Online shopping of duty-free products encounters the "overlord clause", and there is no way to return them?

Measured ten small programs...

  "The cdf members who buy Hainan and Shanghai are really sad!" "China Duty Free members do not give refunds for returns, just placed the order for half an hour." The refund of the preferred applet is super slow.”

  Just after the 618 online shopping promotion, many consumers complained that "online shopping is cool for a while, but there is no way to return it."

Some consumers told Shell Finance reporters that after they purchased the goods in the duty-free online shopping applet, the logistics will not be delivered, and the return has not been successful for more than 20 days.

  Similar complaints are not uncommon on platforms such as Xiaohongshu. The reporter can get 1,900+ notes by searching with the keyword "refund of duty-free shop", and 2,300+ notes with the keyword of "return of duty-free shop".

The content of the complaint mainly includes "unable to return goods without delivery", "difficulty in contacting after-sales customer service", "rejected by customer service for no reason to return a refund", "opaque return information", "long refund cycle after successful return", etc. cdf members buy Hainan" and "China Free Shipping" two small programs.

  A reporter from Shell Finance found that the 10 duty-free online shopping mini-programs under the four duty-free companies of China Duty Free, Shenzhen Free, Zhuzhou Free and China Service Service do not support 7-day return or exchange for no reason, and related shopping instructions in the mini-program There are many responses from the customer service that "the order cannot be cancelled after 15 minutes of payment", "the consumer refuses to receive a refund", "the merchant's receipt of the product does not mean it agrees to return the product", "the refund will be within 1-2 months after the problem is verified." Completed" etc.

  In this regard, Meng Zedong, a lawyer from Beijing Yingke Law Firm, believes that the use of standard terms for online shopping of duty-free goods infringes consumers' right to fair trade, depriving and restricting consumers' right to return goods, and should be identified as overlord terms.

Return "No Door"

Some consumers have not received the goods for 26 days and have not received a refund

  This year's 618 e-commerce promotions are generally ahead of schedule, including mini programs in major duty-free shops.

On June 4th, Wang Lin (pseudonym) opened the "cdf member to buy Hainan" applet to look at the prices, and found that there were already full discounts and some brand discounts online, so she placed an order for a few skin care products with discounts.

But unexpectedly, I fell into an endless wait: "First, the logistics was static for several days and did not update, and then it was delayed, and then the refund was not received after coordinating the return."

  After waiting for more than 10 days, she found that the logistics information was still in a static state and could not be delivered. Wang Lin decided to return the goods.

Although she had several experience in purchasing small programs but never returned the goods, Wang Lin found out that there is no return button on the product order page. When she contacted the online customer service, she was told that "return and refund service is not supported online, and you need to contact the official customer service by phone."

  After many telephone consultations, the customer service finally agreed to handle the return application for Wang Lin. After the other party directly initiated the return, the logistics information showed that the return route was updated on June 15. By June 21, the goods had been returned and delivered properly, but after the small In the "refund/after-sales" module of the program, Wang Lin still did not have any information on returns and refunds, and the customer service told Wang Lin to "just wait for the refund".

Nine days later, Wang Lin, who had not waited for the refund, urged the customer service again, but got the message that "the refund will be returned to the payment account in about 7-15 working days after the return (about 20 working days during large-scale events)." Reply.

As of June 30, it took 10 days to return the goods, and Wang Lin still has not received a refund of the goods.

  Consumer Lin Yueru (pseudonym) also encountered a similar consumption experience as Wang Lin in "cdf membership purchases in Hainan". She did not receive a refund 15 days after the product was successfully returned, and she chose to call 12315 to complain.

The day after the complaint, Lin Yueru successfully received a refund.

  Consumer Wang Momo (pseudonym) wanted to cancel the order after placing the order for his own reasons before delivery, but was rejected by the customer service staff of "China Duty Free Rishang".

In the end, Wang Momo simply refused to accept the product. After 20 working days, she finally returned the order.

  During the long waiting period for refunds, consumers cannot see the corresponding processing process in the background of the applet except for calling for consultation.

The above three consumers all told Shell Finance reporters that the "return/after-sales" module of the applet they used was ineffective, and after-sales problems could not be handled by themselves, they could only call customer service for consultation.

