Switch from offline to online full variation installment exchange point shopping

Teaching and training institutions to avoid refunds "all tricks"

　　In July of this year, the "double reduction" policy to seriously rectify the education and training industry was implemented, and the enthusiasm for discipline training gradually cooled.

At the beginning of the implementation of the policy, this newspaper once titled "Education and Training Institutions Quietly Closes Shops and Left a "Trash"" and reported that some education and training institutions that have been closed or left early were unwilling to deal with the aftermath, and the subsequent problem of refunding fees Let parents and students feel helpless.

Nowadays, the "double reduction" policy has been implemented for nearly 4 months. Many parents report that some education and training institutions still resort to various "gimmicks" in order to avoid or delay refunds.

The operating risks of education and training institutions should not be passed on to students and parents, and the responsibility of education and training institutions should not be placed solely on the ethics and conscience of the operators. It is urgent for the regulatory authorities to further improve the rules and strictly enforce the law.

Tricks 1

I want to get a refund when I switch from offline to online

　　Due to its unique offline training advantages, ABC Foreign Language Training School has become the first choice for citizens Mr. Liu to register for classes for his children in recent years. Because he is close to home, Mr. Liu chose the third ring central campus of the school for his children.

However, since the severe epidemic situation last year, offline training has been suspended, and the children have not waited until the news of the resumption of classes.

　　"During the suspension, we consulted whether it could be changed to online courses, but the school staff said that there were no online courses, so we had to sign up for online courses from other institutions." Mr. Liu said that there are still some children who have not taken offline courses. Because of the epidemic situation and the introduction of the "double reduction" policy, he felt that there was little hope of resuming classes offline at his campus, so he applied for a refund.

　　During this period, the staff proposed a plan to change the campus, but considering time and other related costs, Mr. Liu refused.

After going through a saw, and under the coordination of the Fengtai District Education Committee, the two parties finally reached an agreement on the refund of the time and amount of the class, and the staff also took away the relevant receipts for the unopened courses in Mr. Liu's hands.

　　Mr. Liu showed the reporter the confirmation message sent to him by the staff of the agency in August this year, “The refund procedure you submitted was re-applied due to the calculation of the class hours. The application is already in normal circulation, and the fee has not been refunded. There is a problem, but you need to wait in line for the refund and payment.” The staff member also said that it is impossible to refund the full amount at one time, and strive for a successful refund in September.

　　However, when the agreed time limit was reached, Mr. Liu failed to receive the refund.

At the end of October, the staff of the agency sent him another text message, claiming that due to various reasons, the ABC Foreign Language Training School is no longer capable of refunding the payment. At the same time, all offline stores will be closed and existing students will be transferred online. Learn.

"In order to avoid personal losses, it is recommended to switch to online classes for online classes or online one-on-one learning."

　　Mr. Liu said that the advantage of ABC foreign language training school is offline. It was because there were no online courses during the epidemic, so it had to report to other institutions.

Nowadays, the ABC Foreign Language Training School has issued a notice that not only cannot refund the payment, but also asks the students to switch online. Parents feel very helpless, "We are already online courses. Doesn't this request increase the burden on the children?"

　　On November 14, the reporter came to the commercial office of No. 8 Fengqiao Road. The third ring central campus of ABC Foreign Language Training School is located here. However, the door plaque has been replaced with "Midland Youth Development Center", and the door also posted " Announcement on the withdrawal of shops”, which mentioned that the store was withdrawn on October 26, “In order for students to have a better learning environment and faculty in the future, the company has decided to close the ABC Third Ring Center. We will guarantee that the shop will not be closed. The students continue to study online." From time to time, someone stopped and looked at the empty room through the glass.

　　"I think the root cause of the difficulty in refunding fees is the disorderly development of education and training institutions in the past few years, and poor management has caused cash outflow problems. Students and parents should not be allowed to take risks." Mr. Liu said that there are many parents with his experience. , I hope that relevant departments can strengthen law enforcement and supervision, and urge enterprises to take responsibility.

Tricks 2

The full amount is changed in installments, and the refund is far away

　　Since last year, citizen Ms. Wang has signed up VIPKID, an online education and training organization that specializes in one-on-one teaching by North American foreign teachers, and purchased 120 courses.

