Consumer Council: HKers' complaints about credit cards surge

Hong Kong’s Consumer Council has received 330 complaints about credit card offers in the first eight months of 2022, which has increased sharply compared to the same period last year.

According to the press conference Consumer Council held last Thursday, some examples of the complaints included welcome gifts delayed for more than six months and denied expected benefits for online purchases. “Last year we had 166 cases in the first [eight months] of 2021, this time there are 330 , you can see there’s a 99 per cent increase,” said Kyrus Siu King-wai, chairman of the council’s publicity and community relations committee. There were 258 complaints made in total in 2021 and 183 in 2020.

According to the council, one complainant applied for two credit cards through company A's platform. After spending the amount required for the welcome offer, she submitted a reward redemption form in mid-September last year and received a confirmation email stating that gift collection would be arranged within ten to 15 weeks.

The complainant was expected to be notified by the end of December. However, till January this year, the complainant did not receive any notification from company A, so she proactively enquired about the progress of the gift redemption. Company A confirmed that the application had been successful and promised to notify the complainant before 11 March for gift collection, and later revised it to before 18 March.

The complainant opined that gift cards should not be affected by the delay in global logistics, she was concerned and dissatisfied with Company A regarding the repeated change of the collection date. Therefore, she approached the Council for assistance. The council suggested that consumers should assess their affordability and practical needs when making purchases.

They should stay rational and avoid spending impulsively or even overspending due to promotional offers. It also said that consumers should pay attention to the terms and conditions of the promotional offers, such as the specified spending period, whether pre-registration is required, whether the offer is limited in time or quantity, and whether the spending amount is capped or specific products are excluded, etc. to avoid disappointment if the offer turns out to be unavailable upon purchases.

Moreover, customers should verify monthly statements after spending to confirm whether banks have provided spending-related promotional discounts in accordance with the terms, the council said. If consumers have any queries, they should raise them with the banks as soon as possible. The council also urged banks and relevant service partner platforms to ensure sufficient inventory and stable supply of gifts; to arrange adequate manpower support to handle gift dispatch within a reasonable period; and to strengthen customer service and transparency.

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