The rule of prepaid card "overlord clause", increasing the illegal cost is the "king way"

  Zhang Chunyi

  The "Regulations of Beijing Municipality on the Administration of Single-Purpose Prepaid Cards" (draft for comments) drafted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Market Supervision Bureau will be open to the public for comments.

The card payment is non-refundable, and the final interpretation right belongs to the operator. The expressions belong to the "Overlord Clause", which 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.

(May 30 "Beijing Youth Daily")

  From the initial application of cards and coupons to the current paid memberships and full reduction of recharges, the prepaid consumption model of "pay first, then consume" has penetrated into all aspects of life.

It should be said that prepaid consumption is a win-win consumption model, which not only helps merchants lock target customers and quickly withdraw funds, but also allows consumers to obtain certain benefits and convenience.

However, in real life, consumer complaints caused by prepaid cards have increased year by year, which has become a “pain point” for consumers to defend their rights.

  One of the important reasons is that some operators use unfair format clauses to exclude or restrict consumer rights, reduce or exempt operators from responsibilities, and aggravate consumer responsibilities.

Some merchants arbitrarily stipulate that the card payment will not be refunded, and the lost or damaged will not be reissued; some set a consumption period, and the expiration is deemed to have been consumed, and the balance belongs to the operator; some directly declare, "The final interpretation right belongs to "Owned by the operator", once there is a consumer dispute, the business is justified.

  In January 2015, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce promulgated the "Measures for the Punishment of Acts in Violation of Consumer Rights and Interests". Operators shall not stipulate that operators shall unilaterally have the right of interpretation or the right of final interpretation. If the regulations are violated, the market supervision and management department shall order corrections. A fine of less than three times the illegal income, but a maximum of 30,000 yuan, shall be imposed or accompanied by a warning.

In contrast, the law lacks clear penalties for the “overlord clause” of prepaid cards such as non-refundable fees and expired invalidation, which invisibly gives some businesses the confidence to “deceive customers”.

  For many consumers, they can only complain to the market supervision department and the consumer association when they encounter the "easy to apply for a card, and it is difficult to return the card," and even go to court to defend their rights, which requires a lot of time and energy.

Therefore, many consumers will retreat and suffer dumb losses.

Operators can simply wait for work and adapt to changes. Even if individual consumers are true to the end, it will be a big deal for them to refund their cards, without affecting other customers, and the merchants will not suffer substantial losses.

  It is the "king way" to govern the "overlord clause" of prepaid cards and increase the cost of illegality.

The "Regulations on the Administration of Single-Purpose Prepaid Cards in Beijing" for public comments this time stipulates that the card payment will not be refunded, and the final interpretation right belongs to the operator. The unfair and unreasonable "Overlord Clause" for consumers is a package. Including the prohibited content of the contract, the maximum fine is 30,000 yuan.

In this way, if the merchant wants to play the "Overlord Clause" set, it is undoubtedly that he hits the gun.

In addition, the "Regulations" intends to uniformly delegate the power of punishment to the market supervision and management department, which helps to clarify the subject of law enforcement and ensure that law enforcement must be strict and violations must be investigated.

  In February this year, the China Consumers Association issued the "Analysis of the Complaints Accepted by the National Consumers Association in 2020", calling for special legislation on prepaid consumption to strengthen the control of consumer prepaid funds.

Now, Beijing's "Regulations on the Management of Prepaid Cards" has begun to solicit opinions, which is a good start.

In addition to clearly saying no to the Overlord Clause, a series of bright spots such as the establishment of a 7-day "cooling-off period" and the one-time return of the balance when the operator runs away are also commendable.

  It is expected that other places can follow up quickly, regulate the management of single-purpose prepaid cards from the legal level, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.