  There are not a few posts on the Xiaohongshu platform complaining that it is difficult to return goods and refunds at duty-free shops. Searching with the keyword "refund at duty-free shops" can get 1900+ notes, and with the keyword "returning at duty-free shops", you can get 2300+ notes .

A reporter from Shell Finance found that most of the relevant accusations were posted on two small programs, "cdf members buy Hainan" and "China Duty Free Sunrise". The accusations mainly included "unable to return goods without delivery", "difficulty in contacting after-sales customer service", "rejected by customer service without Reasons for return and refund", "opaque return information", "long refund cycle after successful return" and so on.

Measured

Without obvious signs, none of the ten duty-free online shopping mini-programs support unreasonable returns and refunds

  At present, there are 8 licensed duty-free business enterprises in China, namely China CDFG, Rishang Duty Free, Haimin, Zhuzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongchufu, Zhongqiao and Wangfujing.

Among them, CDFG acquired a 51% stake in Rishang China in 2017, a 51% stake in Rishang Shanghai in 2018, and a 51% stake in Haiti in 2020, occupying a leading position in the industry.

  In response to the return and exchange of duty-free goods, a reporter from Shell Finance conducted an actual measurement on 10 online shopping mini-programs for duty-free goods under four companies, namely China Duty Free, Pearl Free, Shenzhen Free, and Zhongchufu.

  In terms of return and exchange terms and signs, except for "cdf members buy Beijing", the rest of the mini programs did not mark "no support for 7-day no reason to return" in the prominent position of the product details interface.

In the two duty-free online shopping mini-programs mentioned by the above three consumers, Shell Finance reporters found that there are three product detail pages: "cdf members buy Hainan", "cdf Hainan Duty Free (official mall)" and "CNSC members buy" There are no signs such as "No reason to return or exchange goods within 7 days"; while "China Duty Free Sunrise", "cdf Member Buying Guangzhou" and "Zhuhai Duty Free MALL" have relevant signs, but they need to be pulled to the most important part of the product details interface. You can only see it at the bottom; the other three are marked in the "service" column of the product.

  According to statistics from Shell Finance reporters, half of the applet programs after purchase do not support order cancellation before delivery, and among the applet programs that support cancellation, there are also relevant order cancellation time limits such as "15 minutes" and "the day of purchase".

  Five companies of "China Duty Free Sunrise", "cdf Member Purchase", "cdf Member Purchase Hainan", "Deep Free Member Purchase", and "CNSC Selected Member Purchase" said that consumers can try to cancel the order after payment and before delivery, but "China Free Japan" The limited cancellation time for "Above" is "on the day of purchase", the limited cancellation time for "cdf membership purchases" is within 15 minutes, and the limited cancellation time for "CNSC member purchases" is "before customs confirmation".

Regarding why the order cannot be cancelled before delivery, the relevant clauses of "cdf member purchase Beijing" explain that after the order payment is successful, the order data will be immediately transmitted to the customs for customs clearance and warehouse clearance; "cdf Hainan Duty Free (official mall)" means that it cannot be cancelled It is because of "the particularity of duty-free goods"; "cdf members buy Guangzhou" called it "because of customs data".

  A reporter from Shell Finance noticed that after the order is shipped, all mini-programs do not support "returns and exchanges of non-quality issues". If consumers reject the goods without the consent of the staff, they need to bear the losses themselves.

The relevant terms of "cdf Hainan Duty Free (Official Mall)" show that the goods are returned without the consent of our staff, and all risks arising therefrom shall be borne by the consumers.

The receipt of items such as mail or parcels does not consider our company to be responsible for your returned goods, and after-sales customer service has the right to dispose of your unauthorized returned goods if necessary.

The customer service of "CNSC Member Purchase" informed the reporter that if the consumer forcibly refuses to accept it without consent, the loss shall be borne by the consumer.

  However, although the online shopping mini-program for duty-free goods has strict restrictions on the return and exchange of overseas goods, it is more relaxed for domestic goods.

"cdf membership purchase" shows that domestic selected products support 7 days no reason to return or exchange.

  When applying for a refund due to quality problems, consumers not only need to contact customer service within the specified time after receiving the goods, but also often face dozens of working days of waiting.

