MOU for collaboration on cross-border consumer disputes signed by HKCC & TCC

According to the Hong Kong Consumer Council (HKCC), a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration on cross-border consumer disputes was signed today (October. 24) between the Hong Kong Consumer Council and the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) to establish an information exchange and complaint referral mechanism, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two parties in the resolution of consumer disputes.

As the fourth MOU HKCC has signed with a consumer body in Asia following similar agreements with the Korea Consumer Agency in 2017, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan in 2018, and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) in 2019, this MOU marks the dedication of the HKCC and TCC in jointly creating a safer and more reassuring consumption environment for consumers in the region.

Under the agreement, residents of either Hong Kong or Thailand involved in consumer disputes with traders in the other party's territory can lodge their complaints with the local consumer body after returning to their place of residence. With the complainant's prior consent, the consumer body of the complainant's territory of residence can refer the details and relevant documents of the complaint case to the other consumer body, which would then assist the consumer in resolving the dispute. If the trader responds or offers a settlement, the consumer body in the respective territory would relay the results to the other party, which would in turn inform the complainant. The exchange mechanism could effectively remove past obstacles that leave many consumer complaints unresolved, including language, geographical and jurisdiction barriers.

While Thailand has long been a popular travel destination for Hong Kong people, there has been a steep rebound in cross-border travel and consumption demand from both Thailand and Hong Kong residents in the post-pandemic era.

According to the figures released by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, over 800,000 Hong Kong tourists had visited Thailand in 2023, a fourfold increase versus 2022 and recovering to around 80% of the pre-COVID visitor numbers. As for the first 9 months of 2024, the number of Hong Kong tourists visiting Thailand has already exceeded 660,000.

At the same time, destination insights from search analytics indicate that Thailand ranks third in terms of "top demand by destination country" among Hong Kong people in 2024, while its capital Bangkok is the second most in-demand destination city. On the other hand, Hong Kong is also popular with travellers from Thailand. Statistics from the Hong Kong Tourism Board shows that 450,372 tourists from Thailand visited Hong Kong in 2023, a staggering 34-fold year-on-year increase and almost back to the level before the pandemic.

Hong Kong and Thailand are mutually popular travel destinations, not only because of their proximity and easy connection, but also because both places offer a highly diverse shopping experience with a wide range of consumption categories for all budgets. Hong Kong visitors to Thailand enjoy a variety of purchases from authentic local souvenirs, cosmetics and skincare products, spa and massage services, to higher spending items such as luxury resort accommodation and even property investments, which can involve sizeable monetary values.

Furthermore, Hong Kong and Thailand jointly launched the "FPS x PromptPay Link" for cross-border QR payment in late 2023, offering a fast, secure and easily accessible cross-border retail payment service to people traveling between Hong Kong and Thailand. It is believed that this initiative can further facilitate consumption among tourists. However, all forms of consumption carry risks of disagreement, and in the event of unresolved consumption disputes, consumers may sustain grievous losses, especially for high-monetary-value cases involving buying overseas property. From 2020 to September 2024, the HKCC has received 33 complaint cases from Hong Kong consumers relating to the purchase of property in Thailand, involving over HK$6 million in total.

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