Prepaid consumption, it is not easy to say I love you

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  In many consumer fields such as beauty salons, education and training, and sports and fitness, prepaid consumption is a multiple-choice question that causes headaches for most people.

Some places have launched relevant regulatory platforms to give consumers confidence, but there is still a long way to go to regulate prepaid consumption.

  On February 13, Mr. Wang, who lives in Songzhuang Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, came to Dongsen Market to make sure to get a haircut, but found that the shop was empty. After inquiring, he found out that it was closed before the Spring Festival.

In August last year, in order to enjoy the 20% discount offered by the merchant, he paid a prepayment of 500 yuan here, and only used it once, so he was in vain.

  What happened to Mr. Wang is not an isolated case.

If you don’t pay in advance, you won’t be able to enjoy the discounts offered by the merchants; if you pay in advance for a purchase, it may become a waste of money that can’t be spent and can’t be recovered.

In many consumer fields such as beauty salons, education and training, and sports and fitness, this is a multiple-choice question that causes headaches for most people.

Last year, "difficulty in refunding prepaid consumption" was included in Beijing's "one question per month" that will be handled immediately upon receipt of a lawsuit.

Become synonymous with consumption trap

  Coincidentally, a convenience barber shop called "Artist Beauty Market" in Xicheng District, Beijing, closed its doors, involving about 1,700 members, and the "12345" hotline received many related calls.

The Bureau of Commerce of Xicheng District invited representatives of citizens who called for a discussion, and at the same time contacted and mobilized state-owned enterprises and social enterprises in the district.

In the end, the "Mubei Modeling" Caibaidian accepted the consumption of the original "Artist Beauty Market" cardholders, and "Tsinghuachi" opened a branch at the original site of the "Artist Beauty Market" and added hairdressing services to accept membership consumption, recovering losses for consumers.

  Prepayment consumption is a commercial marketing method, which widely exists in beauty, fitness, catering, housekeeping services, shopping malls and supermarkets and other fields. Operators attract consumers to apply for consumer cards by giving consumers certain discounts and collect advance payments.

  "Pre-deposit 2,000 yuan, enjoy a 40% discount on pedicure consumption", "Get a stored-value card with 5,000 yuan, and enjoy a 40% discount on restaurant consumption", "One-time payment of 20,000 yuan to apply for a beauty card, and get 10 skin cares "... Such pre-payment consumption models are now blooming everywhere in all walks of life.

Taking the fitness industry as an example, Tianyancha data shows that there are currently more than 1.355 million fitness companies in my country, most of which adopt the business model of pre-payment consumption.

However, after the customer pays the money, when the merchant goes to the building and the pre-stored cash expires, all that is left to the consumer is a hard card.

  Many merchants do not sign a contract or even clarify the rules in the process of handling prepaid cards, resulting in many disputes such as refusal of refunds in the middle of the process and failure to withdraw money after the expiration date; It is even more common to be run away with money by merchants and have difficulty defending rights.

  Since prepayment consumption is consumption after payment, and the time span is long, consumers cannot predict the changes in the operation of the merchants. Unable to recover economic losses in time.

The sharing of some netizens represents the aspirations of many consumers: "Because I have suffered from dumb losses, I would rather spend more money every time than pay in advance."

  The relevant person in charge of the Beijing Consumers Association pointed out that prepaid cards bear the trust of consumers and also test whether merchants can keep their promises.

This new transaction method, which is originally mutually beneficial and stimulates potential, should not become synonymous with consumption traps because of some merchants who disturb the water and have no credit.

Wanting a refund but nowhere in sight

  "Now that the year is over and the epidemic is over, when will the money be refunded to me?" "Honey, there is no epidemic now, and we will start school next week. We will try to get better as soon as possible, and then I will see this Can you withdraw part of us at the end of the month, and try to return it to us within two months. Thank you very much for waiting." "What if you 'can't get better'?"...

  This is a WeChat conversation between Ms. Zhang and Principal Wang of the first branch of a Beijing cultural media company on February 12.

