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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Heung-man and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Joseph WP Wong, in the Legislative Council today (December 13):
Question:
I have received complaints alleging that some marketing staff of subscription television companies, after entering residential buildings on the pretext of repairing the facilities concerned, approached individual flats to conduct sales activities, causing nuisance to the residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number of complaints received in the past three years by the relevant authorities about the unscrupulous or harassing practices adopted in selling subscription television services, and the results of the follow-up actions regarding these complaints;
(b) whether it will consider enacting legislation to curb the unscrupulous or harassing sales practices; if it will, of the details of its consideration; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it will require the companies concerned to strictly monitor the practices adopted by their staff in sales activities?
Reply:
Madam President,
At present, the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) and the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap. 391) do not empower the Broadcasting Authority (BA) to regulate the sales activities of pay television licensees. However, domestic pay television programme service licensees are required to comply with the terms and conditions of their licences, including the requirements to prepare their own codes of practice for customer service, to receive and handle complaint cases, and to formulate working guidelines for their staff. Domestic pay television programme service licensees have already put in place mechanisms to strictly prohibit their staff from adopting dishonest or harassing sales practices.
Upon receipt of any complaint about pay television sales activities, the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) will, depending on the circumstances of the case and with the consent of the complainant, refer the case to the licensee concerned for investigation and follow-up. So far, the TELA has not received any complaints about the licensees' handling of such referrals.
Apart from the TELA, the Consumer Council also deals with complaints about pay television sales activities. The Consumer Council may refer some of its cases to the TELA for necessary follow-up action.
My replies to parts (a), (b) and (c) of the question are as follows:
(a) For around three years between January 1, 2004, and October 31, 2006, the TELA and the Consumer Council received 137 and 2,798 complaints about pay television sales practices respectively. As the Consumer Council has referred some of its cases to the TELA for follow-up, the TELA's figure includes such referrals. However, we do not have the breakdown of complaints against sales activities conducted by pay television staff after entering residential buildings on the pretext of repairing the facilities concerned. Upon follow-up action by the TELA and the Consumer Council, all complaint cases have been satisfactorily resolved.
(b) In general, trespassing private residential premises (without authorisation by owners or residents) constitutes infringements of civil right. Owners, residents and building management companies concerned can ask the trespasser to leave the premises. If necessary, e.g., in case of any suspected criminal deceptive act, owners or residents may seek the assistance of the Police.
We will consider whether or not to regulate the sales practice of broadcasting service licensees with a view to safeguarding consumers against misleading and deceptive conducts when we next review the relevant broadcasting legislation.
(c) In view of public concerns over pay television sales activities, the TELA wrote to all domestic pay television programme service licensees in August 2005, requesting them to take heed of the complaints about their sales and promotional activities. Licensees have responded to the TELA's request and put in place their own administrative measures to address the problem, e.g., contents of conversation between the salesperson and the customer to be reconfirmed through follow-up telephone calls by supervisors.
Ends/Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:00
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