The Sifang Brothers moving company
bidding rankings to win customers and intentionally conceal high labor costs
The 2,000 yuan moving fee negotiated before the move was raised to 18,000 yuan after the move. Ms. Wang was unwilling to pay the "labor service fee" of about 16,000 yuan that appeared out of thin air, and took out her mobile phone to take photos of the moving site for evidence.
In the photo, the workers of Beijing Sifang Brothers Moving Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sifang Brothers") are sitting upright on their chairs in a posture of not giving money or leaving, with a smile on their faces.
The scene at Ms. Wang's house took place in mid-June 2020. More than a month later, when the Sifang brothers moved for singer and writer Wu Hongfei, they tried their best. But unlike Ms. Wang, Wu Hongfei exposed the behavior of the Sifang brothers on Weibo, which not only aroused public attention, but the Chaoyang District market supervision department has been involved in the investigation.
A reporter from the Beijing News found that the legal representative of the Sifang Brothers, Zhao Zhenqiang, and most of the staff came from Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing City. The company was established in 2016 with only five or six vehicles and more than ten employees. But on its official website, the company claims to be founded in 1994, with more than 200 vehicles and more than 800 employees.
Since February 2017, Sifang Brothers has used the bidding rankings of some information websites as the company's important customer acquisition channels. Many consumers came to their door after searching on the Internet, and reached a cooperation with Sifang brothers under the condition of concealing the true charging standard.
A person close to the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau revealed that at present, the supervisory department has contacted Zhao Zhenqiang, Wu Hongfei and others to obtain evidence to understand the situation, and has visited the actual business premises of Sifang Brothers.
In 2016, the company was founded and the boss personally drove the delivery
Among many people in the moving industry, Nianzhuang Village in Shibalidian Township, Chaoyang District is one of the most famous "moving villages" in Beijing. At around 9pm on July 31st, vans with the names of various moving companies painted on their bodies returned to Nianzhuang one after another and parked in the parking lot to rest. The owners gathered in twos and threes on the side of the road to smoke and chat.
“The reason why people who do movers get together in Nianzhuang is because it is convenient to get into the city and to park.” Wang Feng, who runs a moving company in Nianzhuang Village, said that more than ten years ago, parking was possible here without any control or need. Pay parking fees.
Zhao Zhenqiang, the legal representative of the Sifang Brothers, settled in Nianzhuang Village, living in an alley three to four meters wide. According to Wang Feng and the operator of another moving company, Zhao Zhenqiang does not have a dedicated office location and his home is an office.
On July 31, a reporter from the Beijing News met Zhao Zhenqiang at another moving company in Nianzhuang Village. He is about 1.75 meters tall, slightly fat, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with a scar on the corner of his right eyebrow. When talking about the Wu Hongfei incident, he thought that the workers' performance was not as serious as Wu Hongfei said, "I just discuss the price with her, and I (the person) will leave immediately if I give the money."
Many people in the moving industry told the Beijing News reporter that Zhao Zhenqiang is 24 years old and comes from Sangzhe Town, Pengshui, Chongqing. Feng You, who runs another moving company in Nianzhuang, said that Zhao Zhenqiang was born in a rural area, his parents were divorced, and he worked in construction sites before; he started moving business in Beijing in 2016 and became the boss as soon as he entered the industry.
"Tianyan Check" shows that Sifang Brothers was formerly known as Beijing Brothers Golden Goat Moving Co., Ltd., which was established on December 1, 2016, and its business scope is road freight transportation (changed to ordinary freight in March 2017). This is a small and micro enterprise with a registered capital of 5 million yuan. On April 24, 2018, the company name was changed to Sifang Brothers.
Compared with the first few years of the 21st century, when Zhao Zhenqiang entered the industry, the qualification threshold for the moving industry had been greatly reduced. In 2004, the "Road Transport Regulations of the People's Republic of China" classified moving transportation as ordinary freight, and was no longer a special mode of cargo transportation.
Chen Jie, chairman of Beijing Stone Moving Co., Ltd. and director of the Moving Committee of the Beijing Road Transport Association, remembers that when he went to the original industrial and commercial administration department around 2007, he learned that moving was no longer a separate business category. At that time, the moving company only needed to apply for the business scope of "ordinary freight" and apply for the road transport business license.
