The price guarantee has become a "smoke bomb", and the coupons will not come in handy.
"Double 11" consumers want to "take advantage" is not easy
Editor's note
The annual "Double 11" promotion kicked off.
In the face of increasingly complex promotion rules, consumers participating in this carnival not only have to "do homework" and "copy homework", but also be busy joining groups to resell.
At the same time, the various routines of merchants also make consumers hard to guard against.
In order to create a good legal environment for shopping, the reporters of "Rule of Law Daily" conducted surveys and interviews on social hot topics such as price increases first and then price cuts, price protection into "smoke bombs", chaos with live broadcasts, and orders with strangers. A series of reports will be launched, so stay tuned.
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Our intern Guan Chuyu
Ms. Li from Shenzhen, Guangdong originally planned to stock up on a few bottles of shampoo in a brand flagship store to take advantage of the "Double 11" full sale event, but after paying the final payment, she found that the shampoo that usually only costs 128 yuan was purchased this time. 162 yuan, 34 yuan more expensive than usual.
Ms. Li asked customer service for feedback, hoping that the other party would refund the difference and give a sample as compensation.
The customer service explained that the selling price has changed due to rising raw material prices and transportation costs.
After some bargaining, the customer service finally agreed to give a sample and refused to refund the difference, because "the price is set by the brand, and the store does not have the authority to refund the difference."
There are not a few consumers who have a similar experience with Ms. Li.
A reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" recently combed through a third-party complaint platform and found that there have been more than 60,000 complaints about "Double 11", many of which are recent complaints. ” “Grab a coupon but can’t use it” and so on.
This year's "Double 11" is still very lively. Various marketing methods such as "low price", "price reduction", "full discount", "gift" and "coupon" are coming. Even more than 30 days.
However, the reporter's investigation found that there are various routines behind the preferential measures launched by some merchants. Some increase the price first and then decrease it, some modify the link to avoid the responsibility of price guarantee, and some arbitrarily set full reduction rules.
Some merchants change prices in advance
The real price does not fall but rises
As the "Double 11" is approaching, many consumers deliberately add the products to their shopping carts in advance in order to buy the products they need at a more cost-effective price, and then buy them after the big promotion.
But on the big promotion day, many consumers found that the prices of some products were more expensive than usual.
Ms. Chen, also from Shenzhen, Guangdong, also encountered the same situation as Ms. Li.
The shirts she added to the shopping cart in advance increased by 149 yuan during the "Double 11" period.
"The price of this shirt was originally 150 yuan. After the 'Double 11' sale started, I opened the shopping cart and found that the price had risen to 299 yuan, and it was marked as a discounted price, which was outrageous." Ms. Chen said.
The reporter found that many consumers reported that the prices of the products they purchased had temporarily increased. The categories involved household items, clothes, shoes, snacks, home appliances, etc., and the price increases ranged from a few yuan to several hundred yuan.
Many consumers complained, "This is treating consumers as leeks."
What's even more irritating is that most of the people who tried to seek customer service to defend their rights after finding the temporary price increase of the goods could not get a satisfactory answer.
Ms. Mai from Hangzhou, Zhejiang found that there was a temporary increase in the price of the products she purchased, so she reported to the customer service of the e-commerce platform, hoping that the other party would take measures to cancel the qualification for the full discount of the store she purchased.
However, the customer service of the e-commerce platform replied that the store's move is a normal business behavior.
In fact, this kind of behavior of merchants who "raised prices first and then lowered prices" before the big promotion also existed in previous years.
On the eve of "Double 11" last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Work Tips on Regulating "Double 11" Online Promotional Business Activities to Internet platform companies and local market supervision departments across the country, which clearly pointed out that it is necessary to improve the openness and transparency of promotional behaviors. It is prohibited to carry out promotions by illegal methods such as "price increase first and then discount", fictitious original price, and failure to fulfill price commitments.
Dazzling promotions
Arbitrarily set the full reduction rules
The reporter's investigation found that the price routines of merchants are far more than that.
