With Chinese New Year approaching, the Taipei City Government has been holding spot safety inspections at department stores and hypermarkets. Of 45 stores inspected, four were found to be in violation of the Building Act. Fines of NT$120,000 were issued for violations including roll-up doors that don't work and using fire escapes for storage. Taipei City consumer protection officials also remind everyone that many businesses have been promoting zero-interest purchases to students and these often lead to consumer disputes.
The Taipei City Government recently completed spot safety inspections of 45 department stores, hypermarkets and restaurants. High-end mall Bellavita was fined for keeping refrigerators on its fire escape.
They put a large refrigerator there, which partially blocks the fire door.
Sogo's Dunhua store, meanwhile, was also found to be using its fire escape as storage. Carrefour's Neihu store and Miranew Square were fined for non-working roll-up doors. The four stores were fined NT$120,000 total and have all made necessary changes.
The Taipei City Department of Legal Affairs has issued an alert calling on younger consumers to beware of zero-interest purchases.
It targets younger consumers, offering them zero-interest payments even if they don't have credit cards. If the consumer can't make payments on time down the line, they get hassled by debt collectors.
The department says the Happyfan7 shopping website, which is popular with students, is selling the iPhone 11 Pro Max for NT$56,000, which is much higher than the NT$45,000 price tag at Apple stores. Websites like Happyfan7 charge high processing fees, require payment in advance, don't offer deductions and sometimes even require personal checks for payment. Consumer disputes are common with these websites.