Parking payment, scanning code ordering, and invoicing are required to pay attention to the official account, causing consumer dissatisfaction

Some merchants force "circle fans" QR codes into consumption "roadblocks"

This newspaper news (reporter Yang Zhaokui) out of the parking lot to pay parking fees need to pay attention to the public account before completing the payment process; When going to a restaurant, the merchant asks consumers to scan the code and pay attention to the official account before ordering; To issue an invoice after buying something or eating, the merchant requires consumers to pay attention to the official account... Recently, the reporter of "Workers' Daily" found in an interview that some businesses forced "circle fans" to cause consumer dissatisfaction, and QR codes have become a "roadblock" for consumption.

The reporter learned in the interview that in order to improve efficiency, some parking lots will recommend that car owners pay attention to the official number, bind the license plate, and pay in advance on the mobile phone. This approach is well-intentioned, but in practice it will also cause trouble to some car owners.

"Recently, when I left the parking lot in a shopping mall, I didn't pay in advance, I thought that scanning the QR code of the exit gate could show how much money to pay, but I didn't expect to pay attention to the official number first and enter the license plate number to pay, which is very troublesome." Mr. Beijing Che said.

"It's just a meal, why do you want me to pay attention to the public account." On April 4, Ms. Yin, a consumer in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters that when she ate at a hot pot restaurant last weekend, she found that the restaurant did not provide manual ordering services, and she had to scan the code to follow the official account to order.

"Unexpectedly, when I finished eating and wanted to issue an invoice, the waiter said that I had to scan the code to pay attention to another official account to issue an invoice, and this official account was a marketing number." On the one hand, Ms. Yin is worried about the leakage of personal information, on the other hand, some restaurants will check the small ingredients by default, so "if you can not scan the code, you will not scan the code, and if you can not pay attention to the official account, you will not pay attention".

Ms. Tang, a consumer in Xi'an, told reporters that when she recently asked for an invoice after eating at a restaurant in Yanta District, she found that she had to pay attention to the official account to open it. "The content pushed by that public account is very vulgar, and I immediately unfollowed it." She said.

Regarding the situation that some businesses require consumers to scan the code to pay attention to the official account, Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, believes that this practice is neither reasonable nor legal. He pointed out that according to the "Provisions on the Administration of Internet User Public Account Information Services", without the informed consent of Internet users, they must not be forced to subscribe to other official accounts in any way or in a disguised form.

"Forcing consumers to pay attention to official accounts is also suspected of infringing on consumers' right to make independent choices, suspected of excessive collection of consumers' personal information, and if the merchant is not properly kept, there is a risk that consumers' personal information will be leaked." Chen Yinjiang said.

In response to the issue of paying attention to the official account in the issuance of invoices, Li Bin, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, believes that issuing invoices is a legal obligation of business operators and must not set a threshold. If consumers do not pay attention to the official account, the operator will not issue invoices and can complain to the tax department.

Li Bin also pointed out that technological progress should allow consumers to enjoy the dividends of development, and it is necessary for relevant departments to increase the exposure and punishment of restaurants requiring consumers to pay attention to official accounts and illegally collect personal information.

Yang Zhaokui