A marketing expert suggested on Friday that the amount of prepayments should be taken into consideration in deciding whether service contracts should be subject to cooling-off periods.

The suggestion by Kenneth Kwong of the Hang Seng University's Department of Marketing came following the abrupt closure of the Hotstone Yoga chain on Wednesday.

The Consumer Council had received 286 complaints as of 5pm on Friday, with losses amounting to about HK$3.9 million.

Authorities including the Customs and Excise Department are probing the case.

This came as the government is looking to amend the Trade Descriptions Ordinance by introducing a mandatory seven-day cooling-off period and a 14-day refund period for prepaid contracts sold by beauty parlours and fitness centres.

The new requirement would apply to contracts valued at one of three possible thresholds: HK$3,000 or above, HK$8,000 or above, or HK$15,000 or above.

Kwong said he was left shocked by Hotstone's closure as some customers had only signed up for classes shortly before the shutdown.

He stressed more should be done to better protect customers, instead of only targeting specific industries.

“If the prepayment [amount is] more than HK$1,000, this kind of cooling-off period should be applied to this kind of service because it will be quite difficult to [decide] what industry should be regulated or controlled by this policy,” Kwong said.

“Right now, only the beauty parlours and the fitness centres [are covered], but for this yoga shop it's not within the regulation.

"So I think it is better to focus on the amount of prepayment – say, over a certain amount – that should be [considered to abide] by the regulation.”

Kwong, also associate director of the university’s Institute of Knowledge Exchange, said shops tended to be able to persuade people to stump up cash for service prepayments through limited-time discounts even though these customers were aware of the potential prepayment risks.

Customers would be more willing to make prepayments when law amendments enhance transparency, Kwong said, adding that it would also benefit the operators at the same time.

DAB lawmaker Yiu Ming called on the government, which plans to submit amendments to the ordinance in the first half of next year, to speed up its work in this regard.

He said authorities should also roll out tougher punishments targeting employers that used staff to perpetrate unfair trade practices.
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Last updated: 2026-10-02 HKT 17:56




Edited by Edmond Fong