Does anybody have the URL for the Consumer Rights Organisation website?
Or the telephone?
I’m a little pissed off at SOGO Department Store for not letting me(a foreigner) enter the draw for the prizes. They said that foreigners aren’t allowed to enter. I’m a buying customer just like anyone else and do have the right to enter the draw (after spending all that money there).
There’s this big posting on the first floor that says that foreigners winning prizes over NT$13,333 have to pay 20% tax. Well, I guess foreigners can enter the draw! But the department store said that foreigners couldn’t. Are they misleading foreigners or can I call it scamming foreigners?
Well…what can I do about? I went there to shop 'cause I thought that I could enter the draw. I wonder if I can get a refund and shop somewhere else that’s foreigner friendly.
Well…I did give the Consumer Protection Commission a call a couple of minutes ago but couldn’t get through. I don’t think that today’s a national holiday, is it? :?:
Does anyone know of any non-government consumer protection organisation? Maybe they’ll answer the telephone.
I’ll visit SOGO’s Public Relations department to see what they’ll do about this issue(that’s if they’ll do anything about).
Why would you even go to Sogo, if they are anything like the Sogo here in Taichung. I have never had a good experience there from parking to their salespeople. My wife and I don’t go there anymore. Shinkong Mitsukoshi (
Well, I think the only reason danny goes to Sogo is because they are having an Anniversary Sales and trust me, stuff are cheap, especially the cosmetics and clothings.
How come they wouldn’t let you enter the drawing, could it be because you don’t have a Taiwanese ID card? Could it be because of tax issues?? Well, get a reasonable answer from them or tell them that what you are going to do if your requests are ingnore.
Stuff is really cheap because of the anniversary sales just as MiakaW mentioned.
I did go and have a talk with the PR there. She said that maybe foreigners couldn’t enter because of the tax issue. I told her that foreigners pay 20% tax so there shouldn’t be any problem. She added that the computer system that they used to enter the customers’ info for the draw couldn’t work for foreigners. Something about the system not being able to enter the English name and not being able to enter any ID number that’s too short… Anyways she said that she would try to get this problem solved for me. She phoned the office and talked to her superiors and told me that they could do it by hand (write it on an application form instead of typing it into the computer) so that I could still enter the draw.
I informed them that I do have a Chinese name and APRC ID number which is the same amount of numbers as the Chinese ID (before the ARC didn’t have enough numbers so it couldn’t be typed in). I got to enter the draw.
They said that it’s a problem that they are addressing and will have the computer program rewritten to be able to enter foreigners without Chinese names and ID numbers that aren’t long enough. Also that they’ll train their employees on how to handle this problem in the meantime.
I have had bad experiences at FE21’(FarEastern), SOGO, and also Shin Kong. But it won’t stop me from going to these places. I’ll keep on going to these places and see if the service is being improved. If not, I’ll keep on reminding them of the rights of customers like us(foreigners).
The thing is to talk to them with a smile and not with an angry attitude. It will work alot better and you’ll see gradual change.
[quote=“danny”]
I did go and have a talk with the PR there. She said that maybe foreigners couldn’t enter because of the tax issue. I told her that foreigners pay 20% tax so there should be any problem. She added that the computer system that they used to enter the customers’ info for the draw couldn’t work for foreigners. Something about the system not being able to enter the English name and not being able to enter any ID number that’s too short… [/quote]
I doubt that is the case, com’on, the least she can do is to create a Chinese name for you, couldn’t she?? Well, at least she is willing to help you, so that is a good new. It give us more confident now to fight for our rights!! (I do anywayz, with my bitchy attitude. )
Has anyone(a foreigner) applied for a Department Store credit card? With the Department Store’s credit card a discount is given on purchases and you can get free gifts… I applied for the SOGO one but didn’t get it.
Applying for credit cards is another problem for foreigners. Some banks just tell you that foreigners can’t apply. While others just give you some BS reason for not giving you one. HSBC said that foreigners can’t get a credit card here but can apply for it in our own country. Well HSBC isn’t a Taiwan bank so why can’t foreigners get a credit card from a bank that’s also foreign in Taiwan? And the thing is I live in Taiwan so don’t want to apply for it in the States and pay the bill every month through an account there that I have to wire money over to. And another thing is I buy things in Taiwan in NT$ then it has to be converted to US$ in my monthly bill. Well then I also have to pay for the conversion. I don’t think that it’s worth that much trouble.
I got a credit card from a local ESUN BANK with no problem at all. I guess 'cause it’s a small bank they try to get all the business that they can. They give the best service that I know of. Unlike some banks where the employees seem to be having a bad day everyday.
