The Hong Kong government has been urged to introduce cooling-off periods for prepaid services after a mentally disabled man was allegedly ripped off by a local fitness chain.

This adds to a series of consumer complaints about fitness centers' business practices in promotion campaigns.

The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) made the call on Tuesday after receiving complaints about the Mong Kok branch of California Fitness, a chain serving Hong Kong, the mainland and Singapore, which allegedly forced a mentally disabled man to pay HK$300,000 for its courses by taking him to five different loan companies to get the money.

The man, surnamed Wong, who is slightly mentally challenged, was attracted to the fitness center by phone promotions and was lured to buy 21 items of services after listening to a series of promotions between July 2014 and August this year. His relatives have reported the case to the Customs and Excise Department and the Consumer Council.

HKFTU lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu said he received nine complaints of such alleged scams by the chain over the past year. He urged the government to be aware of any possible coercion and conspiracy to defraud between the fitness center and loan companies.

He also urged the government to set mandatory cooling-off periods for prepaid services to allow customers to cancel transactions and be refunded if they decide not to make the purchase within the period.

In the first 11 months this year, the Consumer Council received 519 complaints related to the fitness industry, which is roughly the same as for the whole of last year. Among them, 390 were related to business practices, higher than the figure last year.

The council supports the call to introduce cooling-off periods for such prepaid services to safeguard customers' interests.

The current law allows for action to bring such fitness centers to justice, according to the council. Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any trader engaged in business practices that impair a consumer's freedom of choice through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence commits an offense.

Meanwhile, according to the Unconscionable Contracts Ordinance, if a customer does not have adequate strength in his bargaining position, or is not able to understand any documents relating to the supply or possible supply of the goods or services, the court has grounds to rule the contract as void.

To tackle unfair trade practices more effectively, city authorities in 2011 consulted the public on legislative proposals to enhance protection for consumers against unfair trade practices.

However, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung said the implementation of a cooling-off period involves certain non-straightforward and controversial fundamental issues. He believes the existing ordinances are adequate to combat unfair trade practices and protect customers' rights.

luisliu@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 12/30/2015 page7)