"월 몇만 원? 빠져나오기 힘들어"..소비자 울리는 '가전 구독' / SBS / 친절한 경제

Anchor We have reporter Han Ji-yeon here for Thursday’s "Friendly Economy." Reporter Han, I hear that while many people subscribe to home appliances these days, there are some issues? Reporter Over the past three and a half years, there have been more than 2,600 reported cases of damage related to home appliance subscriptions. The number has been on an upward trend every year. These days, it is very common to use subscription—or rather, rental—forms for not only small appliances like water purifiers and bidets, but also large appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. From a consumer's perspective, it is quite attractive because you can use the latest appliances by paying just a few tens of thousands of won a month without the burden of a large initial payment. However, damages have also increased; while there were around 600 cases in 2022, 886 cases were reported in 2024. Looking at the details, contract-related issues are the most frequent. Contract-related complaints, such as penalties for early termination or breach of contract, account for 55.1%, which is more than half of the total. Quality and after-sales service issues, such as product breakdowns, repair delays, and discontinued parts, accounted for 34.6%. Additionally, problems such as signing up for unwanted add-on services or a lack of information continue to occur. In fact, perceived dissatisfaction is high, with over 60% of consumers reporting having suffered damages. Ultimately, problems persist throughout the entire process, from subscription to cancellation and after-sales service. 〈Anchor〉 What is the biggest problem? 〈Reporter〉 In fact, subscription services often emphasize only the monthly fee. However, consumers say that it is difficult to compare total costs. What consumers look at is the monthly amount, such as 30,000 or 40,000 won. But the key point is that this is not the whole story. For rentals, the 'total cost'—which combines not only the rental fee but also registration and installation fees over the contract period—is crucial, yet this information is often not properly provided. Therefore, by regulation, businesses are required to display both the total cost and the consumer selling price. However, an investigation by the Korea Consumer Agency revealed that LG Electronics only displays this information for select items, such as water purifiers and bidets, while the total cost and selling price are missing from a significant number of products, including refrigerators and washing machines. In fact, LG Electronics showed insufficient total cost labeling for 8 out of 14 product categories. This leads consumers to sign contracts based solely on the monthly fee, making it difficult to determine the total financial burden or which option is more advantageous when comparing it to purchasing the product. In the actual survey, 67.2% of respondents identified the difficulty in comparing total costs as a problem. 〈Anchor〉 Also, I heard that you have to pay a considerable penalty if you cancel midway? ☞ More detailed information https://news.sbs.co.kr/y/?id=N1008510909 ☞ [Friendly Economy] View all articles https://news.sbs.co.kr/y/t/?id=100000... #HomeAppliances #Subscription #Samsung #LG #Cuckoo #Coway #Rental ▶ Subscribe to SBS News Channel : https://n.sbs.co.kr/youtube ♨ Discuss current hot issues together (Subscribe to SBS News): https://premium.sbs.co.kr ▶ SBS News Live : https://n.sbs.co.kr/youtubeLive , https://n.sbs.co.kr/live ▶ Report to SBS News Homepage: https://n.sbs.co.kr/inform Application: Install the 'SBS News' app and report - https://n.sbs.co.kr/App KakaoTalk: Add 'SBS News' as a friend and chat - https://pf.kakao.com/_ewsdq/chat Facebook: Send a message to 'SBS News' -   / sbs8news   Email: [email protected] Text: # followed by 6000 Phone: 02-2113-6000 Website: https://news.sbs.co.kr/ Facebook:   / sbs8news   X: https://x.com/sbs8news KakaoTalk: https://pf.kakao.com/_ewsdq Instagram:   / sbsnews   Thread: https://www.threads.com/@sbsnews Copyright Ⓒ SBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI learning are prohibited.