Charge Youku VIP with 1 yuan in the first month, and you will be deducted 24 yuan if you don’t renew the fee
Youku responded that the event page has informed the rules; "Aiyouteng" members have raised prices for several rounds and are still controversial
Shen Zhao Jiang Tiansheng Zhang Nan
The problem of membership renewal on video sites has caused waves again.
On January 31, many users reported on the website that they participated in Youku’s first-month 1-yuan recharge activity. After completing the payment, they found that this activity is a default contract for 1 year after paying 1 yuan. Except for the first month, every month will be automatically deducted. The fee is 12 yuan.
Some users chose to terminate the activity early, but unexpectedly, they were immediately deducted 24 yuan, and were prompted "the task has not been completed, and the discount has been deducted".
Youku responded that the "1 yuan member" refers to the Youku VIP Yueyue Province activity, and the relevant page has clearly informed the rules of the activity.
Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Shen Zhao and Jiang Tiansheng
focus controversy
If you cancel your membership after 1 yuan in the first month, you will be forcibly deducted money
Yesterday, a reporter from the Yangtze Evening News searched on the black cat complaint platform with the keyword "Youku's first month 1 yuan" and retrieved 510 related results.
The reporter saw on the complaint page that some consumers were extremely angry about this, "Youku is a liar and demands a refund! Shameless!"
The consumer said that he downloaded Youku through his mobile phone, and when he clicked on it, he saw a prompt that "newcomers can open VIP for 1 yuan in the first month", so they paid with Alipay. Unexpectedly, it will take one year to open, and 12 yuan will be deducted every month after that. The money was deducted as soon as I quit.
Regarding the disputes of users, Youku gave a response on January 31, saying that "1 yuan membership" refers to Youku VIP Monthly Savings Event, which is a member discount product launched by Youku, and the relevant page has clarified the rules of the event Notice: 1 yuan for the first month, 12 yuan/month for the next 11 months. If you withdraw early, you need to refund the membership fee of 25 yuan/month to enjoy the discount.
Youku also stated that it is committed to providing users with high-quality content, and has launched a variety of membership products for users to choose from, hoping that everyone can choose the right membership products.
The reporter found in the black cat complaint that most consumers are dissatisfied with this activity because they think the activity is suspected of "inducing consumption". I canceled the membership recharge, but I didn’t expect that the previous one yuan could not be refunded, and the money was forcibly deducted, and I called the member service center, but was told by the customer service that the refund could not be made.” A consumer said.
Cancellations in advance are subject to deduction, which does not seem to only occur in the "1 yuan for the first month" event. The reporter also found that a consumer filed a complaint on January 29, claiming that he opened Youku TV membership in October, and the first month is 0.99 yuan, which can be cancelled. , originally planned to use it for one month, but failed to cancel in November, December, and January, and deducted 10 yuan per month for three months.
After the application was canceled, an additional 84.01 yuan was deducted, claiming that it was an early cancellation fee. "This clause is suspected of fraud. There has never been such a clause in similar apps. Why pay without consumption."
Lawyer's point of view
Youku provides format terms, the prompt should be eye-catching
At present, the continuous monthly subscription service of most video website members can choose to stop and purchase at any time, and if you choose to stop the continuous monthly subscription service, there is no problem of "deducting the benefits already enjoyed".
A reporter from the Yangtze Evening News found that Youku actually reminded consumers of the basic situation of the event agreement in small print. You need to click on it to check carefully before you can find out the details of the event, but there is no prompt in the pop-up window, which has attracted circumvention Duty to remind questions.
Lawyer Shang Yaqiong, a partner of Nanjing Knowledge Law Firm, believes that the agreement Youku provided to consumers in this incident is a standard clause. What is a standard clause?
According to Article 496 of my country's "Civil Code", the so-called standard clauses are the clauses that the provider of the contract has drawn up in advance for repeated use and has not negotiated with the other party when the contract is concluded.
The most important feature of standard clauses is that the party that passively accepts the contract has no right to modify the content of the contract, only the right to accept or not.
Because of this, the law puts higher requirements on the provider of the standard terms, requiring them to take a reasonable way to remind the terms that have a significant interest relationship with the other party.
At the same time, if the other party has an explanation request, it should explain the above terms.
