Yesterday’s promotion went away today, but there was a “professional store closeer” behind it.

At the door of the Mejim store in Jinan Liancheng Plaza, a QR code for the WeChat group for parents’ rights protection is posted.

Yesterday's promotion was closed today, and there was a "professional store closer" behind it

They help their bosses avoid legal liability by changing legal representatives, diverting students, etc.

　　Yesterday they were carrying out activities to encourage renewal, but today they are running away with money. Such organizations are not uncommon nowadays. Unable to contact the person in charge, unable to complain, and high litigation costs... consumers were helpless and had no choice but to let it go.

　　Industry insiders say that behind these institutions that close stores are hidden operators who help them deal with the aftermath - professional store closers. Through professional means such as changing legal representatives and diverting students, they can help bosses avoid large debts while also easily evading legal accountability.

　　Is such behavior really legal? The lawyer said that the "safe store closing" operation may be suspected of obstructing liquidation, illegal business operations, and contract fraud.

　　Reporter Zhang Qilu Dong Meng

　　Intern Zhou Yuqi Li Yongrui

　　Is a famous institution disappearing?

　　Ms. Ning’s child has been taking classes at Tai’an Lexuan Ping Pong for more than a year. At the beginning of 2024, the person in charge of the institution said that there were recent activities for old students to renew their fees. Ms. Ning renewed her child’s course for another year out of trust in the institution. However, just after completing three of the 76 classes, the institution suddenly closed and the person in charge could not be contacted. Ms. Ning claimed that she had lost 6,080 yuan.

　　It is understood that Lexuan Ping Pong is a national chain store with offline stores in Jinan, Qingdao, Tai'an and other places. A reporter from Qilu Evening News and Qilu One Point visited many stores of Lexuan Ping Pong in Jinan and found that although the store name on Dianping is still Lexuan Ping Pong, the offline stores have been renamed Huaping Ledong. An offline store person in charge informed that all stores in Jinan have now changed their owners and names, and all stores in other parts of the province have been closed.

　　On the details page of the Lexuan Ping Pong store, the reporter saw a reminder that "this merchant has recent public opinion about operating problems, please choose carefully."

　　In recent years, such prepaid merchants have been hit hard one after another. Education and training institutions, gyms, barber shops, etc. have become the hardest hit areas. It is not uncommon for responsible persons to disappear out of thin air, consumers to complain, and employees to ask for wages. Even high-profile Chain stores are also frequently affected.

　　The reporter found that the early childhood education chain "Mejim" located in Jinan Liancheng Plaza had also closed its store in a hurry before. The classrooms originally used for classes are now filled with debris, the floor is covered with garbage, the tables and chairs are dumped aside, and there are even A large bunch of keys, student water bottles, school supplies, seat cushions, etc. were left behind.

　　A notice posted at the door of the store stated that it was temporarily closed due to poor management and was looking for other institutions to receive the remaining classes. Next to the notice, there are three QR codes for parents’ rights protection WeChat group.

　　“The company owes a large number of employees wages and social security”, “the classes promised at the beginning will not be given”, “it is acceptable to merge and transfer stores, but we cannot understand the attitude of dumping the blame and running away”... On social media platforms, there are also a large number of parents and employees Post to protect your rights.

　　As a listed company with the aura of "the first early childhood education stock", Mejim disclosed the "Indicative Announcement Regarding the Risk Warning of Delisting on the Company's Stock Trading" on January 31, 2024, and released a 2023 performance forecast. The report shows that the loss is expected to be 670 million yuan to 930 million yuan in 2023.

　　Not only "Magic", but since 2023, China's top children's early education chain brand "Gymbaby" has seen a "tide of store closures" in many places across the country. On March 19, three Gymboree stores in Nanjing suddenly closed at the same time, causing widespread concern.

　　Tang Boqun, an industry insider, once said that Gymboree's store closing wave "is a store closing that has been planned for at least half a year." The overnight store closings are precisely due to an emerging profession that has been spawned by the market environment - professional store closers. , known as "I will help you graft the risks and let you land safely."

　　How to trade?

　　Professional store closers are a group of people who specialize in helping bosses plan escapes. They often intervene when businesses are facing closure or poor management. Their main task is to minimize the business's economic losses. In order to prevent merchants from taking risks, some illegal strategies will be adopted, including transferring assets and changing business entities.

　　The reporter successfully contacted a professional store owner on the grounds of "poor management of training institutions." He told reporters that the closure of professional stores is mainly to help bosses avoid risks. First, the risks arising from house leasing, such as liquidated damages arising from rent arrears and early termination of the contract, or the risk of being sued by the landlord; second, the debt problem of students, There is also a risk of being sued by students.

