You gotta fight for your right to shop

Today is the day that you have the power to stick it to all the people that have wronged you; to every corporation that has left you feeling screwed, cheated and dirty and to every underhanded dealer that you had the misfortune to trust for the 10 minutes it took you to buy a faulty product. That's because today, March 15, is World Consumer Rights Day. Everyone is encouraged to stand up through campaigns, media messages and even street protests, in order to make their voice heard about injustice in the marketplace.

But away from home, it's an intimidating notion. If you're like many Beijingers, the idea of being cheated (and cheating) is just second nature, perhaps with the infamous Silk Market as some kind of smiling novelty mascot. Just what can consumers do to make their voices heard?

Shopping maul 

The last year proved just how difficult and frustrating issues surrounding consumer rights can be in China. Lackadaisical customer service staff may be the very bane of a rational, calm shopper, but they pushed celebrity English teacher Luo Yonghao over the edge last April, when Siemens refused to deal with his refrigerator and its door that refused to close.

Lost and without anywhere else to turn, Luo took the only action he felt possible. He and a group of burly supporters brought their fridges into the car park outside Siemens head office and proceeded very publicly to smash them with sledgehammers.

Just before that in March, to mark Consumer Rights Day, Han Nan, a Lamborghini owner dissatisfied with shoddy customer service, pulled up in the streets of Qingdao and paid several construction workers to batter the vehicle with sticks and hammers until it was a scrap. So enthusiastic was the owner that he even invited the public to join in.

Now, if you're the average shopper, you probably don't have the money to spend on a grandiose public display, nor do you have the celebrity pull to make a big splash in the media if you could. 

So you can't smash your precious electronics, and screaming and shouting gets you nowhere. Where do you turn to find an example of how to deal with the minefield of consumer rights in China?

It seems there's only one person who can help - Wang Hai.

Wang became a minor celebrity in the 1990s for his own brand of consumer activism. He utilized a loophole in China's laws, which stated that anyone caught selling fake products would have to pay the consumer double.

As a young, penniless man in his 20s who needed a quick bit of cash, he soon became famous for locating fake products, buying them up in bulk and then successfully demanding compensation from the offending companies. The job made him a star for defending consumer rights, but created a controversy over his method to make a fortune through semi underhand tactics.

Wang is the way  

Wang is now the last bastion of hope for consumers when it comes to fighting the big, bad companies. After making his money, Wang went on to found his own company, which specifically deals with consumer rights and is now active online.

"The problems raised by fakes and low quality products are more prevalent than they used to be. In the past we used to fight against fake brands, but today it is more difficult to tell what is fake or not," Wang told the Global Times.

"Even major companies and famous brands have been caught making inferior products, which has damaged consumer confidence. The Sanlu milk scandal is one example of just how disastrous the results can be."

Wang is technically not the sole defender of consumer rights in the country. There are others, working with a lower profile, and of course there is the China Consumers Association (CCA), which aids consumers through education, letter writing and high-level campaigns in the media.

During summer of last year, the CCA called out several high profile Western brands, including McDonald's and KFC, for their treatment of consumers.

However, Wang is not completely convinced that the CCA is that effective.

"Based on the current legal framework and supervision system, the task [of protecting rights] seems impossible, and consumers completely lack their own organization for protection. The China Consumers' Association is a semi-governmental organization. Because the businesses involved in scandals normally provide a lot of tax revenue, it's unlikely that the CCA will take action to punish them if they're discovered making inferior products," he says. 

Redress the problem 

The general lay of the land is pretty bleak when it comes to taking affirmative action if you've been caught in a con. If you really want to battle it out, you can contact Wang online, although your Chinese needs to be pretty good.

"I have my own investigation team, as well as lawyers. Generally, we'll do some research, and sometimes send someone undercover to get proof of the issue. We usually do have to resort to legal action to solve the problem," Wang says.

"Some cases last a month, while some may last for years. We have certainly lost some cases in the past, but at least we have managed to express consumers' intentions to defend their rights," he adds.

Failing that, the CCA, who refused to talk prior to the time of publication, suggested the best way to defend your rights would be to skim through their website.