“Actually, running a moving company is very simple. You only need a van, a boss, and a few workers to take orders.” said Zhao Pengjun, who runs a moving company in Beijing.
Feng You and Wang Feng are also from Pengshui, Chongqing. In Feng You's impression, when Zhao Zhenqiang first entered the industry, he "knowledged nothing, bought a truck and was cheated". He was a driver and drove himself. Wang Feng said that Zhao Zhenqiang's father also came from Pengshui to help people move. Later, Zhao Zhenqiang bought more vehicles and hired more drivers and movers, most of whom were his relatives or Pengshui fellows.
In July of this year, Zhao Zhenqiang told people about the achievements of Sifang Brothers. Wang Feng said that Zhao Zhenqiang claimed that the monthly output value of each moving truck reached 100,000 yuan. Compared with the Sifang brothers, the output value of other small and medium-sized moving companies' moving vehicles is much lower. For example, Wang Feng's company has a monthly output value of only RMB 50,000 to 60,000.
Because of the high income, Zhao Zhenqiang is well-known in Pengshuiji's moving circle. A widely circulated news is that he bought a house in downtown Chongqing last year. In Wang Feng's view, this is an achievement that some peers have been unable to achieve for more than a decade.
When a reporter from the Beijing News met with Zhao Zhenqiang on July 31, the other party did not refute the purchase of a house in downtown Chongqing.
Use online bidding rankings to gain customers
Not long after entering the moving industry, Zhao Zhenqiang, a “post-90s”, found a channel for customer acquisition: information website bidding rankings.
On August 9, a reporter from the Beijing News learned from a certain website promotion service agent that Sifang Brothers opened a promotion account in February 2017 to conduct bidding advertising business. That is more than two months after the establishment of the company.
Bidding ranking is an online marketing service, which refers to the sale of limited advertising spaces by search engine service providers in the form of auctions. The higher the bid of a company, the higher the ad position.
In the impression of Wang Feng and others, moving companies started using bidding rankings around 2009. Previously, most of them would post advertisements in the buildings of residential communities, or advertise on the 114 directory; since then, the bidding ranking gradually replaced the first two marketing methods.
"About ten years ago, the bidding ranking cost was low and the effect was good. As long as you invest a few hundred yuan a day, you can get dozens of consultation calls." Zhao Pengjun said.
Wu Hongfei's contact with the Sifang brothers started from the bidding ranking.
In the early morning of July 26, she searched for "Which Beijing moving company has the best service". The title of the first search result reads "Brothers Quartet" and "Price Transparent". Under the title, on the left is a promotional photo of a mover wearing blue overalls. The company name on the right says "Brother Sifang Moving Company", and the introduction text includes "Reputable Choice" "Affordable Price, Low Starting Price"" Quality service" etc. These advertisements are all issued by Sifang Brothers.
However, after the Wu Hongfei incident was exposed, reporters from the Beijing News repeatedly searched for keywords such as "moving company" and "Beijing moving", but did not find Sifang Brothers. The above agent stated that Sifang Brothers’ marketing account has been suspended.
Feng You and the operator of another moving company said "a lot" for the investment of the Sifang brothers in the bidding ranking.
On July 31st, Feng You showed his company's search promotion function backstage operation page to the Beijing News reporter. From 8 to 12 in the morning, 3000 yuan was deducted from his company account. Feng You said that his company’s bid ranking price is 80 or 90 yuan per click, but Sifang Brothers has always ranked higher than his company. "I don't know how much he bid, nor dare to compare with him. But his spending should not be less than 6000 yuan a day."
Through bidding ranking, consumers can click to enter the official website of Sifang Brothers. In a prominent position on the homepage of the official website, the company claims to have cooperated with the Olympic Games, Li Ning, Samsung and other brands; a WeChat QR code floating on the side of the website is online customer service.
On the "Company Profile" page, the Sifang brothers wrote that the company was established in 1994 and has more than 800 employees and more than 200 vehicles in operation, including 2 tons, 3 tons, 5 tons, 8 tons, Jinbei, gondola, etc. Different models, all vehicles are equipped with GPS satellite positioning system and communication equipment".
