◀ Anchor ▶
There is a series of consumer damages related to ‘similar condo memberships’, such as encouraging members to sign up using ‘free accommodation coupons’ and then failing to cancel the contract or imposing excessive penalties.
This is reporter Park Seong-won.
◀ Report ▶
Mr. Lee, an office worker in his 30s, received a phone call in April last year.
It was a congratulatory call telling me that I had won a free lodging event.
At the same time, I was offered to sign up for a resort membership as it would guarantee a full refund after one year.
The total amount is 2.95 million won.
Mr. Lee paid 10% as a down payment for a cheaper price than a condo membership, which usually costs tens of millions of won.
However, five months later, I requested termination of the contract as agreed, but the company refused to give me a refund.
What Mr. Lee signed was a so-called ‘quasi-condominium membership.’
Unlike formal memberships sold at large resorts, this is a type of long-term lodging voucher linked to general lodging facilities such as small resorts or pensions.
Door-to-door sellers encouraged people to sign up by saying that they could use memberships at resorts and condos across the country for just a few million won.
A total of 581 related consultations were received by the Korea Consumer Agency over the past three years.
By type, consultations related to ‘contract termination’, such as excessive penalty charges and refusal to withdraw subscription, accounted for the most at 74%, followed by delays in returning deposits due to contract expiration.
In particular, 105 cases were received in the first half of this year alone, an increase of approximately 72% compared to the same period last year.
[이유진/한국소비자원 팀장]
“If you entered into a contract impulsively or if the contract details are different from what you were informed of, you must notify us in writing of your intention to withdraw your contract within 14 days.”
The Consumer Agency advised not to be deceived by advertisements such as winning a free lodging voucher, waiving the entrance fee, or being selected for a promotional experience group, but to use a credit card payment that allows installment cancellation.
This is Park Seong-won from MBC News.
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