Bloomberg Beijing
CHINA’S state-run television reported on Sunday that Tata’s Jaguar Land Rover had not handled an alleged fault properly, car dealerships had inflated repair costs and China Mobile had enabled fraudsters.
Jaguar Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque SUVs have gearbox problems that the company has failed to fully address, according to China Central Television’s (CCTV) annual consumer rights programme, citing customer complaints confirmed by reporter checks.
This year’s “315 Gala” also contained allegations that dealers for brands including Nissan, Volkswagen (VW) and Mercedes had overstated problems with vehicles and then overcharged for simple fixes.
The CCTV programme, broadcast on March 15 each year to mark World Consumer Rights Day, typically has reporters with hidden cameras posing as customers to expose flaws at companies. Companies singled out in past years include McDonald’s, VW and Apple, whose chief executive Tim Cook apologised to Chinese consumers after 2013’s programme.
“In addition to possible fines, there is the loss of reputation as the show receives wide media coverage and threads through social media,” said Jim Feldkamp, the founder of Chinese website Mingjian.com, which reviews consumer products.
Jaguar Land Rover apologised to consumers for “the inconvenience and trouble caused” in a posting on its official microblog. It said it was working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
On the car dealerships, VW said it had provided tools and training to its dealers, and regularly monitored their performance via means including audits. Customers were welcome to contact the company directly if they had problems with dealer service, the company added.
Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle, a joint venture between Japan’s Nissan and China-based Dongfeng Motor, took “very seriously” CCTV’s allegations that its dealers had inflated simple repairs, and it had already formed working groups to to investigate the problem, according to a statement.
Daimler, which owns Mercedes Benz, said it was investigating the issues raised by CCTV. Daimler was “against this behaviour by dealers as it constitutes an infringement on the rights of consumers”, the company said.
China Mobile and its sister company China Tietong Telecommunications, owned by the same mainland parent group, had allowed fraudsters to gain access to numbers used for official phone company operations and had failed to prevent the use of fake caller ID numbers, CCTV said. Fraudsters had impersonated banks and the police to obtain money, the broadcaster said.
China Mobile spokeswoman Rainie Lei referred to the company’s statement on its official Weibo account and declined to comment further.
Checks by reporters also showed that it was too easy to obtain bank cards with fraudulent documentation and cellphone SIM cards without the proper documentation.