Prepaid merchants frequently "run away", and consumers must save less in the short term to see the contract clearly.
Recently, many stores of a yoga company have closed one after another, and consumers’ demand for refund of fees has aroused social concern. In recent years, in the service industries such as fitness and catering, beauty salons, education and training, prepaid mode has become the first choice for most businesses. However, with the development of prepaid mode, the number of "running away" incidents in prepaid industry has gradually increased, and disputes over rights protection caused by "difficulty in refunding fees" have occurred frequently. The rule of law daily reporter searched for keywords such as "running away" and "safeguarding rights" on a social platform, and topics such as "an art institution closed down and refused to refund millions of tuition fees" and "a child running away in English" were all over the network.
It is easy to get a card back, because businesses often run away, and consumers are "powerless to defend their rights", which has become a pain point for people’s livelihood. In the face of the prepaid mode introduced by merchants, how should consumers avoid risks? How should consumers defend their rights once they encounter a business "running the road"?
There are many disputes over rights protection in prepaid field.
Ms. Li from Huaiyin District, Jinan City, Shandong Province paid an advance payment of 550,000 yuan to a beauty company to purchase beauty products and services through overdraft credit cards and online loans. The beauty company stopped providing services only after doing some massage and nursing for Ms. Li, and cancelled the company. Ms. Li defended her rights by reporting the situation to the local market supervision administration and calling the 12345 citizen hotline, and reported the case to the local police station, but none of them were solved. In desperation, Ms. Li appealed to the Huaiyin District People’s Court for a refund of the balance.
In the end, after hearing the case, Huaiyin District Court ruled that the beauty company should refund Ms. Li the balance of 200,000 yuan.
For the vast number of consumers, this prepaid consumption pattern is no stranger in education and training, fitness and catering, beauty salons, bathing and laundry industries. The so-called prepaid mode refers to the consumption mode of paying the fee first and then enjoying the service. Prepaid mode plays an important role in withdrawing funds and locking customers. Consumers can also get certain discounts in this way, which is mutually beneficial to both parties. Therefore, many merchants and consumers are happy to choose this mode.
Not long ago, the People’s Court of Lixia District of Jinan concluded a dispute over an education and training contract. Li bought a children’s programming class in an education technology company, and signed a training agreement with the company on December 22, 2019, stipulating that the learning period would be 24 months from December 22, 2019 to December 21, 2021, and he bought a two-year class package for the course. The number of class coupons was 192, and the purchase amount was 17,050 yuan. On December 15, 2019, Li transferred money to 500 yuan through Alipay, and on December 22, 2019, Li paid 16,550 yuan through Alipay. Affected by various reasons, the company suspended classes on November 1, 2021, and could no longer provide training. Li asked for a refund of the remaining unpaid class fees. Due to fruitless negotiation, Li appealed to the court. After hearing the case, Lixia District Court ruled that the defendant, an education technology company, returned the course fee of 10,123 yuan to the plaintiff, Li.
Why are there frequent disputes over rights protection in the prepaid field? Judge Wang Hui of Huaiyin District Court introduced two reasons to the reporter. First of all, businesses are dishonest. When consumers pay in advance, most merchants will provide a format contract, but the verbal commitment of the merchants is not written. A few merchants do not sign service contracts with consumers at all, and consumers themselves have not asked to sign them. When consumers ask merchants to fulfill their promises, merchants often refuse on the grounds that the contracts between the two parties are not agreed, which leads to disputes. In addition, some merchants attract customers with better services at first, but when customers pay in advance, the quality of service will be reduced; There are even some businesses that have no long-term business plans at all, but just want to cheat cash through the prepaid mode. After reaching a certain amount, the portable money absconds and plays "into thin air".
Secondly, consumers’ awareness of collecting evidence is weak. According to the relevant provisions of China’s civil procedure law, the parties have the responsibility to provide evidence to prove their claims. As a prepaid consumer, if you claim that the business is in breach of contract, you should provide evidence to prove your claim. However, in practice, the storage amount of prepaid consumption mode can only be found in the information system of merchants, and it is difficult for consumers to prove the amount of refund.
Merchants "run the road" Consumers are powerless to defend their rights
On October 11th, 2022, Ms. Chen from Laixi City, Qingdao bought a card of "Chaoneng Wanbao" in an indoor amusement park, and the cashier was unified at the counter of the mall, and a settlement receipt was issued for her, which stated that Chaoneng Wanbao had played in 500 yuan for 10 times. At the time of purchase, the merchant did not explain the validity period of this card to Ms. Chen, and the card face of the amusement card was not marked. After that, Ms. Chen took her children to the playground for three times.
In January 2023, when Ms. Chen brought her children here to play again, she was told that the playground had been closed at the end of December 2022. At this time, Ms. Chen’s card still had seven games (equivalent to RMB 350 yuan) that had not been spent. Ms. Chen repeatedly contacted the shopping mall and failed to negotiate, but she had no choice but to appeal to the Laixi People’s Court.
"This kind of case, consumers are looking for ‘ Disappear ’ The playground is very difficult, and it is difficult to sue the direct infringer. " After Shan Songyuan, a judge of Laixi People’s Court, learned that the playground was "running away", the mall still had the playground warranty money, so he organized pre-trial mediation several times to explain the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Law to both parties and guide them to reach mediation. Finally, the mall agreed to refund the advance payment in full to consumers.