The rules for using various consumer coupons and full discounts have made many consumers dazzled.
What is even more incomprehensible to consumers is that some high-value coupons are either unavailable or inhumane using the rules.
Ms. Wu from Shanghai saw that a flagship store of infant products launched the "Buy 5 sets of 525 yuan off" campaign, so she stocked up some diapers in advance.
When paying the balance, she found that she did not enjoy this discount, and the settlement price was still the original price, so she consulted the customer service.
The other party replied that the full discount activity is still under review, and consumers can add to the shopping cart and pay later.
But she waited left and right, this coupon has not been used yet.
The health care products that Ms. Wu purchased at another merchant could not use the coupons it launched.
"I bought two boxes of health care products with different functions in the store, and the price was just over 3,000 yuan, but the '3000 yuan minus 300 yuan' coupon launched by the store can't be used. The customer service told me that this coupon can only be used in If it is used on one product, even two products purchased in the same store cannot be used, and the merchant did not indicate the scope of use of the coupon at the beginning." Ms. Wu said.
The full reduction routine encountered by Ms. Li from Wuhan, Hubei is different.
Before the "Double 11" event, Ms. Li put her favorite products into the shopping cart on an e-commerce platform, and after the event started, she would settle with the full discount.
She purchased a total of 3,800 yuan of goods from different merchants. The simulated settlement amount given by the e-commerce platform just met the condition of "3800 yuan minus 300 yuan". Ms. Li also repeatedly clicked the settlement amount to confirm. You can enjoy the full discounted amount at the settlement.
On the day of the event, when Ms. Li checked out, she found that some of the products she bought were limited editions. She was afraid that the products would be sold out, so she hurriedly paid without paying attention to the payment amount. More money.
She hurriedly returned to check the bill, and found that the full discount activity at this time was not "300 yuan for full 3,800 yuan", but "50 yuan for full 1,000 yuan".
"The routines of merchants are really hard to guard against." Ms. Li sighed.
The reporter found that many netizens complained about the "Double 11" event on social platforms, and there were many complaints about "full reduction" and "coupons".
Some netizens said that the conditions set for many coupons are too harsh, and many products cannot be used. It is necessary to separate the settlement of seckill products and event products, otherwise many discount coupons will not come in handy; some netizens said that the lowest price advertised by merchants is actually It is a full discount coupon that requires consumers to superimpose "cross-store full discount". If you do not purchase other products and reach a certain amount, you cannot use the full discount coupon.
Modify the link to avoid the price guarantee
It is very difficult to get back the difference
The reporter noticed that this year, many e-commerce platforms provided full price insurance services during the "Double 11" period, and the longest price insurance period exceeded 30 days.
According to the introduction of relevant e-commerce platforms, price protection is the price protection service, which is to protect consumers' shopping experience on the platform. "30-day price guarantee", "price guarantee service", etc.), within the price guarantee period, if the price of the same product of the same merchant is reduced, consumers can apply for price guarantee to make up the difference (except for special circumstances). The insurance system will calculate the price difference amount according to this rule and realize the price difference compensation/refund to consumers.
The whole process of price protection refers to the time from the buyer's order to the confirmation of receipt, if the price of the product drops, the buyer can apply for the price protection service. The store carries out the activity of "15 yuan off 100 yuan" in the whole store. The price of buying the dress is 85 yuan, and then the buyer can apply for a 15 yuan price guarantee service.
Reporter interviews found that many consumers reported that the price guarantee has not been implemented, and it has become a "smoke bomb" to attract consumers to consume.
Many stores evade the price guarantee service by means of "different people's situations" or directly changing the link or removing the coupons, making the price guarantee service a "blank check".
Not long ago, Ms. Lin from Tianjin purchased a certain brand of facial cleanser at a price of 178 yuan for 4 pieces in a live broadcast room, and enjoyed the price guarantee service.
Then she found out that she could get 4 sticks for only 99 yuan in the live broadcast room of the brand's official flagship store, so she applied for price insurance with the merchant and asked for a refund of the difference.
