In the name of recruiting riders, many places now sell electric vehicles at high prices in the form of "renting and purchasing"; Some applicants not only did not earn money, but also owed high debts
"Rider recruitment" trap: buying a car at a high price and being "loaned"
After Ye He signed the "Rent-for-Purchase Contract" with Chengdu Yushuntian Technology Co., Ltd. in September last year, the electric car belonged to her.
On March 3, Qingyang District, Chengdu, a rider recruitment company called "Site Direct Recruitment Headquarters".
Xiao Tao is overdue in repayment, he has not repaid since the third installment, more than 3 days overdue. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Zhang Qiang signed a "rent-for-purchase" contract in June last year.
Dunning information received by a rider. Photo courtesy of interviewee
In April 2022, when Xu Yong applied for a part-time rider at a recruitment company in Chengdu, he was led to a "cooperative" car dealership by the other party and "rented and purchased" an electric vehicle with a total price of 4,3980 yuan, and had to repay it in installments on a third-party platform.
However, Xu Yong later learned that the applicant rider did not need to be interviewed, and the "empty shell car" he "rented and purchased" was only worth more than 10,11000 yuan. Xu Yong thought that he had been "loaned" and asked to return the car and was rejected. Since then, Xu Yong has not repaid, and has been overdue for <> periods so far, and the principal plus interest has accumulated more than <>,<> yuan.
Xu Yong is not the only applicant who has fallen into the "rider recruitment" trap. Recently, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang and other places have appeared this trap of selling electric vehicles at high prices in the name of recruiting riders, but in fact, "renting and purchasing". After signing a "rent-for-purchase" contract, not only did the money not be earned, but once the repayment was overdue, they also owed high interest, and some applicants were even sued in court.
Lawyer Bing Jianmin of Chongqing Zhongxi Law Firm told the Beijing News reporter that the so-called "renting for purchase" of these recruitment companies and car dealers is suspected of stealing the concept of exchange, and the so-called installment repayment is actually a loan to buy a car, which has been suspected of financial loans.
Meituan replied to the Beijing News reporter that these recruitment companies and car dealers have nothing to do with it. Since 2017, police in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Anhui and other places have successively investigated and dealt with more than ten illegal acts of profit-making or defrauding riders for loans under false names such as Meituan and Meituan's authorization.
At present, a number of job seekers in Chengdu have called the police.
Riders who apply for a job encounter a "rent-for-purchase" high-priced car
In April last year, Xu Yong, a native of Neijiang, Sichuan, saw a message recruiting takeaway riders on the WeChat "Chengdu Station" public account. He just had four or five months of free time, so he wanted to work as a part-time rider and earn a little living expenses.
According to the address on the information, Xu Yong came to an office building in Wanhe Center, Qingyang District, Chengdu for an interview. Mr. Xu said he couldn't remember the name of the recruitment company because it had taken too long. The staff introduced the rider's work and income, and informed him of the freedom of time, the daily end of wages, the unlimited range of running orders, and so on. The staff asked him to download the Meituan crowdsourcing APP and register with his real name, saying that he could accept orders and settle remuneration on it.
When he indicated that he did not have an electric car, the other party proposed to provide the vehicle in a "rent-for-purchase" manner. Later, a staff member of the recruitment company took him to the car shop to see the car.
This "Future Ride" is located near the recruitment company. According to the enterprise investigation information, the car dealership is called Chengdu Future Chicheng Technology Co., Ltd., which was established in December 2021.
The staff of the car shop told Xu Yong that the total price of the electric car is 3980 yuan, and if you buy the car in installments, each period is 489 yuan, and the total is 12 yuan to be repaid in 5868 installments. However, the dealer does not provide batteries, and he needs to rent batteries separately.
At this time, the recruiter who came with him said that he had an income of five or six thousand yuan a month from running takeaways. Xu Yong felt that he would soon be able to earn enough money for the car, and signed the "Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Replacing Trams" on the spot. The contract states: both parties voluntarily trade, and the vehicle is accepted on the spot. In other words, from the moment the contract was signed, the electric car belonged to Xu Yong.
The car dealer staff also helped Xu Yong download a third-party APP platform called "Machine Zero" on his mobile phone for monthly repayment. According to Xu Yong and other applicants, the platform was renamed "Taole Rent" in October last year. Enterprise investigation shows that the company belonging to "Taole Rent" is Sichuan XinTesco Network Technology Co., Ltd.
