It has been confirmed that Big Hit Entertainment has been investigated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government regarding the “Weverse Shop.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Government warned the company on Feb 3 that there have been a series of consumer complaints and damages related to “Weverse Shop,” which sells idol-related products (commonly called goods) to fans. Weverse Shop exclusively sells albums, various goods, and concert tickets of Big Hit artists, including BTS and TXT.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s e-commerce center, 137 consumer complaints related to Weverse Shop were reported from May last year to the end of last month. These complaints include product defects (41.7%), returns and refunds (34.1%), and delays in delivery (13.6%).
Investigation has revealed that Weverse Shop failed to display the most basic product information, such as manufacturers and importers, which are mandatory under related laws. For clothing items, neither were manufactured year nor precautions for color, laundry, and handling were written, and information about the sellers was also omitted. In the mobile app, model name, year of release of the same model, manufacturing country, size, weight, and KC certification mark were all missing.
An official pointed out, “We are handling it according to the procedure, but the number of complaints related to Weverse Shop has continued to reach 30 even after the year changed.”
In particular, the fact that Weverse Shop sells exclusive items requires special attention. Also, consumers are mostly in their teens and 20s who are not familiar with the laws and regulations, so the officials should be paying more attention.
According to the report, eight other online shopping malls selling idol goods have resolved their issues, and only Weverse Shop is remaining on the “complaint” list.
“We apologize to consumers who may have felt uncomfortable,” an official from Bit Hit told Yonhap News. “Since the launch of Weverse Shop in 2019, we have been continuously making efforts to improve customer service. We are actively taking action on the complaints received.”
However, Weverse Shop users doubtfully responded, saying, “They answer only when Seol Metropolitan Government steps in,” “That was the result of ‘continuously making efforts’? I’m just laughing,” or “Do they even care bout the consumers?”
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