How do consumers defend their rights when they buy fakes in the live broadcast room
Experts suggest timely acceptance and fix relevant evidence after receiving the goods
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Guan Chuyu, an intern of our newspaper
In July of this year, Cheng Ming (a pseudonym), a collector of antiques in Tianjin, bought dozens of ancient coins in a live webcast room for nearly 5,000 yuan.
After receiving the goods, Cheng Ming sent these ancient coins to two ancient coin rating companies for appraisal, and the results were all fakes.
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" learned in an interview that similar situations have occurred in many live broadcast rooms, making consumers unpredictable.
Recently, the reporter searched for “live sale of fakes” on the “Black Cat Complaint” platform and found 410 related complaints. The complaint platform covers almost all the platforms that sell goods on live broadcast. The content includes the sale of three no products in the live broadcast room, the sale of fakes, Falsified business licenses of platform merchants, false propaganda by anchors, etc.
It is understood that although the sale of fakes in live broadcast rooms is not uncommon, consumers can only admit that they are unlucky because they cannot provide strong evidence, while anchors selling fakes are not affected and continue to sell goods.
On November 7, a consumer complained to Black Cat that he bought agarwood incense for 355 yuan in a live broadcast room. After receiving the product, it was found that the product was a "three-no product" and requested to return it, but the merchant refused to accept it. , The complaint is currently being accepted.
It is understood that this anchor claims to be an international IGI diamond, gemologist and pearl analyst. Many consumers have reported that they have bought fake jewellery in his live broadcast room and have not received due compensation.
The problem of counterfeit goods is particularly prominent in the luxury goods sector, but the anchors suspected of selling counterfeit luxury goods know how to avoid risks.
The names of their products on the shelves will not be called LV and Hermes, but L* and Hermes.
At a glance, the product pictures can be seen to be the design styles of related luxury brands, but none of the pictures show the logo, so it is impossible to determine that the anchor is selling fakes.
For similar cases, often only when law enforcement officers have found a large number of goods with luxury brand logos on the spot, and the anchor cannot provide a formal source, they can deal with it.
In addition, many consumers complained that some shops selling products in the live broadcast room had fraudulent business licenses.
On October 7th, Lin Xi (pseudonym) from Zhuhai, Guangdong, spent 130 yuan to buy a Coyan's white clay in the live broadcast room of an anchor, which was about 50 yuan cheaper than the one she bought in Hainan duty-free shops before.
But after receiving the goods, Lin Xi found that although this product looked the same as the one bought in the duty-free shop before, it had a pungent smell after opening, the texture was not smooth, and the workmanship was relatively rough.
With doubts, Lin Xi went to a certain beauty identification software for identification. Later, the identification results confirmed her guess: the product is a fake.
Later, Lin Xi contacted merchants, anchors, and live broadcast platform customer service, and began a two-month-long road to rights protection.
Initially, the merchant refused to admit that the live broadcast platform customer service requested a product test report certified by the national testing agency, otherwise the complaint would not be accepted.
Lin Xi had to take a different approach-she had noticed in the live broadcast room that the registered address of the store was in Haikou, so she called to report to the market supervision department where the merchant was located.
After field visits and investigations, the market supervision department found that the address on the business license of the merchant was false and included it in the abnormal list.
In the end, Lin Xi got the compensation he deserved.
"When consumers want to protect their rights after buying fake products, there is a very critical problem, that is, how to prove that they are fake products. In cases like this kind of online consumer disputes, many problems of proof are difficult to prove. As far as I know, the highest is currently The People's Court is formulating judicial interpretations on online consumption disputes." said Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law.
Zhu Wei said that the anchors selling fake goods in the live broadcast room may be suspected of violating different laws depending on the types of products they sell.
For example, selling counterfeit food may be suspected of violating product quality laws and food safety laws; selling products that pass off the trademarks of others may be suspected of violating trademark laws; selling toxic and harmful products may also violate criminal laws.
What responsibilities should the anchor, the platform, and the merchant bear for selling fakes in the live broadcast room?
Zhao Zhanzhu, deputy director of Beijing Yunjia Law Firm and researcher of China E-commerce Research Center, told reporters that according to relevant regulations of the Advertising Law, anchors, as product advertisement publishers, have to review the qualifications of advertisers and the authenticity and legality of advertising content. As a product spokesperson, the anchor should also purchase and use the product, or receive corresponding services.
If the anchor fails to fulfill the statutory obligations in accordance with the law, the market supervision department may impose administrative penalties on him.
Zhao Zhanzhu said that if the platform has the following circumstances, it usually needs to bear joint liability: the platform has not reviewed the identity of the merchant; the platform has not fulfilled its individual commitment to the consumer; the consumer’s complaint has not been accepted in a timely manner, and the merchant knows or should be aware of the infringement of the merchant. Or other illegal acts have not been dealt with in time.
"According to the provisions of the E-Commerce Law, the e-commerce platform operator knows or should know that the goods sold or the services provided by the operator on the platform do not meet the requirements for the protection of personal and property safety, or have other acts that infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. If necessary measures are required, they shall be jointly and severally liable with the operators on the platform in accordance with the law.” Zhu Wei said.
Zhu Wei explained that if you can directly see the shopping link and place an order in the live broadcast room, then the live broadcast platform is the platform operator mentioned in the e-commerce law, and the store that sells products through the platform is the operator on the platform.
However, the platform does not have to be liable for compensation when selling fake goods in the live broadcast room. If the platform complies with the E-Commerce Law, Consumer Rights Protection Law, and relevant regulations of the platform, the person who knows the fake seller should pay compensation.
How to avoid buying fakes?
How can I protect my rights if I buy fakes?
Zhu Wei suggested that consumers must first make a basic judgment when shopping.
For example, if you sell a few hundred yuan in reality, if you only sell it for 9.9 yuan online, it is likely to be a fake.
Once there is a problem with the purchased product, which is suspected of being a fake, you can first follow the relevant regulations of the platform to protect the rights, and consult with the merchant to resolve it. At present, the rights protection channels of all major online platforms are relatively complete.
If it is a foreign product, even the platform cannot distinguish the authenticity of the product. You can choose to file a complaint with the consumer association or report to the market supervision department. If necessary, you can also protect your rights through litigation.
"When shopping in the live broadcast room, you cannot unconditionally trust the products sold or advertised by the anchor based on personal love and trust of the anchor. It is necessary to learn more about the specific business situation of the product advertised, such as whether it has legal qualifications, word of mouth, After-sales service and the relevant commitments of the e-commerce platform where it is located. At the same time, pay attention to retaining relevant evidence during the shopping process, and check and accept the goods in a timely manner. If there are quality problems, they must fix the evidence in time and protect their rights in accordance with the law." Zhao Zhanzhan said.