The council said during a press conference on Wednesday that it had received a complaint from an elderly woman who was coaxed into buying an HK$88,000 treatment package after the company exaggerated her condition during a spine examination that cost her only HK$98.
The council said in another case, a man who went to a company to enquire about their health check-up packages ended up being pressured into buying a tooth extraction procedure and a chiropractic treatment for HK$40,000. It added that staff kept contacting the man afterwards, and persuaded him to spend a total of HK$150,000 on their services over a 10-month period.
The council said both complainants were fully refunded after it intervened, and called on the medical industry to exercise self-discipline and curb unfair sales practices.
The council’s chief executive, Gilly Wong, also urged people not to make hasty decisions or impulse purchases.
“We strongly advise consumers to ask a reliable medical professional, for example, your family doctor… to give you advice before you listen to some sales pitch and then take the health check services, because for certain tests … it may give you a false understanding [about your health],” she said.
“Either you are really happy [about] certain test results, or maybe if it is a false negative, that would create problems for you.”