It has been almost a year since April last year, and the refund for the training prepayment paid by Ms. Zhang to her child is still far away.

  It turned out that at the beginning of April last year, Ms. Zhang enrolled a 4-year-old child in a piano training class. After the discount, she paid 8,000 yuan, and agreed that if the child did not want to take it, she could transfer or change classes.

In the end, if it doesn’t work, you can get a refund. If you ask for a refund, 20% of the remaining tuition will be deducted as liquidated damages.

  Unexpectedly, after the child took a class, he would never want to go again.

Afterwards, Ms. Zhang contacted the school for a refund, but was always pushed around.

Really urgent, the school advised her to call the "12345" hotline to complain.

In the end, there was no other way, so the school asked the school to write an unfulfilled refund certificate, signed by the two official seals of a Beijing cultural media company and the first branch, dated December 11, 2022.

Now, the helpless Ms. Zhang can only wait.

  Ms. Zhang's encounter is another form of prepaid consumption infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers - it is difficult for consumers to refund halfway.

Can "pre-stored treasure" achieve consumption prosperity

  "After our store joined the Chaoyang Pre-Cunbao platform, consumers no longer have to worry about getting a card. In the past two months, more than 10 new customers have been added every month." Meng Jiawen, store manager of Yisi Fashion Mingyuan Store, believes that the government department set up The regulatory platform has given consumers confidence, which is a good thing for both companies and consumers.

  The "Chaoyang Pre-Cunbao" mentioned in Meng Jiawen is a prepaid fund supervision platform launched by Chaoyang District of Beijing to solve the problem of refunding prepaid consumption.

  In this model, consumers’ money is not deposited into the merchant’s account, but deposited into the bank as a third-party organization; then even if the merchant’s management is poor and the customer is closed, the consumer can submit a refund application to the bank to ensure the funds The whole process of supervision and service is convenient and fast.

  Yuan Peng, deputy director of the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau, said that merchants connect prepaid products to the platform for consumers to purchase, and banks supervise 100% of the prepaid funds circulating on the platform.

On this basis, it has further upgraded and improved the fund supervision function, and launched the "Prepaid Steward" platform, based on the construction of the credit system, to profile the enterprise and judge the risk, effectively reducing the risk of the enterprise maliciously embezzling money and running away, and effectively protecting consumption legitimate rights and interests.

  According to Yuan Peng, Chaoyang District has set up the first prepaid work class in Beijing to coordinate and promote the special work of prepaid cleanup and rectification.

At the same time, the establishment of an early warning communication monitoring system can complete real-time monitoring and early warning of the risks of prepaid enterprises in the whole region.

Chaoyang District also focused on sorting out the number and risk situation of prepaid consumer enterprises. For enterprises suspected of illegal crimes and explosives, a blacklist warning announcement was issued through the media, and a whitelist for high-quality enterprises was publicized by the industry authorities.

  Through these measures, the situation has improved considerably.

Yuan Peng revealed that the number of prepaid consumption refund disputes has shown a continuous decline, while the resolution rate and satisfaction rate are also rising.

  "It is still in the stage of exploration. It is still mainly based on publicity and guidance. On the one hand, merchants are willing; The importance of this model, and strive to let more consumers understand this model, and participate more to ensure the safety of funds.” Yuan Peng said.

  Professor Li from the Central University of Finance and Economics pointed out that the "pre-stored treasure" model helps consumers avoid unknown risks from the source.

However, it is worth reminding that this method of fund transfer may also discourage merchants from offering discounts.

Most merchants launch discounted prepaid cards in order to attract consumers to pay in advance for their own mobile use.

Nowadays, money exists on third-party platforms and cannot be used for investment and other purposes. Merchants will inevitably resist this model. This requires further encouragement and improvement of policies and clear regulations of laws and regulations.

  "For example, the 'Chancunbao' cooperative bank provides some unsecured credit loans to support merchants' operations based on the actual operating data of merchants." Professor Li said.

  Lai Zhikai