However, the merchant responded that there was an error in the system and the wrong coupon was set.
"Now that the merchant has removed the link, I can't make a request for price insurance. I suspect that the merchant's claim that the system is set incorrectly is an excuse. This is a trap." Ms. Lin said angrily.
In a live chat, the reporter found that Ms. Lin's experience was not an exception.
Mr. Li from Nanning, Guangxi shared his experience of defending his rights in accordance with the law and successfully getting the price difference. He gathered 141 comments and 91 likes.
Many consumers in the comment area said that they encountered situations of "customer service ignored" and "little errant" when defending their rights.
Ms. Luo from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province said that she had seen through the "Double 11" business methods, "the flagship store has a link to a live broadcast room, and the store puts '120 yuan off 1500 yuan' coupons. If found, the coupons will be deleted and the activities will be changed , lock the link. After stacking coupons, many people buy products for 350 yuan and get them for just over 300 yuan."
"Buying is not as good as selling it. The publicity before consumption is well done. After spending money, the price guarantee is in vain. The request for a reasonable refund of the price difference requires consumers to make various calls and contact rights protection." Luo The lady sighed.
Temporary price increase suspected of illegal
Price Guarantee Broken or Fraud
In the opinion of Zhao Zhanzhan, a lawyer from Beijing Yunjia Law Firm, to determine whether the price change behavior of raising the price first and then lowering the price is a false bid for the original price, it is necessary to define the "original price".
"According to the National Development and Reform Commission's "Notice on the Interpretation of Relevant Clauses of the "Prohibition of Price Gouging", the original price refers to the lowest transaction price of the operator's transaction at this trading place within seven days before this promotional activity, and there is a transaction bill; If there is no transaction within the previous seven days, the last transaction price before this promotion will be used as the original price. Therefore, the operator uses the 'original price' mark in the promotional activities, or uses similar expressions such as 'daily price' to actually convey the meaning of 'original price' It should comply with this requirement." Zhao Zhan said that before "Double 11", there were indeed some merchants who raised prices and then lowered prices. Whether they violated the rules depends on whether the time difference between the two is more than seven days. If it is more than seven days, it does not belong to the The original price is falsely marked, so some merchants often start raising prices some time in advance to avoid legal regulations.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, said that the temporary price increase by merchants is suspected of being illegal. This behavior violates the obligation to provide consumers with true and comprehensive information under the Consumer Rights Protection Law, and also violates consumers' right to know and choose. and fair dealing rights.
The various discount rules introduced by merchants and platforms are actually aimed at making consumers recycle consumption. In order to enjoy the full discount and use coupons, consumers have to buy other products.
"Whether the merchant's full discount promotion rules violate the rules mainly depends on two points. One is whether consumers enjoy the corresponding discounts when they meet the full discount rules. If they do not enjoy them, the merchants constitute a breach of contract; the second is whether the merchants have false promotions. Propaganda, for example, according to its full-reduction rules, the actual discounts are not in line with the merchants' propaganda." Zhao Zhan said.
Regarding the phenomenon that the platform supports the "Double 11" full-time price insurance, Liu Junhai believes that if the price insurance becomes a "blank check" at the merchant, it is a dishonest behavior and there is a suspicion of fraud.
If there is indeed commodity fraud, punitive damages of one refund and three compensation may be applied.
When consumers encounter the above-mentioned situations when shopping, how should they protect their rights?
Zhao Zhan suggested that if consumers encounter a price violation by a merchant, they can report it to the pricing authority; if a merchant has a breach of contract, they can report it to the market supervision department or sue to the court.
Liu Junhai suggested that consumers should first negotiate with the merchant to refund the money, and then complain to the consumer association or sue to the court if it is impossible.
A number of interviewed consumers suggested that e-commerce platforms should increase investment in technology and manpower, intervene and deal with relevant complaints of consumers in a timely manner, and verify that businesses that violate laws and regulations violate the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and include them in the blacklist. Prevent it from participating in various promotional activities within a certain range and time.
Comics / Gao Yue