The merchants who bought the group purchase coupons on the short video platform do not recognize them?

Reporter investigates group buying package consumption chaos

□ Our reporter Han Dandong

  □ Our intern Fan Xiaoya

  "98 yuan for a three-person meal makes you all-you-can-eat" "9.9 yuan is common in stores nationwide, you can earn it when you buy it" "the original price of 179 yuan for a three-person meal is now only 79 yuan"...

  On the short video platform, similar group purchase packages can always easily attract a large number of users to place orders, but the resulting complaints are also frequently reported in the newspapers.

Recently, Mr. Zhang from Shijiazhuang, Hebei encountered such an annoyance.

  Mr. Zhang is a frequent visitor to a Cantonese restaurant. He saw the 99 yuan group purchase package of the Cantonese restaurant when he was watching a short video, and immediately bought it and went to consume it.

But after serving, he found that compared to the same dishes he had eaten before, the portion was significantly smaller this time.

Upon questioning, the waiter admitted that the group-purchase package consisted of small portions.

However, the short video platform did not expressly indicate that it was a small portion of the meal when promoting the group-purchase package coupons.

  In recent interviews, many consumers reported to the "Rules of Law Daily" reporter that in the process of consumption, some merchants did not recognize the group purchase package purchased on the short video platform and refused to provide services; some merchants provided services and dishes. Seriously inconsistent with propaganda.

In addition, consumer complaints also have problems such as long cycle and difficulty in safeguarding rights.

The user purchases the group purchase package and the merchant refuses to provide the service

  At the end of April this year, Mr. Li from Ningbo, Zhejiang purchased a 128-yuan group-buying package from a chain restaurant from a short video platform.

When he entered the store for consumption, he clearly informed the waiter that he had purchased a group purchase package on a short video platform, but found that the dishes did not match the promotion when serving.

  The waiter said that the short video platform's package coupons could not be used, and asked him to go to another platform to buy a slightly higher-priced package coupon.

After Mr. Li opened the promotional video of the store that he had collected, the waiter admitted that the store did participate in the group purchase activity of the short video platform, but because there was no equipment for checking coupons, it could not be used at present.

  Seeing that Mr. Li did not accept the explanation, the owner of the restaurant came forward and said that the package was linked on the platform without notifying him, nor did he communicate well with the clerk.

In this regard, Mr. Li was quite angry.

He believes that if the group purchase coupon cannot be used, the waiter should explain it directly to the consumer when entering the store, instead of having to go to another platform to place the order again after serving the food.

  Mr. Li complained about the restaurant and the above-mentioned short video platform. The restaurant replied that he could compensate for a two-person set meal, and the platform's customer service replied that he would pay a 10 yuan meal coupon.

  Recently, Mr. Lin from Suzhou, Jiangsu also encountered a situation where he could not consume after purchasing a group-purchase package.

On a short video platform, he saw a chain of fast-food restaurants with a "national general 9.9 yuan group purchase package". After purchasing it, he went to a nearby fast-food restaurant to use it, but the staff refused to accept it.

  In response to the situation reflected by Mr. Lin, the reporter also purchased the group purchase package.

In the rules of use, the reporter saw a line of words that said "due to the limit of the number of words, inapplicable stores are not listed one by one".

After that, the reporter went to the offline store to inquire, and the clerk replied that the group purchase coupons could be used, but the actual packaged food provided was different from the one in the video promotion.

The clerk explained, "The specific package offered is determined by the store, don't watch that short video."

  In this regard, Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that according to the relevant regulations of the E-commerce Law, users who purchase group purchase coupons on live broadcast or short video platforms, and the short video promotional content that users see can be regarded as a promise of the merchant. Merchants need to keep their promises.

After the consumer places an order, it means that the contract is established, and the merchant should execute it according to the order standard, otherwise it is a breach of contract.

  In the view of Zhu Jie, a partner of Tahota Law Firm, it can also be regarded as a form of false advertising when an anchor publishes videos to promote goods or services that do not actually exist.

The Advertising Law stipulates that if false advertisements are published to deceive or mislead consumers, so that the legitimate rights and interests of consumers who purchase goods or receive services are damaged, the advertiser shall bear civil liability according to law.

  "Integrity management is the statutory responsibility of merchants. E-commerce operators should disclose product or service information in a comprehensive, truthful, accurate and timely manner. Protecting consumers' right to know and right to choose is the core legal obligation of e-commerce operators." Zhu Jie It is believed that if the operators of e-commerce platforms fail to fulfill their statutory obligations, they will not only face civil liability for compensation, but will also face administrative penalties.

The E-commerce Law stipulates that if an operator of an e-commerce platform knows that the operator on the platform has violated the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and fails to take necessary measures, it shall bear joint and several liability with the operator on the platform in accordance with the law.

Platform merchants blame each other, consumer rights protection is difficult, and the cycle is long

  The reporter learned that in reality, if you encounter disputes over group purchase package consumption, the road to rights protection is often difficult.