　　The store owner told reporters that the usual operation process is divided into three steps. First, after communicating with the boss, the basic debt situation of the store is evaluated, and a service commission of 10%-30% is charged according to the specific situation. Afterwards, successful cases and contract templates are sent to confirm the intention to cooperate.

　　The second step is to change the legal representative. The newly replaced legal representative is also called the debtor, and is provided by the store closing team. It usually embezzles the information of residents, the elderly, and laborers living in remote areas. This This group of people has no enforceable property in their name and rarely uses ID cards. Even if something happens, it is difficult to find them.

　　After changing the legal representative, the boss only needs to operate for about half a month, and the team of store closers will start preparing to close the store, which will lead to the third step of student diversion.

　　According to the person who closed the store, the WeChat applet developed by the team is put on the shelves of relevant institutions in the city where the remaining tuition fees are recharged with equal amounts of points in the applet. Parents can choose the institution of interest in the applet to transfer courses. Offline training courses, online courses or other service industries are all available.

　　In addition, the closing team will also develop different response plans for different types of parents. The person who closed the store said that most parents will accept the plan provided; secondly, a small number of parents who are unwilling to accept will be compensated with corresponding points, for example, if they have 10,000 yuan left, they will receive 15,000 points; and the remaining small number are still unwilling to accept the plan. Parents will suggest that they go through the prosecution process. During the mediation period of the lawsuit, parents will be refunded part of the cash and receive a few more points. "At this point, most parents can accept it."

　　In this way, the original boss can escape without showing up.

　　The store manager promised, "We will package the company so that it has nothing to do with you, and you don't have to take any risks." The reporter found in his circle of friends that the store manager had posted several photos of "successfully handling store closure arrangements" 322 companies, handling debts exceeding 300 million, and handling nearly 300,000 students" poster.

　　It is understood that there are also many professional store owners who, after completing key operations, use store celebrations, year-end feedback, etc. as excuses to promote sales again, seizing the last opportunity to "knock" consumers again.

　　Another professional store owner provided reporters with three options, namely transfer of students, campus and shares, with different charging standards. He assured that no matter which plan is adopted, it is reasonable and legal and will not be faulted by parents.

　　Is it really legal?

　　A large number of professional shopkeepers are currently active in gray areas. In the past, they mainly engaged in the business of restaurants and barber shops. However, with the large number of closures of the education and training industry in recent years, education and early childhood education institutions have become their customers.

　　In addition to seizing the weakness of high costs for consumer rights protection, they can also "reasonably" exploit loopholes in the law: the legal representative of the company changes and the delivery is completed, then the debts of the "original company" have nothing to do with the "original legal representative".

　　Is it illegal to help the owner of an institution close his shop and avoid debts by changing the legal representative in advance and then diverting students? Why are many professional shopkeepers "above and above board"? Regarding related issues, the reporter consulted Zhao Guangxu, partner and deputy director of Shandong Chengxinren Law Firm.

　　Zhao Guangxu said that the "safe store closing" operation may be suspected of obstructing liquidation, illegal business operations, and contract fraud. However, due to factors such as the difficulty in obtaining evidence and the high sunk costs of rights protection, in many cases these illegal acts may not be effectively pursued.

　　As for why many professional shopkeepers exist "above and above board", Zhao Guangxu said that on the one hand, it is the shallow legal awareness of merchants and acquisition teams, and on the other hand, the shortcomings of the current legal system and regulatory mechanisms give them opportunities to exploit loopholes. .

　　"From a consumer perspective, safeguarding rights is a difficult problem." Zhao Guangxu said that premeditated escapes are often carefully planned and involve complex financial and legal means, making them difficult to investigate and deal with. The merchant and the acquisition team may conceal the true purpose by fabricating reasons such as poor management and normal transfer, making investigation and evidence collection extremely difficult.

　　"The high cost of defending rights for many consumers is also an important factor." In the process of defending rights, consumers may need to invest a lot of time, money and energy in collecting evidence, suing and recovering losses. Even if you ultimately win the lawsuit, you may face difficulties in enforcement, resulting in the actual compensation amount being far lower than expected. This high cost of rights protection has discouraged many consumers, so they choose to give up on rights protection.

　　Despite this, Zhao Guangxu still recommends that consumers should safeguard their rights. On the one hand, they should go through litigation procedures as soon as possible and use legal channels to protect their own rights and interests; on the other hand, when consuming in stores such as training institutions and educational institutions, consumers should recharge rationally and purchase related products reasonably. Courses, don't be greedy for "small gains".