But "Tianyan Check" shows that Sifang Brothers was established at the end of 2016. A person familiar with the matter told the Beijing News that at the end of July this year, staff from the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau told him that the Sifang brothers had five or six vans and more than a dozen workers.
In addition to the above information that is inconsistent with the facts, on the "Vehicle Display" page of Sifang Brothers official website, the carriages of several pictures are marked with the words "Brothers Moving Company". After checking with Beijing Brothers Moving Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Brothers Moving"), three of the pictures are from the company's official website.
In addition, the logo design at the bottom of the "Company Profile" at the bottom of the Sifang Brothers official website is also highly similar to the registered trademark of the brothers moving.
On July 30, the brothers moving legal adviser told the Beijing News that there are many small moving companies imitating the company in the market. In recent months, the company has received a large number of complaint calls, and it is understood that they are all consumers who were deceived by fake brothers moving.
According to the summary form for moving complaints of counterfeit brothers in May 2020 provided by the legal adviser, of the 35 complaints, 15 were from a search website and a classified information website, and 8 were from "online", the sum totaled more than half; the total number of complaints involving Sifang brothers 2 cases.
Routine of sky-high moving expenses
Ms. Liu contacted the Sifang brothers through bidding rankings.
In June of this year, after searching for "Chaoyang Brothers Moving", she clicked to enter the number one moving company website. She didn't realize that this was the official website of Sifang Brothers, and mistakenly thought it was a brother moving.
Ms. Liu recalled that after dialing the contact number on the website, she asked if the other party was a brother moving, and the other party said yes. After that, she added the other party's WeChat and confirmed in WeChat that the total cost of moving is about 1,000 yuan.
Ms. Liu said that after the moving truck arrived at the moving-out address, the workers asked Ms. Liu's cousin to sign a contract on the grounds of confirming the moving-in address. At that time, only his cousin was present in the Liu family, and he did not pay attention to it when signing, nor was he reminded that the column "Labor fee 300 yuan per person per hour" was checked. For this reason, after moving, Ms. Liu was asked for a moving fee of 4800 yuan.
Ms. Chen has experienced similar things. She said that she invited the Sifang brothers to move in mid-July, and the agreed moving fee was about 500 yuan. But after moving, the other party took out a contract with labor costs and asked him to pay more than 3,000 yuan.
A reporter from the Beijing News interviewed a number of consumers who had disputes with Sifang brothers and found that deliberately concealing labor costs before moving, and signing contracts without the consumers' attention or knowledge, has become the company's charging routine.
On August 8, the reporter called the contact number on the official website of Sifang Brothers and asked about the moving expenses. The other party stated that the fees include starting fees, disassembly and assembly fees, metering fees beyond the starting range, and no other fees. After further questioning, the other party said that there was a labor cost of 300 yuan per person per hour.
Zhao Zhenqiang told the Beijing News reporter that this behavior of concealing beforehand and charging high labor fees afterwards started from other companies.
Zhao Pengjun told reporters from the Beijing News that this approach is currently common in small and medium-sized moving companies. Because these companies have invested heavily in the bidding rankings, "In order for the company to survive, it is necessary to raise the moving expenses to make a profit."
A number of consumers interviewed said that after a dispute with the Sifang brothers over the moving fee, the workers on site would use various methods to urge themselves to pay.
Ms. Chen said that after refusing to pay, the worker lay down at the entrance of the van and prevented her from taking things from the car. Ms. Wang mentioned at the beginning of the article said that after refusing to pay, the workers said, "This is our hard-earned money," while preparing to beat Ms. Wang's male friend.
In this situation, consumers often call Sifang Brothers' contact number, such as Ms. Liu. On July 25, a reporter from the Beijing News inquired about the Sifang Brothers phone number on Ms. Liu's call records. Alipay's real-name authentication showed that the owner of the number was Zhao Zhenqiang.
"I said on the phone that your contract is too fake and I didn't tell us that there was a labor fee when you signed it. The other party said it would be useless for you to say anything else. You can do whatever is written in the contract." Ms. Liu said.
In response to the above problems, Shanghai lawyer Gao Yonghong believes that the contract signed by the Sifang brothers and consumers is a standard contract. According to the contract law, if there is a dispute over the understanding of the standard terms, the interpretation shall be based on the usual understanding; if there are more than two interpretations, an explanation that is not conducive to the party providing the standard terms shall be made. In addition, if the contract is clearly unfair or there is a major misunderstanding, it can be cancelled.