Both "cdf membership purchases" and "cdf membership purchases in Guangzhou" stated that consumers must contact the after-sales customer service within 24 hours for refunds due to quality problems, and the overdue will not be accepted; "cdf membership purchases in Beijing" and "Zhuhai duty-free MALL" Set the time as "within 48 hours".

In the handling of refunds after successful returns, four small programs stated that the refunds will be returned in about 15 working days after the warehouse receives the returns, while "Zhuhai Duty Free MALL" said that the refunds will be made within 14-14 days. It will be returned within 21 working days, and "China Free Sunrise" even stated that the refund due to logistics reasons will be completed within 1-2 months after the problem is verified.

responsibility

Lawyer: Refuse to return non-quality issues to overlord terms, tax-free platforms should not be specialised

  What are the relevant laws and regulations regarding the refund and refund of duty-free goods online shopping?

Compared with other online shopping products, should duty-free goods be special when shopping online?

Who is responsible for the duty-free mini-program platform to refuse consumers to return or exchange goods under the terms of shopping instructions?

Is the progress of the refund over a long period of time reasonable?

  According to Article 25 of the "Interim Measures for Seven-Day Unreasonable Return of Products Purchased Online": Online product sellers shall establish complete inspection and processing procedures for seven-day unreasonable return of goods.

According to the above regulations, the platform should set up complete and obvious return and refund procedures. There is no refund button in the tax-free online shopping applet, after-sales service cannot be self-service, and the after-sales service module of the applet does not display information about ongoing returns and refunds. The above provisions undermine consumers' right to fair dealing.

  Meng Zedong, a lawyer from Beijing Yingke Law Firm, believes that the terms of shopping instructions in the online shopping mini-program for duty-free goods are standard terms.

Consumers cannot refund and return goods after purchasing. First, because the platform uses standard terms to exclude and limit consumers’ rights, and second, because the platform does not take reasonable measures to remind and explain to consumers about returns and refunds. The main responsibility lies in platform.

Paragraph 2 of Article 496 of the Civil Code stipulates that the party providing the standard terms should "adopt a reasonable method to remind the other party to pay attention to the exemption or mitigation of its liabilities and other terms that have a major interest in the other party, and, according to the other party's request, provide This clause shall be explained.” That is, “prompt in a reasonable way” + “explain according to the request of the other party”.

  Meng Zedong said that after consumers buy duty-free goods online, operators will exclude them by pre-planned terms such as "no reason to return within 7 days", "cannot cancel the order after 15 minutes of payment", and "no refund if consumers refuse to accept it". Or restricting the consumer's right to know and the right to fair trade, depriving and restricting the consumer's right to return, should be identified as the overlord clause.

my country's regulations on the return of online shopping products are based on the principle of "seven-day unreasonable return", with the exception of "seven-day unreasonable return of special products". "Live and perishable" "digital products such as audio-visual products, computer software and other digital products downloaded online or unpacked by consumers" or "delivered newspapers, periodicals", etc., can be returned for 7 days without reason, and tax-free platforms should not be specialised. Evasion of legal obligations and relief of self-responsibility.

  In response to the problem of the long refund period after the successful return of duty-free products, Meng Zedong pointed out that the refund time of 15-20 working days encountered by the above-mentioned consumers can be regarded as a malicious extension of the consumer's refund by the merchant. If the payment cycle and negatively deal with the basic demands of consumers are acts that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, they shall be investigated and punished according to law.

  Finally, Meng Zedong suggested that as a tax-free enterprise, the platform first needs to improve the platform transaction rules, and clearly mark and give a reminder for the goods that are not applicable for seven-day unreasonable returns. Respond, effectively solve after-sales problems such as consumer returns and refunds; finally, we must abide by legal regulations, formulate return and refund rules based on laws and regulations such as the Consumer Rights Protection Law, and promote compliant operations.

As a consumer, when purchasing a product, you should fully understand the return policy of the product and the quality of the product itself to avoid subsequent disputes; when purchasing a product, choose to buy from a regular merchant or choose a product with a good reputation, ask for and keep it Relevant credentials; when their legitimate rights and interests are violated, they must actively protect their rights, such as complaining to 12315 or suing the court.

  Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Li Menghan