Smotrich's comments on the cuts to youth movements/Knesset channel
Custom insoles.
Really?/ShutterStock
The State Comptroller warned, the consumer bodies are crying out, but to no avail: in recent years, more and more parties have entered the market for insoles that have been breached, promising a 'custom-made insole', in practice, in quite a few cases, it is an off-the-shelf product that has undergone heating, or an off-the-shelf product that has not undergone any process at all of adjustment to the foot.
Attorney Hadas Jacobson, CEO of the new consumer association, explains: "They receive a product that is not adjusted, while they are denied the right to cancel the order, continue to suffer physical pain and are financially harmed."
Until the state gets things in order, is a class action lawsuit the temporary solution?
Woman with slippers/ShutterStock
NIS 3,200 for "engraving on"
"I became interested in running together and signed up for a group that ran twice a week in Yarakon Park. During one of the conversations, I told a friend that I started having really bad pain in my foot, and he also shared that he suffers from a similar problem. We approached an acquaintance of his who works in physical therapy, who recommended that we purchase insoles," says Oren. Cohen, a 43 year old guy from Tel Aviv.
In the next step, they found a website of an institute run by a person who presents himself as an expert in the field of fitting insoles. , at a cost of NIS 3,200, for each.
He spoke of a relatively quick relief from the pain, but 'Nada', a month passed and the pain did not leave us
." A runner for years, connected to a lot of running groups, and it turns out that there is a lot of talk about the bluff of custom-made insoles." The method, it became clear to him, is very simple: "Those who have institutes in the field of insoles, who pretend to be professional and reliable parties, actually imprint the patient's foot in a mold cast, but that's the end of the customization process."
Next, when the customer left the store, they pull out an insole that was prepared based on a template and has nothing to do with his foot data, and deliver it to him as if it were a custom-made product. Shocked by the possibility that he and his friend were misled , Cohen turned to a laboratory that deals in the 3D field.
Both are exactly the same.
No adjustment to the foot, and nothing.
'etch on'.
These days, Oren is considering the possibility of filing a class action against the institute that misled him.
It may feel comfortable, but it is not always adjusted.
Insoles for sneakers/ShutterStock
The well-known and frequent phenomenon greatly angers Attorney Hadas Jacobson. She is currently the CEO of the New Consumer Association, and until recently served as the CEO of the Israel Consumer Council. The promise of a custom-made product, and the delivery of a generic or 'off-the-shelf' product is a double deception ", states Attorney Jacobson.
According to her, firstly, this is a deception in violation of Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Law regarding the nature of the product and the benefit that can be derived from it. Second, this is a deception that concerns the consumer's right to cancel a transaction. "When it is a transaction to purchase a 'shelf' product for a reserved consumer The right to stamp the transaction under certain conditions, while in the case of customization, the right to cancel a transaction is denied from the moment production began and even before the consumer received the product.
The harm to the consumer is double and multiple: not only did he receive a product that was not adapted to him as he was told, not only was he denied the right to cancel at an early stage, he also continues to suffer from physical pain and not only is financially harmed."
The State Comptroller also issued a very harsh report on the subject before years, but the problem is far from being solved.
The market is still open and quite a few consumers are being misled.
Meanwhile, to be clear, there is no intention to tarnish all those involved in the insole industry - there are institutes, foot health centers and various companies that operate professionally and fairly.
These provide insoles built by professionals, with a perfect fit to the foot, that live up to the promise of a 'custom-made insole', and their cost - accordingly. Their preparation takes about two weeks and in some cases, using carbon fibers (carbon), which are frequently used in the aviation industry and the space.
Before we dive into the depth of the method, we must first understand the motivational engine that makes the field so attractive and one that registers within a decade, so according to Israeli consumer organizations, a jump is estimated at a rate of about 65% in the number of people engaged in it and a much higher rate of increase in the scope of sales. "An examination I conducted about two years ago revealed that the estimated number of insoles sold in Israel is 200,000 per year, so the market is turning over an amount that easily crosses the threshold of 300 million shekels," notes a source we spoke with, who worked at the Tax Authority. According to him: "The last time the subject It was examined in depth in 2006, by the State Comptroller. At that time there was talk of about 80,000 insoles, which were sold through the health insurance funds, for an amount ranging from NIS 250-2,000."
