Cases in which elderly consumers suffer from different contract terms than explained due to relying solely on the seller's verbal explanations when purchasing mobile phones are consistently occurring.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 31st, from 2021 to October 2024, there have been a total of 3,651 applications for damage relief related to mobile phone services filed with the Korea Consumer Agency. Of these, 542 cases (14.8%) involved individuals aged 65 and older. By year, there were 196 cases in 2021, 141 in 2022, 127 in 2023, and 78 from January to October this year.
Mobile phone services ranked among the top two items in damage relief applications from the elderly nationwide every year.
Analyzing the 542 cases related to the elderly, complaints about incomplete sales, where sellers described phones as "free phones" or "no-cost phones" but actually billed for device costs, accounted for 81.2% (440 cases).
Specifically, "contract non-fulfillment" accounted for the largest portion at 33.2% (180 cases). This was followed by "contract cancellation, termination, and penalties" at 19.4% (105 cases), "unfair practices" at 17.2% (93 cases), and "withdrawal from offer" at 11.4% (62 cases).
From 2021 to October this year, the average settlement rate for damage relief applications from the elderly submitted to the consumer agency was 47.5%. In contrast, the settlement rate for mobile phone service damage relief was 35.1%, approximately 13 percentage points lower than the average.
A significant amount of the damage appears to stem from elderly individuals with insufficient digital skills failing to properly understand detailed terms beyond the monthly billing fees at the contract stage, or verbal agreements for discounts not being specified in the contracts.
In particular, there have been many instances where, contrary to statements that new mobile service subscriptions would result in lower fees compared to existing contracts, higher fees were billed, or where the service provider failed to honor agreements to cover penalties for contract termination of existing agreements.
A representative from the consumer agency noted, "It is essential to check whether the verbal explanations at the time of subscription match the contents of the contract," and emphasized that benefits and terms provided by agents or retailers outside of the telecom companies should be documented separately in the contract and that the contract should be physically obtained and kept.