After running for a month of takeaway, because it was a few days overdue, Xu Yong repaid 1 yuan in the first installment.
One day later, a fellow rider told Xu Yong that the applicant rider did not need to find an intermediary for an interview, and after downloading the Meituan crowdsourcing APP on his mobile phone for real-name registration, he could accept orders, and he could apply for withdrawal after receiving income.
The colleague also told Xu Yong that his electric car without a battery is commonly known as a "shell car" and is very cheap. Xu Yong inquired with two car dealers and learned that this "shell car" was more than 1000,<> yuan.
Xu Yong approached the recruitment company and asked to return the car, but the company said it had nothing to do with them, and the two sides did not sign any contract to let him find a car dealership. The car dealer said that the contract had been signed, and it was clearly written that the money that should be repaid every month had to be repaid, and if he did not repay, he would find a lawyer to sue him. Xu courageously, however, left the car at the door of the car shop and left.
There is also Cheng Yi, who is a sophomore in Chengdu.
Last summer, Cheng Yi, who wanted to work part-time, was also taken to the "future car shop" when interviewing part-time riders. After signing the "Contract for After-sales Service Guarantee of Vehicles Signed by Third-Party Platforms", he got a "shell car".
After running takeaway for three days, under the reminder of his peers, Cheng Yi also found a problem. He approached the recruitment company, and the other person asked him to find a car dealership. The car dealer refused to return the car, saying that the liquidated damages required more than 2000,<> yuan. Cheng Yi called the police, and the police replied that "it is recommended that the two sides mediate." Cheng Yi left the car at a friend's house and went out to work.
Zhang Qiang signed the so-called "rent-for-purchase" contract in June 2022, and he only discovered the problem after 6 installments of repayment.
In addition to the contract, the car dealer also attached a "notice" to Zhang Qiang, which reads: The installment (renting and purchasing) method is adhering to the customer's voluntary purchase, which is not mandatory; The car sales store does not engage in installment (renting for purchase) and other related businesses, and the entity of installment (renting for purchase) is not the store, but a third party; The problems and disputes related to the installment (renting for purchase) have nothing to do with the store, and the customer shall not solve the dispute with the store; The interest and handling fees incurred by the installment platform have nothing to do with our store.
Ye He interviewed riders in an office building in Zhengcheng Square, Wuhou District, Chengdu, last September, and signed a "rent-for-purchase" contract at a nearby car dealership. After signing the contract, the other party also asked her to repeat that "this car cannot be returned" and recorded the video. The recruitment company she interviewed and the car shop that "rented instead of buying" electric vehicles were not the same as Xu Yong and others.
"You can't cancel your contract halfway"
On March 3, a reporter from the Beijing News came to a rider recruitment company located in Xihuan Square, Qingyang District, Chengdu, and wrote the words "Site Direct Recruitment Headquarters Rider Induction Training Center" at the front desk of the company.
At its front desk, there is a rider registration form with the registration information of many applicants who have come here. The reporter found that there were many people who came to apply for the recruitment of riders, and there were more than 20 people registered on just one page of registration forms, and this registration form already had a thick stack. On the top registration form, most of the registered applicants are part-time, mainly post-90s and post-00s, from different places in Chengdu.
When the reporter said that he wanted to apply for a part-time rider, a receptionist said that it was mainly to run orders on the Meituan takeaway platform. The receptionist also repeatedly stressed that running five or six hours a day, can have an income of more than 200 yuan, it is normal to earn more than 5,<> yuan a month, the remuneration is settled daily, and the cash is withdrawn immediately, and they do not charge job introduction fees.
When the reporter proposed that he did not have an electric car, the reception staff checked the reporter's Alipay Sesame Credit and said that their company has a cooperative car dealership, which can "rent and buy" electric vehicles with a total price of 3980 yuan, and repay them in 10 installments, 498 yuan per month.
Later, a staff member of the company took the reporter to a nearby car dealership, which was what several applicants referred to as the "future car dealership".
The reporter found that the decoration of this car shop is quite simple, the cement floor, the wall is only simply pasted with some tiles, there are two or three desks, and more than 20 new electric cars are parked inside.
A staff member of the car dealer said that the car dealer is currently doing preferential activities, and the original 12 repayment discounts for two months, all of which were repaid 4980,<> yuan, and took out a "rent-for-purchase" contract.