  Not long ago, Mr. Wang from Baoding, Hebei bought two 138 yuan group purchase coupons for a certain KTV "Happy Singing Meal for Four" on a short video platform.

The anchor said in the short video that the original price of 532 yuan for the package, the use of group purchase coupons only cost 276 yuan.

A few days later, Mr. Wang called his friends to meet at the KTV.

As a result, when I arrived at KTV, I was told that the group purchase coupon could not be used, and KTV did not cooperate with the above-mentioned short video platform at all.

  Mr. Wang was very angry and felt that he had been deceived, so he complained in the 12315 applet and reported that the group purchase product defrauded consumers, and the merchant refused to provide services.

Subsequently, the customer service of the short video platform replied that the merchant had been punished, and said that Mr. Wang could reimburse him 200 yuan after consuming the original price of 532 yuan for the package.

In this regard, Mr. Wang did not accept.

  The complaint is still ongoing, but Mr. Wang found that the group-purchased product was still being sold on a short video platform and was not removed from the shelves immediately.

"It was not until more than 10 days after the complaint that the link to the product was taken off the shelf." Mr. Wang said.

  Afterwards, the customer service of the short video platform told Mr. Wang that the group purchase coupons he purchased were an activity done by an advertising company in Shanghai on the platform, and the problem should be borne by the service provider in Shanghai, who could compensate him 30 yuan.

  Mr. Wang said he did not agree with such a solution, so he continued to complain.

He believes that he bought the group purchase coupons on the short video platform, and offline merchants do not recognize the group purchase coupons, and the platform has to be responsible for this, rather than putting the main responsibility on the service operator.

After that, the solution given by the short video platform was that the service provider compensated 30 yuan and the platform compensated 20 yuan for meal coupons, but Mr. Wang still could not accept it.

  So, Mr. Wang started the third complaint. The content of the complaint is that the short video platform defrauded consumers, and it is still being accepted.

  In this regard, Zhang Xingshui, director of Beijing Jingding Law Firm, said that the reason why consumers choose the goods or services of the group buying platform is not only because they are interested in the goods or services provided by the merchants themselves, but also because of their trust in the platform.

In the event of the above problems, merchants, platforms, and group-buying anchors who provide video promotion and purchase links should all be held responsible.

  Zhang Xingshui believes that businesses should bear civil liability and be subject to administrative penalties.

The platform has the obligation to review the information given by the merchants. It should publish real information, and it should also mark some important information, such as whether there are restrictions on consumption.

The "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions" issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation stipulates that the goods or services traded online shall comply with the provisions of laws, regulations and rules, and the operators of third-party trading platforms shall be responsible for the operators who sell commodities or provide services through the platform and their counterparts. An inspection and monitoring system shall be established for the released goods and service information.

  "In addition to the responsibility of merchants and anchors, the platform also needs to bear certain responsibilities, such as subject registration, information review, etc. The e-commerce law also stipulates that the platform must keep short videos, links, transaction records, etc. for 3 years, and cannot delete video negative comments. , poor orders, etc." Zhu Wei said.

A smooth evaluation and complaint system advocates the concept of integrity management

  In the past year, disputes caused by "short video group purchase packages" have continued, and there have been thousands of related complaints on a third-party complaint platform.

So, how can we effectively regulate such group buying chaos?

  In this regard, Zhu Jie believes that cyberspace is not an "extrajudicial place". With the continuous strengthening of the country's legal means for cyberspace, participants in cyberspace have inescapable legal responsibilities according to their different identities.

Integrity management is the core value of creating a clean space for e-commerce, and the punishment method combined with administrative supervision is the pinnacle of maintaining a clean space.

  Zhu Wei suggested that the platform needs to encourage consumers to comment and rate, and not delete bad comments, unblock the consumer evaluation system, and supervise the bad behavior of merchants through a perfect evaluation system, so that it is difficult for merchants with poor actual service experience to stay here. Standing firm in one system, of course, the platform should be careful to prevent malicious comments among peers from slandering merchants.

  At the same time, merchants should choose agents and promotion staff carefully, and the promotion content should be consistent with the actual service. They should not blindly follow the trend in order to become a so-called "Internet celebrity shop", only looking for "Internet celebrity" to promote without improving their own reputation. The quality of the dishes and service, the final harvest can only be bad reviews.

  In addition, consumers should keep their eyes open, choose carefully, and no longer patronize businesses with poor evaluations; improve their ability to identify, and do not blindly believe in "Internet celebrity filters".

Consumers with poor service experience can give bad reviews, or complain through 12315, or they can go to court to sue.

When consumers make complaints, they must pay attention to saving relevant evidence such as pictures and videos advertised at that time, screenshots of order packages, etc.

  Zhang Xingshui believes that the platform has the obligation to review the information given by the merchants, and should establish an inspection and supervision system for the operators and the information on the goods and services released by them.

At the legal level, relevant systems and regulations should be strengthened, and restrictions on group purchases should be set in terms of registered capital, qualifications of employees, and transaction deposits to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.