"Prepaid Card Management Regulations" began to solicit opinions
"Final interpretation right" and other overlord clauses are fined up to 30,000
In order to strengthen the management of single-purpose prepaid cards and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the "Regulations on the Administration of Single-purpose Prepaid Cards in Beijing" (draft for comments) drafted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Market Supervision Bureau (draft for comments) will be open to the public for comments.
Many consumers have encountered the embarrassing situation that it is easy to apply for a card and it is difficult to withdraw the card. In the life service industries such as dining, education and training, sports and fitness, beauty salons, nails, car washes, etc., the "overlord clause" in the business activities of single-purpose prepaid cards is not fulfilled. Problems such as contractual obligations, failure to provide services as promised, substandard service quality, and difficulty in refunding fees after closing doors and shops have frequently occurred.
According to the Market Supervision Bureau, the combination of traditional offline business activities such as transportation and tourism with the platform economy, on the one hand, makes the business activities of single-purpose prepaid cards more diversified. On the other hand, some problems, risks, and hidden dangers have also appeared. The legitimate rights and interests of consumers have harmed the market order of fair competition.
Citizens have highlighted the problems existing in some industries and fields, and there is an urgent need to pass legislation to solve the "pain points and difficulties" of citizens.
Unconditional full refund of unused card within 7 days
I can’t help the sales staff to soak up beauty cards and fitness cards, and it was not easy to return the cards. According to this solicitation of opinions, the "regret medicine" to save impulsive consumption can last up to 7 days.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily noted that the draft for comments specifically put forward a new requirement for the establishment of a 7-day "cooling-off period" and clarified the refund rules for the termination of the contract during the cooling-off period.
The draft for comments proposes that consumers who have not used a single-purpose prepaid card to redeem goods or services within 7 days from the day after signing the contract have the right to unilaterally and unconditionally terminate the contract, and the operator should refund all the prepaid fees through the original channel in one go.
Consumers who have accepted services such as free experience, trial or donation provided by the operator will not affect the consumer's right to unconditionally terminate the contract.
The draft for comments proposed that operators should sign contracts with consumers when issuing single-purpose prepaid cards.
The contract should include the method of refunding the card, the method of calculating the refund, and the method of dispute resolution.
The contract is now "overlord clause" proposed to fine up to 30,000 yuan
The card payment fee is not refundable; the prepaid card for registered use will not be reissued if it is lost or damaged; the expired single-use prepaid card is deemed to have been consumed, and the balance belongs to the operator; the final interpretation power belongs to the operator. All other expressions belong to the "Overlord Clause" ", these will be prohibited from appearing in the contract.
Once the regulations are violated, the market supervision and management department may individually or concurrently impose a warning and a fine of less than 30,000 yuan.
Both parties have different opinions on the understanding of the contract. What should we do if we encounter such a dispute?
The draft for comments proposes that once consumers and operators have disputes over the understanding of the contents of the contract provided by the operators, they should be explained according to the usual understanding; if there are two or more explanations of the corresponding content, an explanation that is beneficial to consumers should be made.
In addition, if an operator presents a physical object, value-added service or equity when issuing a single-purpose prepaid card, the contract shall clearly indicate the scope of application, use conditions, and use time limit of the donated part.
Consumers have the right to require operators to write oral commitments into written contracts.
Operators need to return the balance at a time
If the operator suspends the performance of the contract due to closure of business, renovation of service premises, relocation, etc., it shall inform consumers in various ways 30 days in advance.
If the consumer requests to terminate the contract, the operator shall return the corresponding prepaid fee balance in one lump sum according to the original channel; if the consumer does not request the termination of the contract, the validity period of the contract shall be extended accordingly or the two parties shall negotiate a solution separately.
If the operator is unable to continue to perform the contract due to suspension of business, cancellation, etc., it shall notify consumers in various ways 30 days in advance, and return the corresponding prepaid balance in one lump sum according to the original channel.
Even if the store is changed, the consumer has not used up the "card", the new store will also be responsible for "receiving the order."
The draft for soliciting opinions proposes that if an operator changes its name, legal representative, responsible person, undertaker, etc., it shall not refuse to perform the contractual obligations of single-purpose prepaid card consumption.
In addition, the draft for comments proposes that if an operator leases a venue or counter from another person, the lease period should be clearly stated in the contract.
The use period set for a single-purpose prepaid card shall not exceed the lease period.
If the operator changes the service location, adjusts the main business items, increases the promised price or increases the service restriction conditions, it shall negotiate with the consumer to sign a supplementary agreement; if the negotiation fails, the consumer has the right to terminate the contract and require the operator to follow the original channel at one time Return the balance of the corresponding prepaid expenses.
The card balance can be activated when the card balance expires, and the card can be exchanged for a refund
The card expires and the balance is not used up, can it only be invalidated?
In terms of balance disposal, the draft for comments proposes that as long as there is a balance in the card, it can be used.
The operator shall provide supporting services such as activation and card replacement.
Consumers requesting the refund of the balance shall be performed in accordance with the contract; if there is no agreement in the contract, the operator shall return the corresponding prepaid balance in one lump sum according to the original channel.
If the balance of a single-purpose prepaid card is not enough for a single minimum consumption and the consumer requires a refund, the operator shall return it to the consumer in a lump sum according to the original channel.
The draft also proposes not to provide goods or services with real names and marks; to defraud consumers without providing or not to provide goods or services in accordance with the agreement; to use false or deceptive prices to indicate sales order prepaid cards; to adopt Fictitious transactions, false bids, or hiring others to induce deceptive sales; unrealistic promises such as lifelong service, free life, etc. are prohibited.
"Prepaid" will have a depository bank
The draft for comments puts forward that the industry authorities, based on the development of the industry, the scale of advance funds, the degree of stakeholders, the time limit for advance payments, and other factors, will work with local financial regulatory authorities to formulate advance fund depository rules and determine the scope of operators included in the depository of advance funds. Clarify matters such as the depository ratio, fund transfer conditions and cycle.
The municipal-level local financial supervision department shall build a unified single-purpose prepaid card prepaid fund depository information platform, and formulate depository bank access standards.
Operators included in the depository of prepaid funds shall open corresponding accounts with the depository bank and deposit prepaid funds in accordance with relevant industry prepaid funds depository rules.
Operators that are not included in the depository of prepaid funds carry out single-purpose prepaid card business activities, they shall adopt measures such as risk reserve funds, guarantee insurance, industry mutual insurance or other third-party custody to ensure the safety of prepaid funds in accordance with the regulations of the relevant industry authorities .
Text/Reporter Li Jia