When the reporter said that the price was too high and wanted to pay at once, the staff said that it included license plates and "three guarantees", only 2500,<> yuan.
When the reporter questioned whether he would be deceived, the car dealer staff said that the vehicles had certificates of conformity, and they would not force customers to buy, but they were all voluntary. As for the third-party platforms that repay the installments, they have nothing to do with them either, they just sell vehicles.
The Beijing News reporter found that the situation of "renting for purchase" encountered by hired riders did not only occur in Chengdu, and there were similar cases in Chongqing.
On the 58.com platform, the Beijing News reporter found two different recruitment riders, but after contacting them separately, the interview was in the same place, and the recruitment company was called Chongqing Rongyun Yi Trading Co., Ltd. On March 3, the reporter came to the company's "Rider Operation Center" in the future building of Jiulongpo, Chongqing, for an interview.
The process after that was basically similar to that in Chengdu: the other party claimed that there was no agency fee for job search, and after the reporter claimed that there was no electric car, he would be taken by the staff to a nearby "car dealership", called "Yongchi Car Dealership", which was also poorly decorated and had only some new electric vehicles. The reporter was unable to find the company to which the car shop belonged.
A slight difference is that the third-party platform is "One Trace Travel", and the total price of the "rented and purchased" vehicles is 3480 yuan, divided into 8 phases, 599 yuan per month. The attached "Notice" states that "the contract cannot be terminated in the middle of the process, and the car will not be returned or changed". According to the enterprise investigation information, the company belonging to "Yiji Travel" is Kunming Rongxuan Economic Information Consulting Co., Ltd.
The recruitment company is not duly authorized
What is the relationship between these recruitment companies and takeaway platforms, and are they authorized by the platform to recruit riders?
The Beijing News reporter called Meituan for verification. On March 3, the staff of Meituan's public relations department replied to reporters that Meituan recruited intermediary companies without outsourcing and authorization, and the platform encouraged riders to apply for riders through official channels. Meituan said that the recruitment of Meituan riders is carried out through Meituan rider APP, Meituan rider official official account, Meituan and Meituan takeaway APP.
The Meituan crowdsourcing APP is also owned by Meituan, and the platform has maintained the recruitment of part-time full-time riders for a long time, and you can start part-time delivery work by registering, and settle it alone.
According to reports, riders who apply for jobs through official channels do not need to pay any fees.
An industry insider told the Beijing News reporter that the normal channel for applying for riders does not require a third-party intermediary company, and individuals can apply through official channels.
Are there other problems with these "rent-for-purchase" electric vehicles in addition to not having batteries?
程艺“以租代购”的电动车附有电动自行车产品合格证，显示生产企业为台州绿羿实业有限公司，中文商标“雷爵酷车”，型号为TDT2012Z。
3月6日，新京报记者致电台州绿羿实业有限公司，表示要采购30辆电动自行车，中文商标“雷爵酷车”，并提供了产品型号。该公司的一位汪经理称，车辆报价为1150元，与车行的一样，并不带电池。
公开资料显示，台州绿羿实业有限公司生产的电动车，曾多次被通报抽检不合格，涉及4个型号，不合格内容包括整车质量、反射器、蓄电池防篡改项目等。因为车辆不合格，还被台州等地的市场监管部门处罚过。
根据其说明书，重庆永驰车行“以租代购”的电动车，来自无锡市苏誉车业有限公司，中文商标为“新顺”。当记者致电该公司询价时，对方称“最近查得严”，并未提供报价。
3月10日，记者就没有电动车应聘骑手的问题咨询了成都沃尔玛山姆的一处配送中心。其工作人员将记者介绍到了一家租电动车的门店。店主称，专业跑外卖每天至少上百公里，需要更换几次电池。他们代理的一家电动车品牌，每月的租金600元，带有电池，并可随意更换，一个月起租，并不附加其他条件，可以随时终止。
至于是否能够“以租代购”，店主表示，他们是电动车厂家的代理，专业做租车，只租不销售电动车。
逾期之后还款数目激增
在成都“未来驰成车行”，记者发现，对方合同上提供的第三方平台也是“淘乐租”。
他们与招聘公司以及车行是什么关系？3月20日，记者致电“淘乐租”所属的四川信易购网络科技有限公司的客服，对方称“不接受采访”。
Xu Yong's repayment information on "Taole Rent" shows that he has been overdue since the second period, and it takes more than 2,11000 yuan to repay it all. Currently, he often receives dunning text messages.
