No. 304 Consumer Report
Sufficient and transparent information enable consumers to make better consumption choices, the Consumer Council conducted two survey reports on hotel reservation service offered by travel agencies and ID photo taking service by photography shops, reports are now available in the latest issue 304 Consumer Report.
Pay attention to surcharge by travel agencies for booking overseas hotels
A lot of consumers choose to book overseas hotels through travel agencies, the Consumer Council conducted a survey on those providing this service earlier, about 60 percent of the surveyed travel agencies charge consumers an extra fee when making reservation and require consumers to prepay the whole sum, though some travel agencies state that no extra fee is charged and that reservation can be made by paying a deposit.
Other surveyed items include how travel agencies handle when consumers want to cancel reservation or change check in dates, as well as failure to check in due to force majeure, most travel agencies state that consumers’ request are decided base on the terms and conditions of the hotels, some of the agencies also reply that extra fees will be charged.
Consumers are suggested to check the official website of the desired hotel to know more about the terms and conditions and compare them with the regulations of travel agencies before choosing to book via travel agencies, also, inquiries should be made regarding the contents and restrictions of services provided by travel agencies, such as different ways of checking in after arrival. Consumers should provide accurate details for making reservation to avoid extra procedures and time when checking in.
Travel agencies are suggested to explain terms and conditions to consumers, including regulations and fees involved when consumers choose to amend or cancel any bookings.
Extra fee charged on consumers for keeping original copy of photo
Local citizens need to submit personal ID photo when applying for different types of documents, the Council surveyed 24 photography shops that offer photo taking services for Macao ID, Macao Passport, and Home Visit Permit, the survey result reviews that the cost of photo taking service charged by different shops vary more than double, some shops charge consumers an extra fee for getting the original copy or an edited version, some even do not offer the original copy to consumers. One of the shop surveyed charge an amount of at least MOP200 for photo retouching.
Recent works of the Consumer Council
The list of the 13 “Class A Certified Shops” of 2018 can be found in the latest issue Consumer Report, a feature on the annual “Certified Shop” award ceremony is also available in the said issue.
The Macao Consumer Council and the Consumer Association of Hengqin New Area of Zhuhai worked together and offered cross-border arbitration service to a consumer in Macao for the first time through the “Cross-border video mediation platform” earlier, details can be found in Consumer Report.
Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the Council (Av. Horta e Costa, N.º 26, Edf. Clementina Ho), and the service counter of the Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries, and bookstores. Consumers may also access the magazine online on the Council’s official website and WeChat official account.
For inquiry, please call the Council’s hotline: 8988 9315.