Recently, a post asking for help "I can't go to the concert because my father passed away and Damai.com needs to provide a death certificate for a refund" has attracted attention. The issue of difficulty in refunding tickets on Damai.com has once again aroused heated discussion. According to reports, Ms. Guangdong Juan (pseudonym) posted a message asking for help. She spent 980 yuan to buy tickets for a singer's concert on March 17. Because her father died suddenly and could not make it to the venue, she encountered many twists and turns when applying for a refund.
According to the latest data from the China Performance Industry Association, the overall economic scale of the national performance market in 2023 will be 73.994 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.30% in 2019, reaching a record high. Among them, celebrity concerts are more popular than the last. Not only are tickets "hard to get", but they also have a significant driving effect. However, on the other side of the ongoing popularity of concerts, issues such as ticket scalping by "scalpers" and difficulty in refunding tickets by audiences have frequently attracted attention.
In response to the difficulty in refunding tickets for audiences, in September 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Standardized Management of Large-scale Commercial Performance Activities and Promoting the Healthy and Orderly Development of the Performance Market", requiring that "performance organizers should establish large-scale performance The event refund mechanism sets reasonable tiered refund fees to protect the legitimate refund rights of ticket buyers." However, judging from the above cases, some units failed to implement it seriously.
Ms. Juan’s relative passed away suddenly, and she had neither time nor mood to attend the concert. She had sufficient reasons for choosing to refund the tickets, and the ticket sales platform should support her application for refunds. However, the customer service of the platform involved said categorically: "You can't withdraw, not even if your immediate family member dies." After many communications, the platform once again asked her to submit a death certificate proving that her father had passed away, but then regretted that "with these certification materials, I can't withdraw." Can’t retreat…”
The ticketing platform should have established a refund mechanism as required to meet consumers' refund requirements. However, it treats consumers with such a cold-blooded attitude, makes unreasonable demands and has a capricious attitude. It is really unacceptable. It not only lacks basic empathy, but also shows undue tyranny - the platform has the final say on whether to refund tickets, and the legitimate refund rights of ticket buyers and the above policy requirements are not taken into account.
This situation is not an isolated one. Another viewer bought tickets for a singer's concert on the platform on December 23, 2023, but in November of the same year it was discovered that cancer cells had metastasized to the hilar lymph nodes. She submitted a disease certificate to the platform at that time, but was refused a refund. When many consumers complain that it is difficult to refund tickets, this not only reflects the platform's "dominance and cold-bloodedness", but also lacks business confidence - if you have confidence, refunded tickets can be resold.
In response to this hegemonic behavior that ignores rights, policies, and laws, we must not allow it to develop and must safeguard rights in accordance with the law. According to Article 497 of the Civil Code and Article 26 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, this is a typical overbearing clause that is suspected of using standard clauses to infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. This overbearing clause is invalid. Consumers can safeguard their rights through judicial prosecution, allowing infringers to hit a wall.
At the same time, relevant departments can, in accordance with relevant laws and the above-mentioned documents, conduct interviews with the ticket sales platforms involved and urge them to establish a fair and reasonable refund mechanism to protect the legitimate refund rights of ticket buyers. This can not only reduce the cost of protecting consumers' rights, but also correct the hegemonic behavior in the performance market, thus providing protection for the continued prosperity of the performance market. All in all, we must not get used to such hegemonic and hegemonic behavior in the performance market.
The latest response from the ticketing platform is that it will fully negotiate for special user demands. This can be seen as a sign that his attitude has changed from "hegemony" to "softness". Whether it can truly solve the problem of refunds for consumers and whether it can establish a refund mechanism in accordance with policy requirements is the key. In the performance market, whether it is a ticket sales platform or an organizer, only by effectively protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers can the performance market continue to be popular.
For those ticket sales platforms or concert organizers that behave in a domineering manner, in addition to safeguarding their rights in accordance with the law, consumers should also use the deterrent effect of "voting with their feet".
(Beijing Youth Daily)