The balance is "appetizing", the investment is a "black hole", the card is applied without a contract, and the card is stuck in the card

Why is it difficult to "clear" the prepaid card?

　　Nail card, beauty card, fitness card...The prepaid consumption model of "pay first, then consume" has penetrated into all aspects of people's life and consumption. After enjoying discounted consumption, consumers want to "clear the amount in the prepaid card" "It has become a difficult task, the card cannot be refunded, and "clearing" can only add money.

Recently, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily conducted an investigation into the difficulty of "clearing" the amount of prepaid cards.

Investigation One

Prepaid card into a "fishing" card

If you want to "clear", you need to pay again

　　"I have 60 yuan left in my card, which is not enough for the cheapest manicure in the shop. If you want to clear it, you have to spend more than 200 yuan to do the manicure. But I don’t want to be in this shop anymore. Shop consumption..." Consumer Ms. Li's distress is also a common problem faced by many consumers in the prepaid situation.

In order to enjoy the discounted prepaid card, after many purchases, it is found that there will always be a fraction left in the card. If you do not want to continue to spend at the original store, you must invest more in order to "clear" the card money and prepay The fee card became a "fishing" card.

　　Ms. Li said that in order to enjoy the 15% discount, she charged a 2,000 yuan prepaid card at a nail and eyelash salon in Chaoyang District more than a year ago.

After a period of consumption, there is more than 60 yuan left, but she no longer wants to spend in this store, and has already chosen another merchant, but the original store’s "fraction" of the prepaid card can only be given up.

"I know that the money in the card is running low, but the store cannot refund it, and the cheapest service in the store costs 200 yuan. I want to spend this 60 yuan, but I have to post more money. I simply don’t want it. This is the balance."

　　No matter how the products are stacked, the discount card that was originally deposited in whole numbers will always have a balance that is not enough for the lowest product in the consumer store, and this seemingly small balance cannot be refunded with "change" and becomes a prepaid The universal "rules of the game" for fee cards.

A few days ago, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily investigated more than a dozen beauty salons and fitness stores in Beijing, and stated that the “small balance” in the card cannot be refunded.

Even if many merchants promise that the small balance in the card can continue to enjoy the discount, they must invest again to complete the "clear" card cancellation.

　　Ms. Li did a calculation. Except for the number of cards that have been recharged over the past ten years, none of the recharged cards can be completely cleared. "The beauty card for 5500, I bought two packages. , Now there are more than 600 left, and the store keeps asking me to recharge; there are more than 5,000 yuan in the hairdressing card, now there are more than 100 left, and it will cost more money to go again..."

　　Ms. Liu, who has been hurt by "card balance", told Beijing Youth Daily that in the past, she had used many prepaid cards to enjoy discounts, but after several years of consumer experience and lessons, she found that the balance in the card was always If you can’t clear the zeros, you must keep increasing your investment to make her remember, “Finally, you will find that the discounts you enjoy now will eventually make you snowball and continue to invest again, and it is difficult to “clear zero” and exit. Because you will always count But the "game algorithm" of the merchants, so we must consume rationally."

Investigation Two

Do not sign the agreement before applying for the card

Consumers "consumption in confusion"

　　A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily found that many prepaid card consumer merchants such as nail salons and barber shops simply "join the membership" directly by registering the consumer's name and phone number, and did not sign a formal agreement with the consumer, nor did they inform the consumer. Whether the balance in the card can be refunded, consumers’ right to know is not fully protected.

　　Ms. Xiao, who used to apply for a card in a barber shop in Chaoyang District, told the Beijing Youth Daily that when applying for the card, the barber shop did not give a black and white contract or instructions on the card refund rules. She did not ask for details at the time and directly recharged.

When I wanted to return the money later, I asked about it, and the other party said that the money could not be refunded, and I had to spend again.

A reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily found that if the balance in the prepaid card is not large, many consumers are not sure whether the balance can be refunded. Most people think it is not worth spending more energy to get back tens or hundreds of yuan. To complain and toss, I chose to eat the "dumb loss" silently.

　　Ms. Xiao said: “I hope that when merchants sell prepaid cards to consumers, they should have a clear contract or description to inform consumers of the relevant details, including the card’s expiration date, whether the money can be refunded, and how to dispose of the balance. Consumers should have the right to know."

