Restrain the dealer fraud, don't forget the market hand

The NDRC's decision to punish the punishment is worth affirming. We encourage normal market competition but oppose this farce of fraud. The price war of the electric business giants is a derivative of imperfect market, a piece of punishment may be able to comfort consumers hurt heart, but can not fundamentally eliminate the root cause of price fraud.

This newspaper commentator Lou Shi Qiang

In mid-August, a price war swept the electricity market, a time of public uproar. Yesterday, there was news that the National Development and Reform Commission identified the promotion of electricity dealers suspected of fictitious prices, fraud consumers, has been involved in the matter of the Jingdong, Suning, Gome three home appliance business has been punished, the punishment has been confirmed by the Beijing-east. (This newspaper today A07 edition)

At the beginning of the price war, many people have been full of expectations, hope that through this war, so that consumers enjoy cheap goods. However, the whole promotional activities are full of fictitious original price, there is no goods, the coincidence of goods too little also let the so-called bid become nominal, finally had to hastily. In the unpleasant consumer experience, many consumers feel "fooled".

The NDRC made the decision by investigating the punishment. The news, some applauded, that this is enough to comfort the previous too much from excitement to disappointment and even angry consumer psychology, but also conducive to maintaining the normal market order. But there are also concerns about the decision to punish the administration for excessive intervention in market behaviour.

The NDRC's decision to punish the punishment is worth affirming. We encourage normal market competition but oppose this farce of fraud. China's current market environment still has a lot of unsatisfactory, many enterprises still do not really good faith management, and the consumer rights awareness is not strong, the cost of protecting rights is too high, the rights of the channel is not smooth, and so is the fact that, if completely rely on the invisible hand of the market, it will be difficult to ensure the efficiency and fairness of the market, It is also difficult to fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

The fact has also proved that after the price war began, although many consumers found that some goods first rose and then dropped, some of the merchandise is not falling back, many people also encountered a single after the situation was told no goods, but so far no consumer to stand up to use legal weapons rights, as a professional organization of the Consumer Association has also been slow to see action. Relative to the NDRC's timely administrative punishment, consumer's attitude of self-protection is obviously negative, if there is no administrative intervention, it is no doubt that the fraud of the laissez-faire, but also to the relevant legal form.

But we should also see that appliances are everyday consumer goods, electricity market is a fully competitive industry, the NDRC's previous management of enterprise product prices proved that, whether it is the oil price adjustment mechanism, or the pricing of water and electricity, or the Japanese, instant noodles, liquor and other business interviews, have failed to make people generally satisfied. In the fully competitive industry, enterprises and consumers are the real subjects of economic life, if the market wants to operate effectively and fairly, both the self-discipline of the enterprise and the promotion of the awareness of consumer rights protection, can not be separated from the perfection of relevant laws and government supervision, only the government, enterprises, consumers work together, The executive hand and the hand of the market play their own role, in order to guide the enterprise to better exercise the pricing power, on the one hand, let the enterprise return to the normal competitive track.

This order also prompted us two points: first, the price war is a common competitive means of enterprises, but must follow a certain value bottom line. The three electric giants that are the promoters have not benefited from the price war, and the administrative penalties are second, and it is important that the fraud in the promotional campaign creates a crisis of confidence, and that the burgeoning industry is likely to suffer. The second is that the relevant laws and regulations on the electricity market in our country are still imperfect, and the standard of "e-commerce marketing operation Code", which has been included in the development plan, is expected to be promulgated as soon as possible to promote the healthy development of the electric business industry.

The price war of the electric business giants is the derivative of imperfect market, a piece of punishment may be able to comfort the consumers injured heart, but can not fundamentally eliminate the root cause of price fraud, if not really establish a sense of market rules, the next price war may be in the distance waiting for us.