■Zhang Linbao
In the communication with the sales staff of the verification training institutions, many consumers have received the promise of "inclusive" from the other party, and some sales staff will also use "refundable without examination" to dispel consumers' doubts before paying.
And the statement that "you can easily earn income through part-time jobs and affiliations after getting the certificate" makes consumers full of expectations.
Recently, a number of consumers reported to the "China Consumer News" that they had listened to these promises, but the result was "a bamboo basket for water."
"Packaged" turned into a bubble
"Fuck, they are all liars!" Wang Qiang was a little excited when he told the "China Consumer News" about his experience in research and training.
The objective question test of the 2020 Legal Professional Qualification Examination (hereinafter referred to as the Legal Examination) will be held at the end of October of that year.
On October 13, 2020, the sales staff of Beijing Hixue.com Education Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hixue.com) promoted the training course of the law test to Wang Qiang.
"The salesperson told me that there is a secret training class - the master escort exclusive class, which can catch up with the exam, and also said that there are very powerful experts and teachers who give lectures. As long as you study for ten days and do a few sets of secret training papers, you will definitely be able to take the exam. Yes." Wang Qiang said.
The salesperson's words made Wang Qiang a little tempted, and the following introduction was even more enticing.
"The course is priced at 17,100 yuan, but the salesperson said that only 1,710 yuan should be paid first, and the remaining money can be applied for an installment loan through 'Coffee Yirong'. And if I pass the objective test, I don't need to continue to repay the loan. The salesperson also said that even if I haven't passed the objective test, I don't need to worry about the loan, and he can help with the rest." Wang Qiang said.
In the call recording provided by Wang Qiang, "China Consumer News" found that the salesperson said "I have been coming to Hixue.com for many years, and I can do anything", "Student, you can pass 100% of the objective questions this year", "Even if you don't have this year, you can do anything." However, in the secret training class, there will also be teachers from the marking group who will mark and correct the exam papers you have taken, so that you can improve and ensure that you will pass next year" and other similar words.
Wang Qiang said that under the introduction and guidance of the sales staff, he paid 1,710 yuan and applied for an installment loan, and took the law test twice in 2020 and 2021, but he failed.
Public information shows that in recent years, the pass rate of the forensic examination has basically been between 10% and 20%. Obviously, it is not easy to pass the examination.
"Advertising Law" stipulates that education and training advertisements shall not contain the following contents: express or implied guarantee commitment to further education, passing examinations, obtaining a degree or qualification certificate, or the effect of education or training; or implying the existence of relevant examination institutions Or its staff and test-taking personnel participate in education and training; use the names or images of scientific research units, academic institutions, educational institutions, industry associations, professionals, and beneficiaries to make recommendations and certifications.
Consumers Liu Huanhuan and Xu Jia who have complained to the "China Consumer News" (see the first edition of "China Consumer News" on March 3, "It is difficult to identify the "pits" of sales talk) have received After passing the "covering" commitment made by the staff of the examination and training institution, the result was: Liu Huanhuan did not pass the examination after studying the health management teacher course provided by Beijing Zhongjian Jianxue Health Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhongjian Jianxue). Xu Jia received a health manager certificate that did not match the introduction of the staff of Beijing Global Xingxue Technology Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Global Online School).
"Part-time job" is difficult to implement
In September 2021, Tang Qian, a consumer in Guangdong Province, added an admissions staff's WeChat account after seeing the advertisement of Global Online School.
During the chat, the staff member introduced to her the prospects after obtaining the certificate: if she gets one certificate, she will earn 30,000 to 50,000 yuan a year part-time; Now there are exam-exempt places, and certificates can be issued without taking exams... "I can help arrange part-time jobs, and I can get a high income easily. I can also go to the local Human Resources and Social Security Department to receive a monthly subsidy of more than 2,000 yuan, and A tax subsidy of 3,000 yuan a year, and now there are discounts for buying courses, etc.”
Tang Qian said that the staff member also said that there are exempted places, and you can get a certificate without taking an exam.
"You can get a certificate without taking an exam, why haven't I heard of it?" Tang Qian asked the staff member.
The other party said: "We have cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the number of exempted places is given by the state." The staff member also said that if he wants to register, he must hurry up, because he can only help Tang Qian occupy the exempted places for half an hour, and then It will be transferred to other students.
Under the constant urging and "guidance" of the staff member, Tang Qian, who originally planned to take the exam only for health managers, spent 2,990 yuan, 2,235 yuan, and 2,275 yuan to buy health managers and psychological counseling from Global Internet School in September 2021. Teacher and public nutritionist 3 courses, the total cost of 7500 yuan.
"The staff told me that it doesn't matter if you don't study, anyway, you will be exempted from the test." Tang Qian introduced.
In October 2021, Tang Qian received the information about the taxpayer certificate sent by the staff member, introducing the use of the certificate as a part-time job or affiliate, with an income of at least 50,000 yuan a year, and can also apply for subsidies and be exempted from the exam.
