"Only half of the fee will be refunded for the last class." Have you ever encountered such an early education training?

　　Zhongxin Finance, April 14 (Reporter Wu Tao) "No refunds will be given after one-third of the class hours", "Half the fee will be deducted even for the last class", "The refund period is as long as 12 months", you sign up Have you encountered any of these situations in your offline training?

Meijim was complained that it was difficult to refund and did not issue invoices

　　Recently, Zhongxin Finance received a complaint that Mr. Wen, a consumer, signed up an early education course for his child at the Meijim Early Education Center on Jiangchen Tian Street, Wuhan. More than 100 class hours.

Photo courtesy of interviewed users.

　　"Because Mejim didn't arrange the audition, we had to pay a one-time fee before we started. As a result, our children didn't get used to it and cried as soon as they entered. Later, they tried two or three times, but they still didn't work at all. I signed in for a total of 3 class hours. I didn't attend a class." Mr Wen said.

　　Mr. Wen said, "Finally, we decided to refund and withdraw from the class. The salesman who received us from Meijim filled out a refund form and said that it would be done within a month. As a result, after more than a month, there was no news. Contact Meijim. The back of the store told us that we could either refund half the fee, or refund it after a year.”

　　Mr. Wen also said that Meijim also did not issue them an invoice for the charges.

Meijim: The refund cycle is about 12 months,

　　In response to what Mr. Wen mentioned above, the reporter called the Meijim Early Education Center on Jiangchentian Street in Wuhan provided by Meijim's official website, but no one answered.

The Meijim store involved.

Photo courtesy of interviewed users

　　The 400 telephone customer service on Meijim’s official website told Zhongxin Finance, “This situation has been recorded, it will be reported, and the results will be reported in time.” As of press time, the reporter has not received any response.

　　The sales of the Meijim Early Education Center in Wuhan Jiangchentian Street, which is responsible for Mr. Wen's registration, told Zhongxin Finance that because Mr. Wen's family requested a full refund, they went through a special channel and needed to report to the headquarters, and the refund cycle was about 12 times. moon.

　　"If it is implemented according to the contract, the normal refund process can only be refunded in half, and the refund period is about three or four months, but Mr. Wen's family did not agree, so they went through a special channel." The above-mentioned sales said.

　　As for why "the course is about 100 class hours, and it takes 3 class hours to sign in, the refund can only be refunded half", the salesman said, "The

." "As for the invoice, if the consumer needs it, it can be issued."

Legal person: liquidated damages are too high, consumers have the right to ask for a reduction

　　Are the regulations such as "you can only refund half of the refund for the last class"?

　　Zhao Zhan, deputy director of Beijing Yunjia Law Firm and a special researcher of the Intellectual Property Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, told Zhongxin Finance that this situation mainly depends on whether the training institution has breached the contract. If so, consumers can terminate the contract according to law and request Immediate refund, no contractual restrictions.

　　"If the training institution does not breach the contract, it is the consumer unilaterally breaching the contract, for example, he does not want to take classes or feels inappropriate to request a refund. This situation is the consumer's unilateral termination of the contract, and there is no legal basis, unless the contract has previously stipulated that the consumer can unilaterally terminate the contract. contract."

　　Zhao Zhanzhan also said that if the training institution stipulates in the contract that the consumer can unilaterally refund the money, but at the same time, it will charge a certain fee, which is the limit of the liquidated damages. In this case, if the liquidated damages exceed the consumer, the training institution will suffer losses. More than 30% of the liquidated damages are too high, and consumers have the right to ask for a reduction.

　　"As for the refund cycle, if the consumer unilaterally requests a refund, and the training institution agrees, if the refund period is not agreed upon by both parties, it should be refunded within a reasonable period." Zhao Zhan said.

Meijim, which has frequent refund problems, is expected to lose more than 150 million yuan in 2021

　　The reporter noticed that in recent years, complaints from Meijim have occurred frequently.

In 2021, Hubei Radio and Television reported that the Meijim Early Education Center in Jianghan District, Wuhan City, Lingjiao Lake Wanda Store, was transferred to the Meijim Early Education Center in Jiangchentian Street because the store address was changed, and some consumers wanted to leave because of the change of the store address. Class refund, encountered difficulty in refunding.

Meijim has been frequently complained by consumers.

Image source: Screenshot of Black Cat Complaint

　　On the black cat complaint, there are many similar complaints.

A consumer recently complained about a Meiji in Beijing: on November 13, 2021, the Meiji 111 lesson package was reported, with a total price of 21,088 yuan. Due to the epidemic situation and course arrangement, only 14 lessons have been taken so far, and there are 97 I didn't attend a class. Due to the repeated epidemics, the children are too old to attend, so I wanted to cancel the class and get a refund, but the other party said that I could only refund 50%.

Image source: Screenshot of Meg Jim's announcement

　　Zhongxin Finance reporter noticed that Meijim's performance has not been very good in recent years.

Its performance forecast shows that it is expected to generate 300 million to 350 million yuan in revenue in 2021, and a net profit loss of 150 million to 195 million yuan attributable to shareholders of listed companies.

The early education industry is in urgent need of regulation, and consumers should be cautious when buying courses

　　At present, for preschool education training, there are no relevant explicit regulations on class hours, pre-charges, refunds, etc., and training institutions generally pre-charge fees for super-long class hours, often exceeding 100 class hours, and it is a chronic problem in the industry that it is difficult for consumers to refund.

　　Previously, according to media reports, industry insiders revealed that early education training institutions that are outside the education management mechanism are mostly registered in the name of education consulting institutions, and then carry out education and training in disguise after obtaining a business license, resulting in the dilemma of lack of supervision.

　　Zhao Zhan said that how to prevent this kind of thing from happening is mainly to prevent and solve it in advance. Consumers should understand the refund policy before purchasing training courses, especially when consumers want a unilateral refund, whether the training institution agrees, and whether to withdraw the course. How much to charge, etc.

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