Damage to the 2030 generation increases... Reward-type internet education service warning
Quick Look
- The Korea Consumer Agency issued a damage prevention advisory as damage related to reward-type internet education services increased, especially among consumers in their 20s and 30s.
- Excessive penalty charges upon contract termination and non-payment of payback were the main types of damage.
AI-generated summary
Damage to the 2030 generation increases... Don't be fooled by a full refund, but check the detailed conditions in advance.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Min-jung = The Korea Consumer Agency recently issued a damage prevention advisory, saying that damage related to 'reward-type' internet education services is increasing, especially among consumers in their 20s and 30s.
Reward-type internet education services are products that provide cash points or savings or refund tuition when certain conditions are met.
Of the 4,202 applications for damage relief related to Internet education services received by the Consumer Agency over the past five years, 2,024 applications (48.2%) came from consumers in their 20s and 30s.
Of the 2030 damage claims, 623 (32.3%) were related to reward-type services, such as refunding tuition upon passing an exam or paying cash points or savings upon achieving a certain amount of learning.
In particular, the most common case of 'excessive penalty charge' when a consumer cancels or terminates a contract was 212 cases (34%), followed by 153 cases (24.6%) of non-payment of payback even though the conditions were met. ‘Non-payment’ occurred at 24.6% (153 cases).
In addition, there were 105 cases (16.9%) of ‘failure to implement extension/renewal’, 57 cases (9.1%) of ‘false/exaggerated advertisements’ that were different from the contents of the advertisement, and 35 cases (5.6%) of ‘insufficient provision of information’.
Meanwhile, as a result of analyzing 1,936 cases of consumer damage in 2030 that could be confirmed by type, the results were found to be in the order of foreign language (629 cases), job/employment competency (464 cases), civil service exam (235 cases), and certification (204 cases). In particular, damage related to foreign language, job/employment competency, and financial technology/side job lectures showed a sharp increase in damage from 2024.
In relation to this, the Consumer Agency urged consumers to check the compensation payment conditions, refund standards for early termination, and penalty deduction standards, while also being careful not to be deceived by advertisements such as full refund or cash compensation.