In June of this year, with a dozen lessons remaining, she spent nearly 20,000 yuan to purchase another 120 lessons.

In the state that the subsequent courses were not activated at all, with the introduction of the "double reduction" policy, Ms. Wang considered that foreign teachers would not be able to continue live teaching in the future. Although the institution later introduced a recorded and broadcast course that can be replaced by a smart AI course. She felt that the effect was not good, so she applied for a refund to the class teacher.

　　In early October, Ms. Wang was in a state of waiting for a refund after the class teacher passed the review. At that time, she was promised that she would receive the full amount in December.

However, at the beginning of November, the head teacher sent the refund details, telling her that “due to the large amount of class hours submitted for refund, we will solve it in batches one after another. Please also give us some processing time” and inform her that it will be collected in early December. To the first batch of refunds of more than 8,000 yuan.

Ms. Wang believes that parents should have the right to know, and the refund rules should clearly inform the actual application for refunds, how much is involved, and for what reason, the current number of refunds and other information.

The head teacher said that this was given by the company and could not be modified.

　　After several rounds of communication with the class teacher and agency customer service, VIPKID promised to properly resolve the refund issue of Ms. Wang according to the original plan. Now all she has to do is wait.

Ms. Wang said that as far as she knows, many parents apply for more refunds and longer refund cycles.

　　The electronic agreement provided by many parents to the reporter shows that the refund period is 2 to 3 weeks from the date of approval of the refund application, but nearly two months have passed, and many parents still have not received the refund.

The relevant staff of the agency explained that due to the large amount of refunds, the refund period will be relatively long, and the current refund time is basically about two months.

　　On November 5, VIPKID issued a statement on its official Weibo stating that the claim that the VIPKID refund channel has been closed is a rumor. The company has basically completed the first batch of refunds, and the second batch is proceeding in an orderly manner.

However, the statement did not mention the specific timetable for batch refunds.

Tricks 3

Replace shopping points, high price is not practical

　　Ms. Shen was once attracted by the one-on-one online training provided by 51talk foreign teachers and spent nearly 10,000 yuan to buy lessons for her children.

Nowadays, foreign teachers have been replaced by Chinese teachers, and the one-to-one teaching method has also become one-to-many.

As online learning is not possible on weekends and it is difficult to make appointments in the middle of the week, after a few months, Ms. Shen found that the child's learning effect was not good, so she had the idea of ​​refunding the fee.

　　Through consultation, the staff of the institution proposed a refund plan-unopened courses can be converted into mall points, and goods purchased on the designated platform, the corresponding course amount will be exchanged for corresponding points at a ratio of 1:1.

The shopping platform must be accessed through an account registered through 51talk. Although it covers several categories such as daily necessities, beverages and tea, household appliances, etc., Ms. Shen found that the platform’s items are obviously higher than the market price and are not practical. Many Things even require points plus cash to buy.

　　A few days ago, the staff of 51talk sent Ms. Shen three exchange vouchers worth 1111 yuan. In addition to the platform shopping exchange, the plan can also be exchanged for 1-to-8, 1-to-50 literacy classes, and walnut programming. Other shopping mall courses can also be converted into adult courses.

However, Ms. Li thinks these are not practical, and she still hopes to get a refund.

　　Citizen Ms. Zhai also filed a refund application to 51talk. Among the options available, 25% of the liquidated damages were deducted and only 75% of the fee was refunded.

However, the chat record provided by Ms. Zhai showed that the staff of the institution had previously promised that the courses that were not started will be refunded in full, which is one of the reasons why she is unwilling to accept the current plan.

A number of interviewed parents reported that the backstage revealed that their electronic agreement was revised in June of this year. The revised agreement contains relevant clauses that deduct liquidated damages or have the right to refuse refunds after a certain period of time. The original clauses have been overwritten. , Unable to inquire, this is also a focus of controversy in the refund process.

　　The reporter learned that the Beijing Municipal Education Commission has contacted a number of parents with regard to the refund of education and training institutions, and is currently actively coordinating and promoting it.

This newspaper will also continue to pay attention to this.

　　Our reporter Sun Yanan