When purchasing goods online, consumers are susceptible to the risk of counterfeit and imitation goods. — Photo plo.vn

The National Competition Commission under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has received 1,567 complaints from consumers last year.

The commission reports that 5.5 per cent of the complaints were related to e-commerce.

Common problems include poor quality and quantity of goods, unsatisfactory shipping services, failure to compensate or return products, misleading advertising and false information.

The main affected groups are children, the elderly, and people living in rural, highland, and remote areas.

The MoIT has proactively co-ordinated closely with e-commerce platforms to promptly detect and support the handling of problems arising on the platforms.

Through the co-ordination mechanism, the ministry discovered and handled many large-scale cases of fraudulent goods, counterfeit goods, and goods of unknown origin offered for sale in cyberspace; promptly request e-commerce platforms to adjust and remove information with misleading content that can negatively impact consumers.

In the coming time, the ministry will strengthen inspection activities, promptly detect and strictly handle violations in the e-commerce environment.

During the process of handling violations, problems related to handle mechanisms and governing legal regulations will continue to be reviewed and evaluated to propose to competent authorities to continue improving and enhancing legal effectiveness.

At the same time, it will also strengthen communication to raise awareness of consumers, the business community and the whole society in building and developing a healthy and sustainable e-commerce environment. — VNS