I had to provide them with a copy of my ARC(didn’t have my APRC then) and a copy of my bank book along with the application.
Also the info and signature of a guarantor was required.
[quote=“danny”]I had to provide them with a copy of my ARC(didn’t have my APRC then) and a copy of my bank book along with the application.
Also the info and signature of a guarantor was required.[/quote]
How long ago was this? What kind of benefits does the card have?
As a sidenote to the Sogo thing, glad that you got that sort of resolved. I’ve been told by co-workers, in cases like that if going though the proper channels doesn’t produce results, you can find media that’s friendly to your cause. Threatened with a PR nightmare, they’ll quickly give you what you want. Media seems to get things done quickest in this country.
I am not sure if your compliant has been solved, but below is the info. for the future reference:
The non-government consumer protection organisation in Taipei city:
2700-1234
10fl-2. No. 390 Fushing South Road Sec.1, Taipei.
Good luck!
I am glad this thread got bumped. I have a question about the widespread policy of stores in Taiwan of never refunding cash for faulty products they have sold. They say you have to replace it with the same thing or something else of equal value. No cash refund - ever.
This sucks and I wonder whether it’s legal. I once took some mouldy food back. These things were white starchy balls that go in a sweet soup. The mould was white so it was hard to tell until you opened the pack.
Anyway, when I returned it (Dong Hsing supermarket) there was no apology, just a ‘go and replace it with something of equal value’. This pissed me off as I didn’t want to get anything and I had made a special trip all the way back to the shop.
I had a look around and there was really nothing I wanted so I insisted on getting my money back. The manager just kept harping on about store policy. Eventually, after 20 minutes of my ranting on about his policy of selling moudly food, and to my great surprise, he paid up, out of his own pocket!
I think it was because he could tell I was getting very angry. I was at the point of seriously considering throwing those moudly balls around the store. Not a very smart thing to do but I was just angry.
Any other stories like this? Can stores really do as they like - sell faulty products and then not return cash? That has to change I feel.
What information did you have to provide to get one?
Brian[/quote]
Another place to go is Chinatrust. Super easy, super friendly. I truly feel as if I’m not in Taiwan being served by typical Taiwanese service people. Why can’t more companies be as service-oriented as them. it really shows it’s possible here. now all we need is a swift kick in the ass to the powers that be.
i heard foreigners cant win the lottery thats winning ticket is a receipt, this has got me vexxed, im getting on the next plane out of here… but i dont see the big deal at all really, like they should of just pretended to enter you into the draw i guess… and when you walked out the store laughed at you… most contests in Canada… like for entering draws… the rules and regulations state the contest is only open to canadian citizens… many or the same way in the USA also… I don’t know alot about ARCs or APRCs and if that makes you a citizen or not though… so maybe Im sticking my foot in my mouth, but it seems standard in the western world also…
Danny, please keep us up to date on the results of your findings. I’d certainly be interested in seeing what they say about Sogo’s behavior.
[quote=“Spack”]I am glad this thread got bumped. I have a question about the widespread policy of stores in Taiwan of never refunding cash for faulty products they have sold. They say you have to replace it with the same thing or something else of equal value. No cash refund - ever.
This sucks and I wonder whether it’s legal.
Any other stories like this? Can stores really do as they like - sell faulty products and then not return cash? That has to change I feel.[/quote]
One problem is that even if a store purposely sells a faulty product, you’d have a hard time proving it and from what I have seen, legal or not, most stores will not give you a cash refund. It seems the store has the right to makes its own policy regarding returns, though I believe there is a national policy and that’s where, most likely, the no cash refund part comes into play.
If you buy an electronics product, ALWAYS, test it in the store before you buy it. And if you ever get screwed make sure all of us know which store it was so we can avoid them!
Just like to add to this that I did manage to get a cash refund on faulty prodcuts at one of those large electrical stores.
I bought an item that broke. Took it back and exchanged it for another new one. Took it home and it broke straight away as well. They didnt want to give me a refnd but finally came through when they realised that I wasnt giving up.
Not sure if this was policy or just a way of dealing with a very persistent foreigner.
Brian you probably just got lucky, though I have found if you return something immediately after you buy it, within a few hours or so, they are usually pretty nice about it. When I use to live outside Taipei, stores were even nicer about it. I have only been able to get my money back for something once in Taipei, that was at Nova when I accidently bought something I really didn’t need. It took me five seconds to realize it and they were happy to refund my NT$100 or so.
I don’t think that today’s a national holiday, is it? :?:
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