China News Service, March 12. According to the website of the China Consumers Association, on March 12, the China Consumers Association released the "2023 Consumer Rights Protection Report in the Prepaid Consumption Sector" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").
The "Report" believes that my country's prepaid consumption legislation is based on the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" and is based on the Ministry of Commerce's "Administrative Measures for Single-Purpose Commercial Prepaid Cards (Trial)" and the State Administration for Market Regulation's "Infringement of Consumer Rights and Interests". "Conduct Punishment Measures" and relevant industry regulations or normative documents are important components of the legal system for the protection of consumer rights in the field of prepaid consumption.
The "Report" points out that in 2023, new progress has been made in the protection of consumer rights and interests in my country's prepaid consumption field: In terms of legislative protection, the Consumer Rights Protection Regulations in Shanxi, Shenzhen and other places have made specific provisions on the behavior of prepaid operators and the supervision of funds received in advance. According to the regulations, Shandong Liaocheng has strengthened the announcement and notification obligations for single-purpose prepaid card operators, and has conducted useful explorations to promote relevant legislation or revision and improvement work at the national level.
In terms of administrative protection, the Ministry of Education and other six departments have implemented requirements to strengthen the supervision of prepaid fees for off-campus training institutions. Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Xining City, Qinghai, Enshi Prefecture, Hubei and other places have increased the management of single-purpose prepaid consumer cards, notifying Typical cases, explore source governance, and implement "double random, one open" joint spot inspections to form a strong deterrent to illegal business activities in the field of prepaid consumption.
In terms of judicial protection, the People's Court has increased the hearing of prepaid consumption cases in the fields of sports and fitness, beauty salons, education and training, and nearly 90% of the cases have been won by consumers, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers in the field of prepaid consumption.
In terms of social protection, the China Consumers Association and local consumer associations attach great importance to the protection of consumer rights in the field of prepaid consumption, accept and resolve complaints from prepaid consumer groups, publish relevant complaints and hot public opinion analysis reports, and work with relevant departments to create a fund supervision platform , carried out special actions to improve credit levels, and played an active role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of prepaid consumers.
The "Report" believes that prepayments have the characteristics of payment first and consumption later. The realization of consumers' rights depends on the credit and operating conditions of the operators, which has high uncertainty or risk. It is urgent to absorb the successful experience of various places. , strengthening the protection of consumer rights and interests at the national level.
The "Report" puts forward four suggestions: First, improve the legislation related to prepaid consumption, refine the regulations on each link, and strengthen the operator's burden of proof; second, strengthen the administrative supervision of prepaid consumption, promote joint rectification, and implement credit constraints and penalties; third, Increase the judicial relief of prepaid consumption, reduce the burden of proof on consumers, and establish a working mechanism for consumer dispute litigation and mediation; fourth, attach importance to the role of consumer association organizations, bring together the forces of all parties in society, and promote the co-governance of prepaid consumption society.