The "12315" consumer complaint hotline, opened nationwide by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce five years ago, has dealt with up to 2.24 million complaints from consumers so far and saved economic losses of more than 4.4 billion yuan.

In March 1999, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce opened a special telephone service nationwide to hear consumer complaints, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Information Industry.

Over the five years, industry and commerce administrative departments at all levels across the country have established an efficient work system and an administrative law enforcement network which covers both the country's urban and rural areas, relying on the "12315" consumer complaint hotline.

Mu Jianhua, director of Consumer Right Protection Bureau under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said the industry and commerce administrative departments at all levels have dealt with around 630,000 cases in which consumer's interests were offended, saving 3.85 billion yuan; 660,000 cases involving fake and inferior products, saving 8.7 billion yuan over the five years. Nearly half of those cases were cracked or solved according to the clues offered by the reporting and complaint from the "12315" hotline.

"Giving that the number of complaints on poor quality of services sector dramatically increased over recent years, the industry and commerce departments will strengthen up efforts on consumer rights protection in the area," said Mu, adding that more attention must be paid to complaints from rural consumers and more complaint telephone services should be set up in the country's vast countryside.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2004)