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Chapter VI Handling of Consumer Disputes
Section 1 Complaint
Article 29 Where a consumer dispute arises between a consumer and a trader due to issues with a product or service, and one of the following situations applies to such dispute, a consumer may file a complaint to the City Government's consumer service center: 1. The trader's business office or principal office is located in the City. 2. The contract was executed or performed in the City. 3. The act of infringement took place in or the result thereof occurred in the City.
Article 30 After accepting a complaint, the consumer service center shall, according to the nature of the complaint, transfer such complaint to the enforcement authority for handling. If the enforcement authority does not notify the consumer service center of the result of the complaint handling within thirty (30) days starting from the date of the transfer, the consumer service center may transfer the complaint to the consumer ombudsmen, and notify the enforcement authority to improve its handling of such matters. Where one of the following situations exists with respect to a complaint received by the consumer service center, the consumer service center may decline to deal with such complaint, or may take other appropriate actions: 1. The complaint has already been adjudicated, mediated, or otherwise appropriately dealt with by a court; 2. The complainant has been notified to supplement or correct submissions within a prescribed time limit, and the complainant has failed to do so within the time limit; 3. The complaint does not constitute a consumer dispute; 4. The complaint is not filed by a consumer or by the consumer's agent; 5. The complaint was mediated by a mediation committee but was not successfully resolved; 6. The complaint has no respondent; 7. The complaint contains no substantial content or the complainant does not provide a real name or address; or 8. A complainant, after having received a clear and proper response to his/her complaint, files the same complaint, again.
Article 31 The enforcement authority shall handle a consumer complaint according to the following procedures: 1. If the agency has no jurisdiction over a complaint, such complaint will be recorded and transferred to the government agency having proper jurisdiction. 2. If the agency has jurisdiction over a complaint, it shall send a notice to the trader and order such trader to deal with the complaint appropriately within fifteen (15) days after the date on which the trader receives such notice. If the agency desires to learn the relevant facts, it may order the trader to provide a reply after investigation. 3. If the trader does not deal with the complaint appropriately and the enforcement authority determines that the complaint is merited, the enforcement authority shall set a date and order the trader and the complainant to appear before the enforcement authority to clarify the facts and negotiate a resolution. 4. If a complaint cannot be appropriately resolved according to the measures stipulated in the two preceding subparagraphs, the enforcement authority shall send a notice of the result of the complaint procedure to the complainant, and shall copy the City Government's consumer service center on such notice sent to the trader. The enforcement authority may also transfer the complaint to a consumer ombudsmen for further handling. The enforcement authority shall notify the City Government's consumer service center and the complainant regarding all of the processes stipulated in the preceding paragraph.
Article 32 The consumer ombudsmen shall handle a consumer complaint according to the following procedures: 1. After receiving a complaint, the consumer ombudsmen shall send a notice to the trader and order such trader to respond to the complaint appropriately within fifteen (15) days starting from the date of the trader's receipt of such notice. If the consumer ombudsmen desires to learn the relevant facts of the complaint, the ombudsmen may order the trader to provide a reply after investigation. However, if such complaint is not related to a consumer dispute, or if the consumer ombudsmen has no jurisdiction over such complaint, such complaint will be recorded and transferred to the competent authority, and the complainant will be notified of the same. 2. If a complaint involves issues on the legal regulations, the consumer ombudsmen may request the relevant agencies or organizations to explain and provide information for the consumer ombudsmen's reference. 3. When necessary, the consumer ombudsmen may order the trader and the complainant to appear before him/her to clarify the facts and negotiate a resolution. 4. If the trader and the consumer have reached an agreement on the resolution of a complaint, the consumer ombudsmen shall make negotiation records thereof, and may send such records to the parties when necessary; if a complaint cannot be appropriately dealt with, the consumer ombudsmen shall send a handling notice to the complainant, and copy such notice to the trader, and inform the consumer that the consumer may apply to the City's consumer protection mediation committee for mediation, or file a consumer claim in the Courts.
Article 33 When ordering a complainant and a trader to appear in person and negotiate during the handling of a complaint, the consumer ombudsmen may notify the enforcement authority to dispatch personnel to attend such meeting, when necessary.

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