Dashcam Firm Accused of Coercively Selling to Elderly Victim Now Demands Money

A company that sold an expensive dashcam to an elderly man in his 70s has caused controversy by demanding money instead of apologizing. The company showed no willingness to improve its practices even after its wrongdoing was exposed.

The victim, identified as Mr. A, shared the story on an online community on January 27th, revealing that the company contacted him on the day the news broke. Instead of apologizing, they attempted to negotiate a price, asking, "How much would you pay us to remove the post?" According to Mr. A, when he did not agree to their proposal, the company offered to refund only the amount exceeding the dashcam's price of 1.2 million won. During this process, Mr. A learned from a company representative that the wholesale price of the dashcam was 330,000 won.

It was revealed that the company sold a dashcam, which cost 330,000 won wholesale, for 3.5 million won to an elderly man in his 70s under the guise of a 'membership management' service. The company attempted to end the conversation with Mr. A, who was demanding a full refund and an apology, by stating, "We called to negotiate, not to apologize." They also made a full refund conditional on Mr. A deleting the post he had written on the online community. Mr. A stated that this incident has caused significant mental distress for his entire family and disrupted their daily lives.

Mr. A's father had signed a contract on January 12th with a company in Samsong-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, agreeing to use a latest-model dashcam and auxiliary battery for six years, and paid 3.58 million won via credit card. The issue gained traction when Mr. A posted on 'Bobae Dream' about his "70-year-old father signing a 3.5 million won contract alone after going to replace his dashcam," leading to widespread media reports on 'dashcam membership scams.' Mr. A stated his intention to secure a 100% refund and an apology from the company.

This case highlights the need for vigilance against scams targeting the elderly and for holding malicious companies accountable to prevent further victims. Amid rising public awareness of fraud targeting vulnerable individuals, calls are growing for self-regulation within the industry and for strengthened government oversight.