Investigation Three

No choice

The "card" in the "card" traps consumers

　　Recently, consumer Mr. Guo was trapped by the "card" in the "card" of the gym.

Mr. Guo told the Beiqing Daily reporter that in 2018, he applied for a two-year fitness card at a chain gym in Tongzhou District, and at the same time he took a personal training course at the gym.

Later, affected by the epidemic, Mr. Guo did not go to the gym to exercise after the start of 2020.

"When the epidemic was severe, the gym was closed because of the epidemic, but we did not receive any notice of the resumption of the gym. From the perspective of health and safety, we never went to the gym to exercise."

Mr. Guo said.

　　In February of this year, the gym's personal trainer sent a WeChat message hoping that he could go to class.

When Mr. Guo went to class according to the usual procedure, he was informed by the front desk that although he still had more than 30 private lessons, his fitness card expired in November last year. If he wants to continue his private lessons, he must renew his fitness card. .

The shortest renewal time for an expired fitness card is one month, about 600 yuan.

　　During the negotiation process, Mr. Guo proposed three solutions under the premise of no longer paying to renew the fitness card, but all of them were rejected by the merchant.

Option 1: Mr. Guo hopes to refund the remaining more than RMB 10,000 for personal training courses.

The personal training staff of the gym said: “According to the contract requirements, the class time fee is not refundable for reasons not caused by the shop.” Option 2: Mr. Guo's wife also has a fitness card in the gym and it is still within the validity period. These private lessons were transferred to his wife.

"It can be transferred, but you still need to renew the fitness card to perform the operation, otherwise you can't transfer." The personal trainer said.

Option 3: If you ask your own personal trainer to guide yourself in another gym and do not occupy the gym's grounds, you can deduct the fee according to the normal private teaching hours. The personal trainer still said: "Not allowed."

　　"I feel that this is a serial set. My free choice of consumption is restricted by the merchant. It seems that the fitness card and the personal training course are two'cards', and the actual use period is different. But the fitness card is set by the merchant. It is a prerequisite for personal training courses. I can’t go to the gym or private lessons, and the fee for personal training is not used. Why can’t I get a refund? You must renew your fitness card before you can transfer it? It’s too unreasonable!"

expert's point

Prepaid cards cannot be "cleared" without adding money, suspected of compulsory consumption

　　Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Protection Law Research Association of the Chinese Law Society, said that prepaid consumption allows consumers to pay in advance for the goods or services they want to obtain in the future, and merchants issue a consumption to consumers who pay in advance. Certificates, and give price concessions to goods or services, operators and consumers can get what they need to achieve a win-win situation.

However, in recent years, the actual situation of prepaid consumption is that prepaid consumers have encountered many more cases of infringement than ordinary consumers.

The problem lies in the unsoundness of the law. Changing this situation requires the joint efforts of honest companies, smart consumers, and responsible regulators.

　　Chen Yinjiang believes that it is illegal that the prepaid card cannot be "cleared" without adding money.

Even if there is only 10 yuan left in the consumer card, its ownership belongs to the consumer.

How to end this "only 10 yuan" contract?

According to the law, merchants can provide services of equivalent value. If they cannot provide services, they should return 10 yuan to consumers instead of asking consumers to add more money and use a new contract to end the previous contract. This practice is suspected of being mandatory. consumption.

　　"I have also noticed that many prepaid cards do not sign agreements with consumers during the processing, and consumers do not pay attention to them. This increases the risk of consumers. We must learn to be smart consumers, It takes time to shorten the cycle and recharge a small amount at the same time. In the case that the merchant has no agreement, some special agreements must be written on the receipt or receipt. These can be used as evidence for future rights protection." Chen Yinjiang said.

　　Chen Yinjiang believes that the frequent occurrence of prepaid consumption problems is that the essence of the law is imperfect, and supervision must be stepped up to keep up.

At present, both Chaoyang District and Shijingshan District of Beijing have launched pre-paid supervision platforms on a trial basis, relying on the platforms to reduce consumers' risks.

Chen Yinjiang urged that industry associations should also strengthen their actions in the field of prepayment and guide the industry to operate in good faith.

　　This group of articles / reporter Wang Wei, Lin Yan, Jiang Ruojing, Wu Wenjuan