Since the 7th installment, which is the repayment date on January 1 this year, Zhang Qiang has not repaid again.
Xiao Tao from Chengdu is another applicant, he is overdue, he has not repaid since the third installment, and as of March 3 this year, he has been overdue for 3 days. In his 19 repayments on the "Taole Rent" platform, the second bill has changed from 280 yuan to 12 yuan, and the 2 installments add up to 489 yuan, while his initial total repayment is only 1389 yuan.
In addition to them, a number of applicants received text messages with "overdue records affect personal credit" to collect debts.
Cheng Yi's repayment in "Taole Rent" has not paid a penny so far, he often receives dunning text messages, and not long ago received a lawyer's letter.
The Beijing News reporter found that after the repayment was overdue, some applicants were indeed sued, and Liang Hong was accused of "renting for purchase" for overdue purchase.
In October last year, Liang Hong signed a contract with Chengdu Xinxiang Chengyue Trading Co., Ltd., a "car dealership", in Wuhou District, Chengdu, and the other party provided "10 brand" electric vehicles for 009,3980 yuan, repaid in 12 installments, each of which was 498 yuan.
Shortly after signing the contract that day, Liang Hong felt deceived and found the car dealership but the car dealer did not give it back. In a fit of anger, he sold the car at a low price, and did not repay the loan on the third-party platform "Patting Small Rent" once.
Since then, Liang Hong has continued to receive text messages or phone calls to collect his debts. At the end of December last year, he was sued at the Wuhou District People's Court in Chengdu. The plaintant, Chengdu Xinxiang Chengyue Trading Co., Ltd., claimed that this was a dispute over a sales contract, and Liang Hong was provided with an electric vehicle by way of renting and purchasing, and after the vehicle was delivered, he still refused to pay the rent, and provided evidence such as screenshots of the "Xiaorent" platform.
Liang Hong believed that "renting for purchase" was unreasonable, so he did not participate in the trial and did not reply to the court.
In February, the court heard the case in absentia and pronounced its verdict. The court held that Liang Hong's failure to pay the amount of the price due after the reminder reached one-fifth of the total price, and Chengdu Xinxiang Chengyue Company claimed that the full price of 2,5976 yuan complied with the law, and the court upheld it.
The judgment also stated that the plaintiff company also entrusted a dispute involving 10 people, including Liang Hong. The reporter found in the enterprise investigation that the other 9 people were in a similar situation to Liang Hong, all of which were disputes caused by "renting and buying" electric vehicles.
The lawyer appointed by the plaintiff's company refused to disclose the facts of the case to reporters, saying only that the defendant had a claim to explain to the court. The reporter called the company, and the other party said that it had been explained repeatedly when signing the contract, and they had no problem.
According to the address recorded in the verdict, the reporter found the location of the company on Julong Road in Chengdu. This is a residential outdoor frontage, about 20 square meters, which has been rented by others to sell building materials. Nearby merchants said that several guys had sold electric cars here before, but moved away last year.
Ye He "rented for purchase" less than 1 month to return the car, but was rejected. So far, she has not paid a penny and is often urged to pay the bill, for which she has contacted her father. However, Ye He did not show interest on the bill of the third-party platform "Auction Small Rent", and the monthly rent of 498 yuan was still "to be paid".
The reporter searched for the mini program of "Pai Xiao Rent" on Alipay and found that the company belonging to the platform is Shanghai Pai Fenle Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Is "renting for purchase" renting or lending?
Xu Yong, Liang Hong and many others believe that they "were deceived and took out loans online." Several applicants also said that their contracts were signed with car dealers, did not have any agreements with third parties, and did not have interest agreements, and they also believed that they were "loaned".
The Beijing News reporter found that in the contracts of these applicants, there was no interest agreement. On the repayment information of the third-party platform "Taole Rent", only the total amount of money that needs to be repaid each month, and there is no difference between the detailed principal and interest. After the deadline, the amount of money to be repaid in the month will increase over time.
Is "renting for buying" electric vehicles renting or "routine loans"?
