I left it because it was comfortable, but you don't know how much? Mobile laundry service 'Black Charge'

■ Broadcast: YTN Radio FM 94.5 (09:00-10:00)
■ Host: Reporter Cho Tae-hyun
■ Air date: January 10, 2025 (Friday)
■ Talk: Lee Hu-jeong, head of the Market Surveillance Team of the Market Research Bureau

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◇ Reporter Cho Tae-hyun (hereinafter referred to as Cho Tae-hyun): It's time for "Smart Consumer Life" to deliver useful information that can make you a smart consumer. As the number of single-person and dual-income households increased, the domestic service market also grew. Along with this, the 'non-face-to-face mobile laundry service' is gaining popularity, which collects and delivers laundry when applying through an application. The service is convenient, but some improvements were needed in items that needed to be agreed upon by consumers. Regarding this, I will talk to team leader Lee Ho-jung of the market monitoring team of the Korea Consumer Agency's Market Research Bureau. Team leader, you're here, right?

◆Lee Ho-jung, head of the Market Monitoring Team of the Market Research Bureau (hereinafter referred to as Lee Ho-jung): Yes, hello.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: Non-face-to-face mobile laundry service, do many people actually use it?

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: Yes, that's right. In the past, most people visited and used local laundry in person. Recently, the use of 'non-face-to-face mobile laundry services' that complete laundry collection and delivery when applying through a mobile app is increasing. According to media reports, the number of users of the housekeeping service app, such as laundry and cleaning, grew 192% over three years from 1.2 million in 2020 to 3.5 million in 2023.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: This survey was conducted by selecting three popular companies?

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: Yes, that's right. Three smartphone play stores, Lundrigo, Laundry Commando, and Clintopia, which have more than 100,000 cumulative downloads, were surveyed, including mobile app interface analysis, usage terms and conditions, and mystery shopping.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: It's growing fast, but I heard there are a lot of things that need to be corrected. Let's take a look at them one by one. First, displaying business information, this part was insufficient?

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: First of all, these online platform services are subject to the E-Commerce Act, and essential information such as business phone numbers and addresses and terms and conditions of use should be displayed on the initial screen of the cyber mall such as the mobile app so that consumers can easily see them. However, all three operators surveyed did not immediately display their business information and terms and conditions on the initial screen, and some operators had to find up to four times to see their phone numbers. Currently, all three operators have replied that they will display their business information and terms and conditions on the initial screen of the mobile app.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: Actually, more important than this is the usage fee. Some companies didn't post the service fee separately on the mobile app?

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: That's right. The most important condition for consumers to consider is 'charge'. Under the law, a business operator must indicate a 'charge'. However, some businesses have had problems because they do not display this rate on mobile apps that sell actual services, but only on Internet websites created for company introductions. In response, the operator responded that he would post the fee on the mobile app according to the recommendation of the Consumer Agency.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: I heard that mobile laundry service will be provided with a postpaid payment system, so would there be no problem?

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: That's right. Usually, even if the rough charging standards are marked in advance, there are various types of clothing, so consumers will need to be guided about the actual charges to be paid before washing, and if there is a problem with setting the charges, they will need an opportunity to correct them. According to the survey, consumers were not given the opportunity to notify or correct the payment amount before they started washing the laundry collected by all three operators. Regarding this, there was an explanation that it was difficult to inform the amount in advance because the amount could change as much as possible during the washing process. However, if a consumer complains about the amount of payment after the fact, they answered that they are actively solving the problem through customer consultation.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: There are a lot of subscription services these days. Some laundry companies are also selling subscription services, but they have not clearly communicated to consumers the automatic payment notice or the deadline for applying discount rates.

◆ Lee Hu-jeong: Yes, it has been confirmed that while selling subscription products that offer discounts on laundry fees for a certain period of time, such as 3 or 6 months, they did not properly notify that once purchased, automatic payment will be made on a regular basis. Although 'regular automatic payment' is an important transaction condition, it was not sufficiently emphasized, such as being displayed in small letters compared to other contract contents, and there was no separate consent procedure. It also needed to be improved that the date of conversion from discount rate to normal rate was not clearly presented as the discount event was held for new members.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: Even when canceling the subscription service, some companies have unfavorable conditions. Have you taken corrective action on this part?

◆Afterwards: In the case of providing a certain number of services as promised, the unused part must be withdrawn within 7 days from the contract date in accordance with the Electronic Commerce Act, even if the consumer has used some times. However, there were cases in which the terms of use stipulated that consumers could not withdraw or refund the subscription for the number of times remaining after using the service. In addition, in the case of membership subscription products that give discounts for a promised period of time, the contract lasts for more than a month, so consumers should be able to cancel it if they want during the contract period according to the Door-to-Door Sales Act. However, in some cases, if a consumer requests an intermediate cancellation, it is not canceled immediately, and the service is supposed to be used until the month including the date of the cancellation request. In both cases, we responded to the plan to improve the terms and conditions according to the recommendation of the Consumer Agency.

◇ Cho Tae-hyun: Okay. Until now, I was team leader Lee Hu-jung of the market monitoring team of the Korea Consumer Agency Market Research Bureau. Thank you for talking today.