The demand for insoles is increasing - and so is the supply
The jump in the number of insoles sold does not occur only in Israel: the market research company 'FACT MR' stated in its latest review of the insole market that it registers a continuous increase in the volume of trade in it, so that by the end of this year, it is expected to reach a global sales volume of 4.8 billion dollars.
By 2034, the market will double its volume and reach 9.9 billion dollars.
The significant increase in the scope of demand for insoles stems from a number of reasons, firstly, from the worldwide increase, including the number of Israelis who exercise.
According to the latest HMS survey on the subject, as of 2018, about 1.7 million people engage in regular physical activity, at least three times a week, 12% of them run, 29% walk as exercise and 4% play basketball or soccer. The skeleton of a body The person is under a huge load during physical activity - up to 8 times the body weight in running mode and up to 1.5 times the body weight in walking mode.
"A significant proportion of those involved in these sports have a certain problem in the structure of the foot or in the movement chain, which requires stabilization using an external element.
For those patients, the necessity of an insole is clear and the likelihood that the insole will improve the chain of motion and reduce pain is quite high," notes a sports orthopedist we spoke with. According to him, "studies have found, for example, that the likelihood of repairing the chain of motion and reducing pain using insoles among runners who suffer from stress fractures or sharp pains In the calf area - high."
Many consumer rights are violated.
Adv. Hadas Jacobson/Tomer Jacobson
Alongside the athletes segment, the acceleration of research in the last decade has found great utility in the use of insoles, for a wider spectrum of orthopedic problems.
For example, it refers to those that belong to the family of problems in the front of the foot, or as an effective response to inflammation of the Achilles tendon.
The same goes for the 'heel spur' - a problem that manifests itself in excruciating pains at the bottom of the heel.
And of course it is not possible to analyze the reasons for the increase in demand for insoles, without referring to the fact that in Israel there is no regulation in the field - there are no binding professional standards, no supervision and no certification is needed in order to engage in fitting insoles.
Add to this the advertising inputs invested by the companies in the field, amounting to tens of millions of shekels - and you get a market that is growing at extremely good rates, which is a loophole into which quite a few crooks continue to enter.
Ran Avidor, CEO of the Avidor chain, knows the world of insoles in depth and breadth. The chain, which was founded by his father's family, about 70 years ago, is engaged in providing dynamic and orthopedic movement solutions: "You have to differentiate between 'professionals' who sell insoles to a customer even though he does not need them to him, or those who take advantage of his lack of understanding and sell him inferior insoles at a high price, and those who are really engaged in fraud." According to him, he intends to harness the consumer bodies, the relevant government ministries and health associations in the near future, in order to speed up the process of regulating the field.
From a technical point of view , this is a very easy fraud to carry out. "They buy or make stocks of insoles in a range of sizes, all of which, but all, are built the same.
Some of them heat the product, in order to create a kind of fit and the customer has no ability to know whether the product he received is indeed adapted to his foot", points out a source who is deeply knowledgeable in the industry, "I know this market very well.
There are some tzaddiks in Sodom, excellent professionals, and there are a lot of fraudsters who deceive the public."
"I see the madrasim and immediately know that it is a madrasah that was not custom-made, but the general public does not have the experience and understanding, so it is easy to mislead them," points out Rafael Kaykov , who heads the 'Achilles Heel' Orthopedic Institute. "This is a field that employs more salespeople than professionals.
If you take a proficiency test on the anatomy of the foot, for those involved in the industry, the results will be very embarrassing and disturbing."
A market full of scammers/ShutterStock
How do you solve the problem?
"It is appropriate that orthopedic institutes and those engaged in the fitting of orthopedic accessories have certification and licensing by the Ministry to perform medical operations of fitting orthopedic accessories, including insoles," the State Comptroller noted in his report. in a sensitive medical field, and that the insoles (who deal with fitting insoles) are not required to undergo professional training or gain experience in the field before they can engage in it.
" the shoulders of the customers, but also on it, indirectly. The health funds participate in part of the costs of insoles, and when these are provided by non-professional bodies, they actually do not serve the reason why the funds bear part of the costs for them."
And in the meantime, as long as there is no regulation, it is recommended that the consumer who wishes to purchase a custom-made madrasa, 'shave the beard' of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense: these bodies have a list of authorized suppliers.
Also, you should ask the institute and/or the 'Madrasan' to present you with relevant certification certificates.
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