#701, Seoul YWCA, 1-1, Myeongdong 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul  (Postal code: 100-021)

Report Data

Provision Date:	September 30, 2010
Person in Charge:	Secretary-General Choi Su-gyeong
	Head of Team Jo Jun-ha
Tel:	02-774-4050

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations reports statistics regarding consumer counseling cases and warnings.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations (Chairperson Kim Jae-ok) reported a statistical analysis of consumer counseling cases received via the consumer counseling center (tel: 1372).

Counseling regarding travel is on the rise during the summer vacation season, particularly in July and August.

Category / Month	Cases in June	Cases in July	Cases in August
Package tour	465	644	702
Transportation methods	78	117	157
Lodging	206	491	585
Total	749	1,252	1,444

The number of travel-related counseling cases is on the rise during summer vacation season. Consumer counseling in July was 1,252 cases, showing an increase of 67% compared to June, and counseling in August was 1,444 cases, showing an increase of 93% compared to June. In particular, consumer counseling related to lodging in July was 491 cases, showing an increase of 138% compared to June, and counseling in August was 585 cases, showing a relatively high increase of 184% compared to June.

Among the counseling cases regarding package travel, the counseling cases related to overseas travel were higher than domestic travel.

Category	Cases in July	Cases in August	Total	Percentage
Domestic travel	157	209	366	70.2%
Overseas travel	487	493	980	72.8%
Total	644	702	1,346	100%

Among the counseling cases related to package tours through travel agencies, counseling related to overseas travel were 487 cases in July and 493 cases in August, which accounted for 72.8% of the total cases of counseling related to travel, showing a relatively high ratio of complaints compared to cases related to domestic travel.

Reasons of Counseling	Cases in July	Cases in August	Total	Percentage
Refusal of refund	197	218	415	30.8%
Excessive cancellation charge	137	115	252	18.7%
Service complaints	108	140	248	18.4%
Inquiry about regulations	100	128	228	16.9%
Unfair contract terms	31	16	47	3.5%
Travel safety	6	4	10	0.7%
Unjustified CF	3	1	4	0.3%
Other	62	80	142	10.5%
Total	644	702	1,346	100%

Among the reasons for counseling regarding package tour products, refund complaints were 415 cases, which showed the highest ratio, followed by reasons of excessive cancellation charges (252 cases) and service complaints (248 cases).

Among the counseling related to travel, over half of the counseling was about airplane tickets.

Category	Cases in July	Cases in August	Total	Percentage
Airplane	95	94	189	69.0%
Express bus/Inter-city bus	5	25	30	10.9%
Railroad	8	16	24	8.8%
Ship	8	8	16	5.8%
Rental car	1	14	15	5.5%
Total	117	157	274	100%

Among the counseling cases related to transportation methods, counseling regarding airplanes was 274 cases (69%), accounting for the majority of the counseling, followed by the counseling about express bus/inter-city buses (30 cases), railroad (24 cases), ships (16 cases), and rental cars (15 cases).

Reasons of Counseling	Cases in July	Cases in August	Total	Total
Excessive cancellation charge	22	39	61	22.3%
Inquiry about regulations	25	32	57	20.8%
Refusal of refund	26	25	51	18.6%
Service complaints	14	22	36	13.1%
Unfair contract terms	4	3	7	2.6%
Travel safety	2	5	7	2.6%
Unjustified CF	1	2	3	1.1%
Other	23	29	52	19.0%
Total	117	157	274	100%

Among the counseling cases related to transportation methods, counseling regarding excessive cancellation charges (61 cases) and regarding refunds (51 cases) were relatively high, and simple inquiry about regulations (57 cases) also accounted for a relatively high ratio.

Among the counseling regarding lodging, counseling regarding pensions is steadily on the rise.

Category	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Total	Percentage
Pension	174	95	76	91	96	135	383	416	752	51.2%
Condominium	88	30	29	23	24	28	50	60	332	22.6%
Hotel	26	12	18	14	16	25	27	48	186	12.7%
Inn/Motel	22	9	15	13	10	14	17	34	134	9.1%
Private lodging/Other	2	3	5	5	6	4	14	27	66	4.5%
Total	312	149	143	146	152	206	491	585	1,470	100%

Among the counseling regarding lodging, counseling related to pensions was 752 cases, accounting for more than half of the counseling cases (51.2%), followed by counseling on condominiums (332 cases) and hotels (186 cases). In particular, as the numbers of private lodgings are changing businesses by simply changing their name to pension, and as the services of small lodgings did not satisfy the expectations of consumers, counseling related to pensions was showing a steady increase during the winter and summer vacation season.

Reasons of Counseling	Cases in July	Cases in August	Total	Percentage
Refusal of refund	241	263	504	46.8%
Excessive cancellation charge	99	91	190	17.7%
Inquiry about regulations	66	107	173	16.1%
Service complaints	30	52	82	7.6%
Unfair contract terms	20	15	35	3.3%
Travel safety	1	9	10	0.9%
Unjustified CF	3	6	9	0.8%
Other	31	42	73	6.8%
Total	491	585	1,076	100%

Among the counseling related to lodging, counseling related to refunds was 504 cases (46.8%), showing the highest ratio. Counseling regarding excessive cancellation charges (190 cases) and service complaints (173 cases) was also relatively high.

Warnings for consumers regarding travel-related services:

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations reported the following warnings for consumers regarding travel-related services and consumer damages.

△ Consumers should check the contract terms regarding the use of each travel agency, airplane, and lodging, as well as the refund regulations, and should construct a contract and keep a copy of the contract.

△ In particular, in the case of foreign businesses, they may apply regulations and refund policies different from those of Korea, so consumers should be more careful.

△ Consumers should avoid travel agencies or lodging businesses, which demand the whole amount of contract fees in advance.

△ In the case of lodging businesses, consumers should not accept information provided on the Internet blindly, but should check the information against various routes as well.

△ When there are complaints regarding travel services, consumers should call the consumer counseling center (tel: 1372) for help.

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations will continuously monitor related damage cases through the counseling center of its member groups, and it is planning to take strong measures against problem businesses jointly with the Fair Trade Commission and local government agencies.

September 30, 2010

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations