Hebei: Recovered 1.212 Billion Yuan in Economic Losses for Consumers Last Year

This article is reprinted from China Quality News

**　　This newspaper report (by Xu Dongzhou)** On March 13, coinciding with World Consumer Rights Day, the Hebei Provincial Government Information Office held a press conference titled “Continuously Optimizing the Consumer Environment and Effectively Safeguarding Consumers’ Legal Rights,” introducing recent achievements in Hebei Province’s related work.

In recent years, Hebei Province has actively leveraged the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei consumer rights protection cooperation mechanism, coordinating efforts across the region to protect consumer rights. The three areas jointly implemented a no-questions-asked return policy. By the end of 2025, 3,611 offline businesses participated in no-questions-asked returns, with a total refund amount of 146 million yuan; 223 businesses engaged in cross-region, cross-store exchanges and returns within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; and 878 businesses had established a pre-compensation system for consumer disputes. The three regions also collaborated on consumer education and guidance, with Hebei, Beijing, and Tianjin market regulation departments jointly conducting 2,355 promotional activities themed “Popularize Laws and Regulations, Optimize the Consumer Environment,” distributing 146,800 promotional materials, reaching 407,300 people. Additionally, they issued 511 joint consumer warning notices during holidays.

Hebei Market Supervision Bureau has persisted in resolving consumer disputes through multiple channels, comprehensively improving consumers’ rights protection efficiency. The bureau actively promotes resolving disputes at the source, establishing complaint handling systems for 6,830 enterprises by 2025, resolving 103,800 disputes at the source; encouraging 18,600 enterprises to join the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system, enabling online resolution of consumer disputes.

By 2025, the 12315 complaint and reporting platform in Hebei’s market supervision system received over 830,000 consumer complaints and reports (including over 577,000 complaints and 253,000 reports), with complaint resolution, complaint handling, and report verification rates exceeding 99%, recovering 1.212 billion yuan in economic losses for consumers. Consumer organizations at all levels utilize mediation, persuasion, interviews, reviews, exposure, and support for litigation, integrating “Internet+” technology to streamline processes and shorten complaint resolution cycles. In 2025, consumer protection committees at all levels handled over 13,600 complaints, recovering more than 5.3 million yuan for consumers; large shopping malls, supermarkets, specialty markets, tourist attractions, and commercial streets established 5,997 consumer rights service stations, mediating 32,600 complaints throughout the year, recovering over 40 million yuan in economic losses.

In response to illegal activities such as counterfeiting, infringement, false advertising, and unmarked pricing, Hebei launched concentrated campaigns to effectively combat these violations and maintain fair market competition.

Hebei conducted special monitoring of advertisements related to miracle doctors, medicinal products, medical cosmetology, off-campus training, and online live broadcasts, reviewing 16,700 suspected illegal ads; regulated online trading behaviors, reviewing over 2.18 million related product and webpage information, handling 10,100 suspected illegal clues, and filing 130 cases; strengthened contract clause governance, interviewing 746 companies, issuing 470 administrative guidance letters, and standardizing 3,624 contract clauses; and tackled pricing irregularities through campaigns like “Clear Pricing in Thousands of Stores,” addressing issues such as unmarked prices and price fraud, handling 37,800 cases, and transferring 66 cases to public security authorities.

Meanwhile, Hebei focused on issues concerning food, medicine, key industrial products, and special equipment safety, conducting special rectifications, strengthening quality supervision, and safeguarding safety.

Strictly cracking down on food safety violations, focusing on “campus meals,” with inspections of 27,000 school canteens, contracted operators, and off-campus catering units, identifying 9,897 issues, ordering 1,752 rectifications, and filing 124 cases; addressing counterfeit and substandard meat products and fake rural foods through special campaigns, thoroughly investigating issues like adulteration, false advertising, and “three no” (no license, no quality certificate, no production date) products, handling 8,449 violations.

To prevent drug safety risks, Hebei coordinated efforts to combat illegal drug procurement channels and launched the “Qingyuan” campaign, inspecting 582 wholesale drug companies, 490 chain headquarters, 40,800 retail pharmacies (including online), and 20,200 medical institutions (clinics), canceling 399 retail licenses and handling 864 cases.

Deepening the management of industrial product quality risks, Hebei launched a three-year inspection campaign, focusing on 44 regional product categories like rubber and plastic products, discovering 1,545 issues for rectification, filing 853 cases, and shutting down 158 enterprises. It promoted 43,000 industrial units to appoint quality and safety directors and safety personnel, strengthening corporate responsibility for product quality and safety.

To strengthen safety supervision of special equipment, Hebei’s Market Supervision Bureau, in cooperation with the Emergency Management Department, conducted special inspections of hazardous chemical companies’ pressure pipelines and pressure vessels, guiding 881 companies to complete self-inspections and rectifications, addressing 1,251 issues; jointly inspected 788 key enterprises, checking 159.89 km of pressure pipelines and 2,225 pressure vessels, rectifying 1,592 issues to ensure safety.

This year, Hebei’s Market Supervision Bureau will focus on efficiently resolving consumer disputes through diversified channels, optimizing the no-questions-asked return system, deepening consumer education, promoting trust-based consumption commitments, selecting typical cases for rights protection, and tackling prominent consumer issues. Centered on the theme “Enhancing Consumer Quality,” the efforts aim to strengthen consumer rights protection, improve the consumer environment, upgrade supply quality, and support high-quality economic and social development.