Bing Jianmin, a lawyer at Chongqing Zhongxi Law Firm, told the Beijing News that "renting for purchase" is a form of business that replaces purchase by leasing, which is common in the automobile sales industry. The vehicle is rented on a long-term basis, and the ownership of the vehicle is transferred to the customer after the lease period expires. The "renting and purchasing" electric vehicles encountered by applicants is obviously different, and according to the contract, signing is the ownership of the vehicle.
Bing Jianmin said that "renting a car" means that the ownership of the vehicle belongs to the lessor, while "loan to buy a car" is different, the ownership of the car belongs to the buyer, and the relationship between it and the car dealer is a buying and selling relationship, and the third-party platform belongs to the loan relationship.
Bing Jianmin pointed out that the "renting for purchase" here is suspected of stealing the concept of exchange, and the so-called installment repayment is actually a loan to buy a car. It is important whether the third-party platform has an online loan financial qualification, if it is not qualified, the loan is invalid; If qualified, it depends on whether the agreed interest rate is significantly higher than the maximum interest rate announced by the National Interbank Lending Center authorized by the People's Bank of China. Although the amount of interest is not specified in the contract, the interest is significantly higher than the maximum interest rate announced by the National Interbank Lending Center, which does not comply with relevant regulations. "The "notice" signed between the car dealer and the customer is to sell the vehicle, which is suspected of avoiding liability."
According to the Notice on Matters Related to Regulating Private Lending Behavior and Maintaining Economic and Financial Order (CBIRC [2018] No. 4) issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the People's Bank of China on April 16, 2018, "without the approval of the competent authority in accordance with law, no unit or individual may establish an institution engaged in or mainly engaged in loan issuance or make loan issuance a routine business activity; The disguised granting of loans in the name of providing services and selling goods should be severely cracked down. ”
A staff member of the third-party platform "Pai Xiao Rent" company involved in Liang Hong's case told the Beijing News reporter that they are only an electric vehicle rental platform, and the "renting for purchase" signed by the customer and the car dealer is an offline agreement, which is a matter between the two of them, and if there is a problem, it is also a problem for both of them; Their platform does not have a "rent-for-purchase" agreement, only involves rent, is a lease order, there is no concept of repayment, they do not do online loans, do not involve financial business.
Bing Jianmin believes that the judgment in Liang Hong's case did not involve a third-party platform, nor did it involve interest after the overdue period, the plaintiff was a car dealership, not a third-party platform, and the defendant did not appear in court to respond to the lawsuit and did not state relevant matters to the court. Therefore, the court found that the legal characteristics of the retention-of-title installment sales contract were more in line with it, and found that the case was a dispute over the sales contract.
The enterprise investigation showed that Sichuan Xintesco Network Technology Co., Ltd., to which "Taole Rent" belonged, did not have financial business on its business license. The Chengdu Municipal Financial Office told the Beijing News reporter that the company did not have approval and filing, and did not have finance-related qualifications.
On March 3, the reporter called the Kunming Municipal Financial Office to inquire about the relevant situation of Kunming Rongxuan Economic Information Consulting Co., Ltd., a company belonging to "Yiji Travel", but there was no feedback. The enterprise investigation showed that the company's business license also did not have financial business.
According to Meituan, since 2017, police in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Anhui and other places have successively investigated and dealt with more than 10 illegal acts of profit-making or defrauding riders of loans under false names such as Meituan and Meituan's authorization.
According to public information, during the special operation of Hefei police to crack down on "routine fraud" in 2021, they destroyed 4 fraud criminal gangs and destroyed 6 dens. The police said that its fraud method is to lure the victim to buy an electric car in installments on the grounds of online recruitment of takeaway riders and the need for electric vehicles for delivery, and once the victim finds that he has been deceived, his request to return the car will be rejected, so as to achieve the purpose of profit, but at this time, the takeaway rider still needs to repay the installment loan, and has been deeply caught in the "routine fraud" scam.
Cheng Yi once called the local Caiqiao police station. On March 3, a reporter from the Beijing News called the Chengdu Municipal Public Security Bureau on this matter, but failed to receive a reply. On March 17, the reporter called the Caiqiao police station, and the other party said that the specific situation was still investigating.
(Xu Yong, Cheng Yi, Zhang Qiang, Liang Hong, Ye He, and Xiao Tao are pseudonyms in the text)
A08-A09 edition by Beijing News reporter Luo Daohai
A08-A09 version photography (except for the byline) Beijing News reporter Luo Daohai