Hong Kong consumer complaints up for first time since 2014, with vaccinations a common gripe
- Consumer Council records 26,165 complaints in 2018 about goods and services bought in the city, with vaccine Gardasil 9 a major source of upset
Complaints about vaccinations in Hong Kong increased more than threefold last year, driving the city’s first uptick since 2014 in the overall number of gripes, the consumer watchdog said on Thursday.
The Consumer Council said it received 26,165 complaints about goods and services bought in Hong Kong during 2018 – a 5 per cent rise on the year before.
Service sector grievances rose 11 per cent to hit 15,453, which accounted for 59 per cent of the number citywide.
Complaints against goods dropped 3 per cent.
Vaccinations were a major source of discontent. Some 2,207 complaints surfaced in 2018 about immunisations, almost four times the figure in the previous year. More than 90 per cent were lodged by mainland visitors to the city.
The upsurge was largely due to an inadequate supply of the anti-cancer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil 9, the watchdog said. Optimum protection requires three shots, but many service providers were unable to offer a complete course of inoculation despite customers paying in full.