Hong Kong’s e-voucher spending spree accompanied by complaints, Consumer Council says

From trouble processing payments to difficulty downloading discounts, more than 40 residents have logged gripes with the watchdog

Some local firms have also played fast and loose with the rules, body says, with at least one health care provider setting a spending minimum on the handouts

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A billboard touting the government’s HK$5,000 voucher scheme looms above pedestrians in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 3:59pm, 4 Aug 2021Updated: 11:31pm, 4 Aug 2021

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has received 42 complaints so far about the city’s newly launched HK$5,000 (US$643) consumption voucher scheme, and warned of unscrupulous tactics hidden in the myriad discounts being provided by merchants hoping to cash in.

The Consumer Council on Wednesday said that problems encountered by consumers when using the electronic payment platforms chosen to administer the handouts ranged from payments failing to process to trouble downloading discounts to unreachable customer service.

Some merchants, meanwhile, were said to have raised product prices to take advantage of the spending or charged incorrect amounts.

The council said 37 of the complaints were related to the e-voucher payment platforms while the rest were connected to merchants.

Four popular electronic payment platforms have been tasked with handling the government’s e-voucher payments. Photo: Winson Wong

Council CEO Gilly Wong Fung-han said one health care service provider had required its customers to spend at least HK$3,000 before they would accept the vouchers.