But judging from the experience of many consumers, almost no one resolves the problem through judicial means. Even if the astronomical bills of the Sifang brothers are not paid in full, their actual expenditures are much higher than those negotiated in advance. For example, Ms. Wang actually paid 2,000 yuan, Ms. Liu paid 2,400 yuan, and Wu Hongfei, who was asked for 18,000 yuan, paid 4,000 yuan.
Wang Feng remembered that Zhao Zhenqiang once revealed to him that the Sifang brothers sometimes earn more than 10,000 yuan in a single order. "Occasionally, there will be two to three thousand one bill, and no one can earn more than one thousand. But this is very rare." Wang Feng said.
Consumers' lack of evidence awareness is difficult to defend their rights
After having a dispute with Sifang brothers, many consumers chose to report to the police, such as Ms. Chen.
Ms. Chen said that the police from the nearby police station arrived at the scene soon after receiving the police and proceeded to mediate after understanding what happened. The police asked Ms. Chen how much she was willing to pay for moving, and Ms. Chen said that she was 1,000 yuan. In the end, she paid Sifang brothers 1,100 yuan.
"Generally speaking, public security organs are mainly responsible for public security cases and criminal cases, but issues such as Sifang Brothers are civil disputes, so the police do not care. However, for the sake of social stability, they will also organize mediation to resolve conflicts." Gao Yonghong said .
In addition, Ms. Chen also made a telephone complaint to the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau, where the Sifang Brothers is registered, and the other party registered relevant information. Two or three days later, the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau called Ms. Chen back, saying that the Sifang brothers did not operate in the registered place and were operating in a different place. "So they can't find this company, and they can't do anything at present," Ms. Chen said.
In fact, this is not the first time the regulatory authorities have discovered that the Sifang Brothers are operating in different places. "Tianyan Check" shows that in 2018 and 2019, the company was included in the list of business abnormalities by the regulatory authorities, all on the grounds that "the registered residence or business place cannot be contacted."
On July 25, a reporter from the Beijing News visited the headquarters address on the Sifang Brothers official website and the registered address on the "Tianyancha", but they did not find the company.
In this regard, a staff member of the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau said that for the market supervision department, remote operation is one of the regulatory difficulties for many small and medium-sized moving companies, including Sifang Brothers. These moving companies are widely distributed, and the registered addresses of many companies are wrong, making it difficult to find actual business premises.
At the same time, consumers' lack of awareness of evidence is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to defend their rights.
On August 8, the staff of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade of the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau told the Beijing News reporter that if you want to complain to the Sifang brothers, you can call the 12345 citizen service hotline and provide a variety of evidence including recordings.
The staff of the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade also said, “In fact, the most important thing is to look at the contract. Evidence such as chat (record), audio and video can only be used as a reference. Because the two sides have different opinions, it is difficult for us to judge if there is no contract. ."
However, a number of consumers interviewed stated that there were no audio or video recordings before and after the move, and some consumers did not even save the contracts and bills with specific charge items and amounts. Ms. Wang said that after being asked for a moving fee of 18,000 yuan, she was very angry and tore up the workers' book of accounting. Wu Hongfei also said that he was too angry at the time. He didn't expect to take pictures and the bill was taken away by the workers.
In response to the high fees of the Sifang brothers and the difficulty in protecting their rights, Gao Yonghong suggested that consumers should learn more about the market when choosing a moving company and try to choose a regular moving company. During the negotiation before moving and the payment after moving, the recording, chat records, contract documents and other evidence should be retained to the greatest extent to prevent disputes afterwards.
A person close to the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau revealed that at present, the supervisory authority has contacted Zhao Zhenqiang, Wu Hongfei and others to obtain evidence and understand the situation, and have visited the actual business premises of Sifang Brothers.
On August 4, a reporter from the Beijing News called the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau to inquire about the progress. A staff member said that the case is still being investigated and it is temporarily inconvenient to accept interviews.
(In the text, Feng You, Zhao Pengjun, and Wang Feng are pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Haiyang intern Gao Xinran and Wang Wei