Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Consumers have been saved from total losses of 5.2-million yuan ($815,000) since the launch of cross-regional cooperation on consumer rights protection, Zhujiang Evening News reported on May 19.

Economic globalization and the increasing flow of population have given rise to surging cross-regional and even broader consumption. And sales malpractices have come along with it.

On April 10, a three-year "Memorandum of Cooperation for Consumer Protection in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" was signed among consumer protection agencies in 11 Greater Bay Area cities, including Zhuhai, to allow consumer complaints to be lodged by tourists right in their home city.

Four service stations are set up in a bid to protect consumer rights on March 15, 2018 in Hengqin New Area in Zhuhai. [Photo courtesy Chinanews.com]

The agreement allows consumers to go home first before filing their complaints to the consumer council. The complaints are then referred back to the consumer council in the city where the dispute has occurred and handled according to the relevant laws there.

Previously, tourists often just abandoned the issue due to the sometimes complex procedures necessary for complaints lodged at the place where the alleged malpractice happened. 

The new MoU helps facilitate the efficiency of consumer litigation processes and provides better protection for consumer rights of people traveling between the cities involved.

Zhuhai city has handled more than 360 cases taking place in this region.

To better protect consumers' rights, a series of working mechanisms have been hammered out among consumer organizations in the cities, along with activities such as after-sale service evaluation and consumer education.