Under proposed amendments to the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the duration of contracts for beauty and gym services will be capped at a maximum of two years.
And once a contract is signed, operators will have to start offering services within three months.
A deputy secretary for commerce and economic development, Winsome Au, said complaints over pre-paid contracts of beauty and fitness service sectors topped 5,000 cases between 2020 and 2025, taking up half of the total figure, and they also accounted for nearly 90 percent of cases involving improper sales practices.
She said the data showed it is necessary to regulate sales practices of those two trades.
“We have no intention of bringing in businesses that are rarely involved in high-pressure or deceptive sales tactics, or pre-paid consumption issues, under the scope of this proposed measure. Based on current complaint figures, there are indeed very few complaints involving premises that provide pure gym services,” Au said during an RTHK programme.
The new requirements will apply to contracts valued at HK$3,000 or above, HK$8,000 or above, or HK$15,000 or above.
Au said the government is seeking views from the public and the trade during an on-going two-month public consultation period on where to draw the line.
“For beauty and fitness service contracts with relatively low contract values, the incidence of improper business practices is genuinely quite low, and the associated pre‑paid consumption risks are also relatively controllable.”
“Based on these factors, we recommend that the threshold levels under consideration be service contracts of 3,000, 8,000, or 15,000 dollars or above,” Au added.
Au said the proposed legislation would not affect small value contracts.
