Consumer Council Executive Director Gilly Wong said at a press conference today (Feb. 17), 2022 so far received 171 complaints related to medical check-up services, more than 50 cases each year, of which 58 cases received last year, the first month of this year received six complaints. Complaints include poor service quality, explanation is not detailed, service delays, etc., there are individual complaints involving the receipt of detailed reports to be charged in addition, and beforehand did not notify the consumer, there are also some involved in changing the time.
As mentioned by Wong, the case involving the largest amount of money occurred in 2022, an elderly person aged over 70 with mild cognitive impairment, after purchasing a HK$45,000 medical check-up deluxe package, he was persuaded to purchase a HK$150,000 medical check-up service, as well as other medical check-ups, which ultimately cost a total of HK$265,000 in the end. In view of the huge amount of money spent, the elderly borrowed money from his family members to make the purchase. Upon learning of this, his family members immediately requested the merchant to cancel the package and refund the money, but the merchant only agreed to refund HK$90,000 and demanded to charge a handling fee of HK$2,400 for the purchase. The family disagreed with the arrangement and lodged a complaint with the Council. After the Consumer Council's intervention, the trader insisted that the consumer was sober and responsive during the two purchases and indicated to the trader that he was financially capable of purchasing the medical check-up items, and therefore denied the use of unfair trade practices in the sale of the items, and provided the settlement agreement signed by the consumer at that time. In the end, if the case cannot be mediated, the Consumer Council will advise the complainant to seek independent legal advice.
Wong reminded that in the past, the Consumer Council has published many articles mentioning that there will be "false positives" and "false negatives" in medical check-ups, and that not all items are suitable for consumers. If consumers receive the relevant publicity, they should first consult their familiar doctors to understand and rationally look at the results of medical check-ups.
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