What should I do with my prepaid consumption if the business closes down or runs away because of the epidemic？
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many businesses and institutions have closed their stores. Our reporter Yan Ying photo
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many travel agencies, restaurants, gyms, barbershops, fruit supermarkets and offline education and training institutions have been greatly impacted. These businesses usually use prepaid cards to attract consumers. Now, some businesses have suspended business or shut down because of the epidemic. What should consumers do?
Beijing Sunshine Consumer Big Data Research Institute and Consumer Network made a summary analysis of prepaid consumer disputes during the epidemic period, and found that the problems mainly focused on four aspects: suspension of business during the epidemic period, refund of fees, change of service methods, limited use period, and closure of businesses or running away.
Merchants suspend business or fail to perform their duties,
How to refund the fee?
Due to restrictions on travel and venues, many prepaid consumption contracts could not be realized during the epidemic prevention and control period, and the resulting prepaid consumption disputes increased significantly. The first thing to bear the brunt is the refund dispute caused by the suspension of business or failure to perform the contract.
For example, Mr. Ke, a consumer in Beijing, reported that he recharged 4,000 yuan in a hotel to apply for a card and booked a Chinese New Year banquet, but later he could not spend it because of the outbreak of the epidemic. He went to the hotel and asked for a refund, but the hotel refused. The person in charge of the hotel said that the amount in the card can be consumed after the epidemic. However, Mr. Ke usually works in other places. Except for the Spring Festival holiday, it is impossible to go back to his hometown for consumption.
In addition, many consumers have booked tourist routes or hotels, and they are required to cancel (refund) for fear of the epidemic. Some businesses refund their fees, while others do not.
In this regard, Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of china law society Consumer Law Research Association, believes that the COVID-19 epidemic is unforeseeable, unavoidable and insurmountable, which is undoubtedly a force majeure factor. However, considering the regional and persistent characteristics of the epidemic, it is necessary to combine the factors such as specific areas, specific time and specific effects to determine the force majeure factors of the epidemic. For example, when the country officially announced the types of epidemic and the level of prevention and control, and the specific measures taken by relevant departments to prevent and control the epidemic.
The New Year’s Eve is on January 24th, and National Health Commission listed novel coronavirus as a Class B infectious disease on January 20th, and took measures to prevent and control Class A infectious diseases. Therefore, according to the Contract Law, both Mr. Ke and the hotel have the right to terminate the contract, and neither party is liable for breach of contract. If the consumer has spent some money before, he can ask for a refund of the remaining money deducted from the consumption; If consumers have paid a deposit before, they also have the right to demand a refund. If the consumer’s booking of the project does cause the operator to have actual expenses, both parties shall negotiate and share the relevant expenses reasonably.
After the outbreak, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism asked the national travel agencies to suspend group tours and air tickets plus hotel services, and consumers also faced the problem of refund.
According to the decision of the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and China National Railway Group Co., Ltd., starting from 0: 00 on January 24, all passengers who have previously purchased train tickets, bus tickets, boat tickets and air tickets will be exempted from the refund fee if they want to change their itinerary voluntarily. Consumers can refund their tickets for free.
However, the refund of some hotels and scenic spots should be implemented according to local conditions. For example, Ao Liyong, deputy director of Hainan Provincial Tourism Department, said on January 22nd that all hotels, travel agencies and scenic spots should cancel their reservations on the grounds of preventing Covid-19 infection.
Meituan, Ctrip, Tongcheng and other online travel platforms have also launched hundreds of millions of emergency service guarantee funds to handle the refund of various travel orders such as hotels, homestays, scenic spots tickets, vacations, air tickets and train tickets for consumers. Consumers can apply for a refund through the platform.
Offline training is transferred to online,
How to calculate the difference?
The epidemic coincides with the winter vacation, which is the peak of education and training. The enrollment of various winter vacation classes and spring classes is hot. However, due to the epidemic, offline training institutions all over the country suspended teaching, and some institutions transferred courses online, which also caused consumer dissatisfaction.
For example, a consumer, Ms. Liu, enrolled a winter vacation English training class for her children at a training institution for 3,800 yuan. Since offline training cannot be carried out after the outbreak, the training institution changed to online training.