"Under the guidance of the other party, I spent another 5,000 yuan to apply for the payroll tax division. In December 2021, I received 3 certificates for the 3 courses I purchased before, but I can go to the online evaluation of skilled talents to check, but there is no certificate at all. Information, when I went to the Human Resources and Social Security Department to apply for subsidies, I found that this kind of certificate could not be applied for.”
Tang Qian then contacted the staff member and found that another staff member took over the WeChat account, and the original one had resigned.
"The new staff told me that it is illegal to say that there is no certificate attached or rented out. Later, I asked for information about part-time jobs, refunds, etc., but no one replied to me." Tang Qian said distressedly , she is still waiting for the certificate of the taxpayer, but has no expectations.
Like Tang Qian, Xu Jia also received a promise to recommend a part-time job before paying the fee.
When she received a certificate that did not match the original introduction, she asked the staff of the Global Internet School how to work part-time or apply for a refund, but found that the other party had blocked her.
"China Consumer News" contacted the customer service of the Global Online School website and said that he wanted to apply for a health manager.
The customer service staff said, leave the phone number first, and then there will be staff contact.
In the subsequent call, the staff said that the certificate cannot be linked, but the school has cooperated with many companies and can help recommend part-time jobs, and part-time jobs can be accepted at home. The daily income can reach 200-300 yuan in the early stage, and the income in the later stage will be higher. .
"Refund" is in the future
Huang Yi, a consumer in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, reported to the "China Consumer News" that on April 26, 2020, he purchased the 2020 Health Manager (Level 3) of the Global Internet School - a zero-based and efficient package, which cost 2,990 yuan.
"The staff of the World Wide Web School told me that they could sign up for me, so I prepared to prepare for the test and passed it in one go." Huang Yi said.
But to her surprise, after providing her relevant personal information, what she was waiting for was an email about how to deal with the failure of the registration.
According to Huang Yi, the email stated that due to policy changes and other influences, the registration failed, and two solutions were given: First, the Global Online School postponed the course to December 31, 2021, but in 2021, students need to register by themselves , if the student agrees to sign up by himself, the online school will compensate for an academic course worth 3,000 yuan or a post-proficiency improvement certificate worth 2,000-3,880 yuan; second, after deducting 1,000 yuan of book fees and course fees, refunds will be processed.
Huang Yi did not agree with these two methods. After contacting customer service, the other party gave a third method, asking her to provide a screenshot of her failed registration, otherwise she would have to deduct 1,500 yuan and then refund the fee.
This approach made Huang Yi feel very outrageous, because the online school did not provide relevant materials for registration failure, but asked her to provide screenshots of failed registration.
In 2021, Huang Yi complained to the Global Online School again and got a reply that she could register for her.
"I used to say that students would be required to sign up by themselves in 2021, but now they say they can help me sign up, which is inconsistent." Huang Yi said that she insisted on refunding the fee, but the answer from Universal Online School went back to the original three methods.
Easy to pay and difficult to refund is not an exception.
The agreement signed by Liu Huanhuan and Zhongjian Jianxue also promised that the exam "will not be refunded", but she failed to apply for a refund after she did not pass the exam.
Similarly, Wang Qiang applied to Hixue.com for a refund because he did not pass the law test, but Hixue.com refused on the grounds that he "did not meet the refund standard in the agreement".
What is the refund standard?
"It's the standard of how much the class progresses before the refund is given," Wang Qiang said.
"China Consumer News" checked the agreement between the two parties and found that there are indeed relevant agreements on refunds in 2021, including the score assessment criteria, time assessment criteria, exercise assessment criteria, and special assessment criteria. The training course is the core course of the course, and Party A should complete more than 95% of the live course viewing (playback is not included), etc., and the refund rate is 80% of the total tutoring fee.
Wang Qiang said that the study progress did not reach the standard during the class, because he was ill, but after explaining it to Hixue.com, it didn't work. "And before I paid, they didn't tell me that. I was in the agreement at that time. When I saw this part of the requirements, I asked, and the salesperson told me that I don’t need to pay attention to the standards stated in the agreement, and they can definitely help me with refunds.”
An industry person who has been engaged in research and training work revealed to the "China Consumer News" that the promise of "guaranteed", "recommended part-time jobs, help affiliates", "but not refunded", etc., are the usual practices of many examination and training institutions when selling courses. , in order to attract more students, but most of these promises are difficult to fulfill, and it is illegal to be affiliated.
"Learning has a lot of subjective factors, and different people have different learning effects. Take 'pass' as an example, even if you don't pass the test in the end, it is difficult to explain that it is the problem of the verification training institution, which will hinder the refund. ." said the person.
An investigation by China Consumer Daily found that on the black cat complaint platform alone, there were more than 6,200 complaints related to research and more than 10,000 complaints related to health managers.
As an online education institution established in 2003, the Global Online School has more than 1,200 complaints on the Black Cat Complaint Platform.
In the introduction on the official website, Hixue.com, which is shown as "one of the leading Internet education companies in China", has more than 4,200 related complaints on the black cat complaint platform.
(The names of consumers in this article are pseudonyms)