E-shoppers to get complaint centre

The Electronic Transaction Development Agency (ETDA) is in the process of establishing an Online Complaint Centre, which will enhance consumer protection in the field of e-transactions and minimise risks for both businesses and customers.

The agency hopes to officially announce the centre next February. 

Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Planning and Development Bureau is developing a mobile application to enable online consumers to complain about e-business operators by using a 13-character ID number.

Surangkana Wayuparb, director of the ETDA, said the agency is developing the Online Compliant Centre with the broader aim of facilitating rapid e-commerce growth by creating more openness and confidence about e-transactions. 

This would be made possible by having an official central point that will allow online customers to lodge a complaint about a business if they are dissatisfied with an online purchase, or the service they have received, she said. 

The new centre will provide a one-stop service to support customer complaints as well facilitate online dispute resolution through negotiation, mediation and arbitration, she said, adding that there will also be cyber-police to act against illegal online businesses and create confidence for online shoppers.

The development of the centre takes place amid the sharp rise in the use of mobile devices and the rapid growth of Internet penetration, both of which are key factors that will continue to drive e-transactions and contribute to economic growth, said the agency head. 

“I think the new centre will encourage the development of business and e-commerce and drive economic growth in the nation. It will create confidence and truth for online shoppers. It will also increase online purchases of products over the Bt500 to Bt1,000 range, which will rapidly increase e-commerce business around the country,” she said.

Surangkana added that the agency was also benefiting from a comparative study covering Japan and South Korea in setting up the new centre.

Moreover, it will establish an online trust mark to identify online entrepreneurs and businesses. 

The ETDA will run a pilot project in which enterprises will be invited to participate, registering their businesses and handling complaints in connection with the online trust-mark project and building up confidence for the wider cyber-arena. 

It expects to announce two new services in February next year for guaranteeing and confidence-building in the private and government sectors, she said.

Somkiat Chaisuparakul, executive of the Thai E-commerce Association, said retail B2C (business to customer) sales in Thailand last year were worth US$516 million (Bt16.4 billion). Business is forecast to rise to $552 million this year, and to reach $671 million in 2017.

He said the Online Complaint Centre would create a good opportunity to expand the level of online business, where there is plenty of room for growth. It will also be an opportunity for the country to take a bigger step into the global e-commerce market.

 

Mobile application

Pikanet Tapuang, director of the Consumer Protection Planning and Development Bureau, said his agency is in the process of developing a mobile application named OCPB Complaint for the Android and iOS operating systems. 

The application will allow e-shoppers to complain about an online business by using their 13-character personal ID. 

The complaint will be sent to the back office in real time, upon which an e-mail will be sent to the consumer so that they can follow developments in their case online. 

There will also be a mobile chat room, enabling resolution of a dispute between a business and an e-shopper via online conferencing, he said.

The bureau expects to officially announce the application for Thai online customers in the next couple of months.

Pikanet added that between 2008-2013, the bureau received 263 complaints from online shoppers, 125 of whom had paid the seller but not received the product or service they had ordered, such as airline ticket, hotel reservation or other product. 

Most of the remaining complaints concerned the goods, products or services received, which did not match the specifications or advertising on the Internet.

“I think the new application will help to reduce the number of instances of products not meeting the requirements stated on the Internet, and therefore eventually reduce the number of complaints from online shoppers,” he said.

Somwang Luangpaiboonsri, general manager of PAYSBUY, an online payment-service provider, said the new Online Compliant Centre would help to create confidence for e-customers, which would provide crucial support for and promote online business. 

He said the ETDA should provide incentives to promote the scheme and invite businesses to register and identify their e-operations in order to create openness and confidence for online customers.