"Although the teaching is still the previous teacher, the children are used to offline training methods and their eyesight is not good. We can’t accept replacing offline training with online training, so the training institutions are required to refund all the fees." Ms. Liu asked the organization for a refund, but she was rejected.
Chen Yinjiang believes that considering the epidemic prevention and control and life health and safety, the training institution changed the offline training to online training, indicating that it has made active efforts to achieve the contract purpose. If it does not affect the training effect or have other negative effects, both parties should make mutual understanding and make joint efforts to achieve the purpose of the contract. But at the same time, it should also be considered that offline training is changed to online training. Although the training content has not changed, the training method has changed obviously, which belongs to some contract changes. According to the relevant provisions of the Contract Law, it is necessary for both parties to reach an agreement through consultation to change the contract. If the child is really not suitable for online training, it may affect the training effect and may also cause harm to the child’s vision. In this case, if the consumer refuses to accept the contract change conditions and asks to terminate the contract, the training institution should refund the relevant training fees.
According to the reporter’s understanding, in view of the conversion between offline training and online training, some training institutions have postponed classes, and some institutions allow consumers to withdraw from classes and refund fees. If they are willing to switch to online, they will give some discounts or compensation coupons. However, the price difference between offline and online is not fixed. Some educational institutions can get a 30% discount on the online price, but some institutions only compensate vouchers ranging from 400 yuan to 600 yuan, and all of them are unilaterally decided by the institutions. Consumers have to accept or not accept them, and there is no room for negotiation.
The business is closed,
How to calculate the validity period of prepaid cards?
Ms. Wang, a consumer, has set up a fitness annual card in a fitness club. The membership period is from June 15, 2019 to June 14, 2020. At the beginning of the epidemic, the fitness club was not closed, but Ms. Wang never went to the club for fitness for safety reasons. Later, due to the development of the epidemic, the club was closed. "The clubhouse has never informed its members, nor has it told how to solve the problem of not enjoying services during the epidemic." Ms. Wang is worried that after the membership card expires, the club will not extend the membership period.
Chen Yinjiang believes that because the epidemic is a force majeure factor, it is understandable that the club will suspend business. However, during the suspension of business, consumers did not enjoy the membership service, which should belong to the unfulfilled contents of some contracts. After the epidemic is over, the club should extend the service period of members appropriately or refund part of the membership fees according to the ratio. The extension or conversion of membership time should be calculated not only according to the business hours of the club, but also according to the time period when the relevant departments announced the start and termination of epidemic prevention and control. If the clubhouse is still not open for business after the epidemic is announced, it should be calculated based on the actual service time.
After the card was issued, the business closed down.
What should we do?
When handling prepaid cards, consumers are most afraid that businesses will close down and run away, so that their money will go to Shui Piao. Because of the epidemic, this phenomenon is more common. Mr. Leng, the consumer, caught up with such a bad worry.
In November 2019, Mr. Leng set up a 2,000-yuan haircut card in a hairdressing salon. He only had one haircut and then he encountered an epidemic. The hairdressing salon was closed. Recently, many barber shops have opened one after another, but this hairdressing shop has not been open, and no one answered the phone. Mr. Leng later learned that there was something wrong with the capital chain of this store, and it was probably impossible to continue business. He is worried that this card will be invalid and he doesn’t know how to defend his rights.
Chen Yinjiang said that whether it is the cause of the epidemic or its own business problems, the barber shop will be shut down or closed down, and consumers’ advance payment cannot be taken for themselves.
According to the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, if an operator provides goods or services in advance, it shall provide them as agreed; 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 the consumer, and bear the interest of the advance payment. If no settlement can be reached through consultation with the operators, consumers can complain to the relevant administrative departments or bring a lawsuit in court to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests according to law.
After receiving consumer complaints, the relevant departments should promptly investigate the businesses involved. If it is really affected by the epidemic or poor management, it can be implemented in accordance with the corresponding bankruptcy procedures. However, if there are other problems such as illegal transfer or misappropriation of advance payment, it is likely to be suspected of illegal fund-raising or fraud, and should be transferred to the public security organ for investigation according to law.