest-free installments, but the payment period is usually shorter, usually 3 months. The Consumer Council looked at overdue payment terms and found that different platforms have different regulations or involve various charges, such as deferred payment processing fees, account unlocking fees, etc. Rates range from $ 50 to $ 300 or an annual interest rate. to calculate. The interest-free installment of some platforms is limited to the first 3 months and the management fee for each subsequent month is 0.2% of the transaction amount The terms of some platforms indicate that the platform can change the administration fee at its discretion without knowing the consumer. If consumers do not pay in a timely manner, the resulting costs may not be low.The platform may also hand over the payment to a third party collection agent to recover arrears and reject, suspend or close the consumer’s account for any reason at any time.
Low threshold and easy overconsumption
“Buy now, pay later” is commonly used in online and small value transactions. Consumers must open an account on the “Buy Now, Pay Later” platform in advance, enter personal information, upload an identity certificate for authentication, and then associate a Hong Kong-issued credit or debit card to shop in designated cooperative online stores or physical stores.The purchase amount will be paid in installments within the specified time after collection of the goods. The general “buy now, pay later” platform does not require proof of income or credit inquiries, attracting consumers with no fixed income, such as freelancers, students, housewives and the unemployed to apply for services. Since the threshold for choosing “buy now, pay later” is quite low, if you use it for a long time it can lead to a kind of addiction and unconscious consumption. Once you are unable to repay your bill, you may have to pay late payment fines and even affect your credit record. .
In addition, the Council is concerned about the regulation of “buy now, pay later” installment products offered by non-banks on the market and urges “buy now, pay later” platforms provided by non-banks to apply for a licensed money lender. Business Register. Furthermore, these platforms can also refer to the recent guidelines issued by the HKMA to banks to implement consumer protection measures as soon as possible.
The complaints double
Citing the data, the Council said that from January to August 2021 and 2022 it received 9 and 18 “buy now, pay later” complaints. The complaint concerns the merchant’s failure to explain the relationship with the “buy now, pay later” platform and consumers can use the “buy now, pay later” platform to consume without knowing that the service is provided by a third party; In addition, the Consumer Council It was found that many “buy now, pay later” platforms operating in Hong Kong have their corporate headquarters overseas and some platforms only provide email addresses for inquiries or complaints. Some consumers are unable to contact the relevant platform immediately after their account is blocked or when they wish to cancel the transaction, or they only receive a response from the chatbot and cannot receive timely assistance and it is difficult to get a refund. The rights and responsibilities of the platform and the merchant are also unclear and it is easy to evade each other’s responsibilities in the event of a dispute, resulting in a lack of consumer protection.
Furthermore, the “buy now, pay later” return and refund mechanism depends on the platform, which puts consumers in a very passive position and questions consumer protection. For example, some platforms have stated that refunds will only be made after merchants have confirmed and completed the return; and before the platform confirms, consumers must continue to complete the payment. Additionally, refund and return requests may be subject to platform approval.
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