An article by a user saying that he was victimized by applying for an online subscription service in July of last year. Photo online community
Aunt (in her 50s) purchased a new smartphone and signed up for a promotion for free use of video-providing apps. After that, I did not receive a notice that it would change to a paid payment, but the regular payment was made for about 20 months without Lee even knowing. Mr. Lee, who learned the facts later, requested a refund, but the reply returned was that “the refund request period has passed and it is impossible.”
Consumer damage is also increasing as more consumers use online subscription services for digital content such as movies and music sources.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, a total of 609 customer complaints and damage consultations received at 1372 consumer counseling centers over the past three years. Counseling related to contract termination and penalty was the most at 35.8%, followed by restriction on withdrawal of subscription (16.1%) and default on contract (11.3%).
As a result of a survey by Consumer Agency on the terms and conditions of 25 apps that are frequently used by consumers on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, 18 apps are effectively limiting subscription withdrawal. The current law makes it possible to withdraw the subscription within 7 days from the date of signing the contract for parts where the provision of digital content has not been started. However, for the six apps, the conditions were limited so that subscription withdrawal within 7 days is possible only if there is no usage history after purchase. In addition, 12 apps were confirmed to limit the period for withdrawal of subscription to 2 days.
In fact, there were cases where a refund was not received within a day of purchase due to an absurd policy. Kim Mo (in her 20s) made a payment by incorrectly pressing the idol singer’s online concert purchase button on November 30. On December 1, the next day, I made a request to cancel the purchase to the customer center, but the counselor said it was impossible. This was the reason that cancellation is impossible if the month of the payment date and the cancellation request date are different due to the refund policy.
In the case of requesting cancellation of subscription, only 4 out of the 25 apps surveyed were refunded for the remaining usage period. The remaining 21 apps had a termination effect on the next payment date, so after the consumer indicated their intention to cancel, they could not receive a refund even if they did not use the content.
Consumer Won explained, “If a consumer terminates the contract, the contract is immediately invalidated and the payment for the remaining period must be refunded.” The Korea Communications Commission imposed a penalty of 867 million won on Google LLC, which did not refund even if it applied for cancellation during the monthly payment period last year.
Reporter Lee Ga-young [email protected]