In fact, the Law on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests clearly stipulates such prepaid disputes. Article 53 stipulates that if an operator provides goods or services in advance, it shall provide them in accordance with the agreement. If it is not provided in accordance with the agreement, it shall fulfill the agreement or return the advance payment according to the requirements of consumers; And shall bear the interest of the advance payment and the reasonable expenses that the consumer must pay. Article 43 stipulates that if consumers buy goods or receive services at trade fairs or rental counters and their legitimate rights and interests are damaged, they may claim compensation from sellers or service providers. After the end of the exhibition or the expiration of the counter lease, you can also claim compensation from the organizer of the exhibition or the lessor of the counter. After compensation, the organizer of the fair and the lessor of the counter have the right to recover from the seller or service provider.
Shan Songyuan said that in the case of the above-mentioned amusement park "rolling money to run", although the recharge amount of the amusement card is not large, it is related to the integrity of the business and the vital interests of consumers. Ms. Chen bought the amusement card and used it in the playground in the shopping mall, and she established a consumer service contract relationship with the playground. In the case of incomplete consumption, the playground was withdrawn in the middle, and Ms. Chen chose to claim the refund of the advance payment from the lessor, that is, the shopping mall. There are factual and legal grounds, and the shopping mall can claim compensation from the playground separately after assuming the liability for compensation.
How do consumers protect their rights when they encounter "difficulty in refunding fees"
"Once consumers encounter businesses ‘ Run ’ If the refund amount is small, it is recommended to negotiate with the merchant as much as possible, and pay attention to retaining the evidence information such as chat records communicated with the merchant. If negotiation fails, you can complain to the local market supervision and management department or bring a lawsuit to the people’s court to safeguard your legitimate rights and interests through legal means. At the same time, you can also ask the consumer association for help in the first time. " Wang Hui said.
However, in reality, many consumers feel powerless to defend their rights. Wang Hui analyzed the reasons for the difficulty in safeguarding rights. "Consumers and businesses mostly verbally agree that in the event of a dispute, it is difficult to prove it. Even if there is a written agreement, most of them are format contracts, and the words are small and there are many contents, so consumers will not read them carefully. Consumers’ consumption records are in the hands of operators and consumers cannot obtain them. " Wang Hui said. On the other hand, some merchants have many routines, and often attach many gifts or items when paying, but they need to be discounted when refunding, so even if the fee is refunded, the amount is much lower than consumers’ expectations.
"The high cost of safeguarding rights is also ‘ Difficult to defend rights ’ One of the reasons. " Wang Hui said that the negotiation process often requires several rounds of negotiations, and most of them can’t reach an agreement. If you enter the litigation procedure, it often takes a long time and many procedures, consuming too much time and energy, and may also generate litigation costs such as legal fees, security fees and attorney fees. Therefore, many consumers think that they are unlucky, so they give up their rights protection.
In this regard, Wang Hui reminded consumers that they should sign a written prepayment agreement with the operator when consuming, and be aware of the terms of the contract, especially regarding the termination of the contract or the liability for breach of contract. In the process of consumption, we should also pay attention to retaining evidence and not trust verbal promises. At the same time, we should pay attention to the fact that the deposit amount should not be too high and the deposit time should be as short as possible. Although the longer the time, the higher the amount and the more concessions, but the greater the risk.
Wang Hui suggested that consumers should strictly examine the qualifications of operators, reputation in the industry, working time, etc. before paying, and pay attention to the dynamics of operators in time before the consumption is over, and stop losses in time when signs are found. Once you encounter the above situation, you should inquire about the consumer protection law or consult an experienced legal worker as soon as possible, carefully choose the way to protect your rights, and do not blindly protect your rights.
How to promote standardized management in prepaid field? Wang Hui suggested that, first of all, measures such as limiting the prepaid amount and duration can be taken, for example, the prepaid period of education and training contracts should not be more than half a year or 20 class hours, and the amount should not exceed the specified amount. Secondly, establish a prepaid fund supervision account. Operators can operate in the form of prepayment, but they can’t collect the money directly. Consumers can transfer the money into the supervision account, and the operators can extract and explain the purpose of the money in proportion. Thirdly, strengthen the supervision of operators. For example, after consumers pay in advance, the operators should issue consumption records or consumption vouchers every time they make consumption, and they can inform the remaining times and amount in writing by SMS, photo taking and WeChat, so as to make the consumption process open and transparent. In addition, we should give full play to the functions of trade associations and administrative departments, handle disputes over consumers’ rights and interests efficiently and conveniently, assign more burden of proof to operators, and reduce the cost of consumers’ rights protection.
"Finally, we should strengthen the construction of social credit system, and put dishonest operators, including firms, shareholders and legal representatives, on the business blacklist, and give corresponding restrictions on the registration of new companies, loans and operations. Increasing the cost of dishonesty is often more deterrent than simple material punishment such as fines, which makes operators dare not ‘ Run ’ , can’t ‘ Run ’ 。” Wang Hui said. (Reporter Jiang Dongliang Liang Pingni)