Then, did the prompts made by Youku in the subsequent statement meet the reasonable method required by the law?
Shang Yaqiong believes, "Based on the convenience of consumption on the Internet platform, the provider of the format clause should make higher requirements for the rationality of the prompt method. Not only should the size and color of the font be eye-catching, but also should not deliberately set link jumps As a reminder. As a consumer, you should also be cautious and choose a recharge member to avoid unnecessary losses. It is also difficult for consumers to make up for losses in this type of contractual relationship through a quicker way.”
Why watch a video full of pits
IQIYI sued for restricting screen resolution
Yangzi Evening News (Reporter Zhang Nan) On January 31, a user in Guangdong sued iQiyi in court for restricting screencasting. The Beijing Internet Court has recently filed the case.
The user is a 7-year "old fan" of the iQiyi platform and has been a member of iQiyi since 2017.
When using it before, he could choose any resolution for screen projection, but on January 11, 2023, he discovered that iQiyi limited the screen resolution of gold VIP members to 480P. If higher resolution is required, you must upgrade to a higher-level member.
He believes that iQiyi unilaterally changed the terms of the contract, which has constituted a breach of contract.
The user stated that he did not ask for civil compensation, but only asked iQiyi not to limit the clarity of the projection screen in any way during the membership period.
According to news from iQiyi’s official Weibo on February 1, in response to being sued for restricting screencasting, iQiyi stated: We have received a notice of responding to the lawsuit regarding changes in screencasting clarity, and we will definitely respect the law and respect the contract. , The principle of respecting the rights and interests of consumers should be treated seriously and prudently.
Youku member account can only log in with one mobile phone
Youku has also caused controversy due to membership activities before. Many netizens reported on social platforms that their Youku members can only log in to one mobile phone. Previously, they could log in to three mobile devices at the same time.
On the afternoon of January 4 this year, Youku issued a statement saying that in order to protect the security of user accounts and crack down on black and gray products, and considering the usage habits of the vast majority of users, the Youku VIP agreement stipulates that user accounts can log in to 3 devices at the same time, of which Including: 1 mobile phone APP, 1 Pad APP, 3 TV terminals, 1 computer client, 1 web page, 1 vehicle terminal, and 1 other terminal.
Youku VIP users can watch on 2 devices at the same time, and Kumeow VIP users can watch on 3 devices at the same time.
According to the daily economic news
further reading
"Aiyouteng" still has a way to make money: member prices increase
With the rise of short video platforms, the video field has long been a "red sea".
In this context, major video platforms have begun to reverse their tactics, reduce costs and increase efficiency.
In addition to reducing costs and increasing efficiency, major platforms also increase profits through member price increases.
Specifically: In December 2022, iQiyi raised the membership price.
After the adjustment, the continuous monthly subscription, continuous seasonal subscription, and continuous annual subscription for gold VIP members are 25 yuan, 68 yuan, and 238 yuan respectively; the annual card for gold VIP members is 258 yuan; the continuous monthly subscription and continuous annual subscription for star diamond VIP members are respectively 45 yuan , 428 yuan, Star Diamond VIP membership annual card is 448 yuan.
Compared with the previous price, the prices of Gold VIP's continuous monthly subscription, continuous seasonal subscription, and continuous annual subscription have increased by 3 yuan, 5 yuan and 20 yuan respectively.
In June 2022, Youku also raised prices for the first time in five years, adjusting the prices of Youku VIP and Kumao VIP members. The monthly card was adjusted to 30 yuan, the quarterly card was 78 yuan, and the annual card was 258 yuan; There will be two price adjustments in 2021 and 2022. The continuous VIP monthly subscription price will be adjusted from 20 yuan to 25 yuan, the VIP continuous subscription season will increase from 58 yuan to 68 yuan, and the VIP continuous annual subscription will increase from 218 yuan to 238 yuan.
Can member price increases become a sustainable way for video platforms to make money?
"In the short term, the ability to increase profitability through price increases is the key to the long-term output of high-quality content." The Guolian Securities Research Report stated that since 2022, Mango TV and Tencent Video have successively raised prices. This price adjustment is the long video price increase cycle since 2020. The continuation of the membership price increase is the current situation that long-term videos are facing profit difficulties. In the short term, price increases are the most direct way to increase profitability.
According to the daily economic news