Chaos occurs frequently in prepaid card consumption. Many places have introduced laws and regulations to comprehensively and systematically regulate prepaid card consumption.

In recent years, many places across the country have introduced regulations to strengthen the management of prepaid cards.

When using prepaid cards, be careful of being carded.

Beauty cards, haircut cards, Fitness card, car wash card? In daily life, many consumers have applied for prepaid cards, and prepaid consumption is becoming increasingly popular. This consumption method can promote consumption and prosper the market to a certain extent, but in the process of development, some chaos has also appeared. When applying for a card, merchants promise various discounts, but once the service is unsatisfactory and the store closes, returning the card and refunding it becomes an annoyance for people.

In recent years, many places across the country have introduced relevant laws and regulations to manage single-purpose prepaid cards, putting a legal curse on the consumption of prepaid cards, and the consumer rights protection network has become increasingly dense.

Disputes over prepaid consumption have been around for a long time.

I applied for a membership card at a barber shop and recharged 500 yuan to enjoy a 30% discount. ?Mr. Wang, who works in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters that the original haircut price of 58 yuan is about 40 yuan after discounts. In the opinion of Mr. Wang, who has frequent haircuts, it is quite cost-effective.

Xiao Li is a graduate student in Beijing. He likes food and applies for cards and recharges in many restaurants. ?There is a Sichuan restaurant that serves very authentic dishes. I saved 1,000 yuan and applied for the card to get a free meal and a 20% discount on subsequent purchases. ?Xiao Li said that this card can be used not only by himself, but also by friends when they come to eat. It is both affordable and convenient.

With the rapid development of electronic consumption and credit consumption, prepaid consumption has gradually become a common consumption method. ?The so-called prepaid consumption refers to a consumption method in which consumers pay a certain amount of funds to operators in advance and then obtain goods or services on a per-time basis or on a scheduled basis. ?Said Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society.

Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, believes that under ideal circumstances, buyers and sellers can achieve a win-win situation. Consumers can get real discounts, such as discounts and project gifts, and avoid the trouble of paying each time. For merchants, it can not only mobilize funds and expand scale, but also use this method to lock in customers.

With the popularity of prepaid consumption methods, some problems have also arisen. Through interviews, the reporter found that some consumers apply for cards on impulse or are induced by merchants, but have not yet made any purchases, or are dissatisfied with the service after several purchases and want to return the cards but are refused; some merchants even close their doors or run away. , consumers can no longer enjoy the service, and the remaining money is difficult to recover?

In April this year, the "Annual Report on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests in China (2021)" released by the China Consumers Association pointed out that prepaid consumption Disputes have always been a difficulty in protecting consumer rights and interests. In 2021, affected by the fluctuations of the new coronavirus epidemic, complaints from consumers that it is easy to pay in the early stage but difficult to get refunds in the later period have increased significantly year-on-year.

Prepaid cards are carriers of prepaid consumption, and are divided into multi-purpose prepaid cards and single-purpose prepaid cards. Chen Yinjiang introduced that the former is issued by specialized institutions, can be used across regions and industries, and is supervised by the People's Bank of China; the latter is issued by commercial entities, and is commonly seen in life such as fitness cards, beauty salon cards, car wash and laundry cards, and supermarket cards. Shopping cards, etc., are all single-purpose prepaid cards. ?Among the two, single-purpose prepaid cards are widely used in goods and service transactions, which is a difficulty in supervision. ?

Ms. Zhou, who lives in Fengtai District, Beijing, loves fitness. At the beginning of this year, she applied for a 2,000 yuan annual card at a gym near her community. But what she didn't expect was that within two months of applying for the card, the store would close.

Ms. Xie, who is also a fitness expert and lives in Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, also applied for a card at a local gym. ?I made a good statement when I applied for the card, but later I discovered that there are always more people coming to exercise than equipment. In such an environment, how can I be in the mood to exercise well? ?Ms. Xie said frankly.

When encountering poor service or a business closing down, refunds are often the first reaction of consumers. However, in practice, prepaid card consumption faces refund problems. As time goes by, many consumers choose to give up and consider themselves unlucky.

Signing a contract with a merchant is easy to be ignored

The legal nature of prepaid card consumption is a consumer service contract.

?Chen Yinjiang pointed out that the establishment and performance of ordinary consumption contracts are synchronized and have one-time characteristics, while the prepaid card consumption contract is "pay first, consume later, single payment, multiple performance". In this long-term and continuous performance process, merchants are likely to be affected by various uncertain factors, which may lead to disputes with consumers.

In the interview, the reporter noticed that unlike paying money and delivering goods in one hand, most consumers easily ignore signing contracts with merchants when applying for prepaid cards. Among them, fitness, education and training and other industries have more contracts signed, while other common prepaid card consumption industries have fewer contracts.

?The rights and obligations of both parties are agreed verbally, and businesses rarely provide written contracts. Corresponding bills and consumption details will not be provided when collecting money and settling the bill. Due to the lack of detailed and clear written agreements, consumers only need a prepaid card to enjoy goods or services. ?Chen Yinjiang said that once a dispute occurs, consumers are often in the embarrassing position of "empty talk without evidence" due to the lack of strong evidence.

Having a contract does not mean everything will be fine. Ms. Liu from Hebei applied for a membership card at a beauty club. Later, she was unable to enjoy related services because she moved, so she negotiated a refund with the beauty club. But the beauty club refused to refund the fee because the signed contract stated that if you cancel the membership due to personal reasons, the membership fee paid will not be refunded.

?When many businesses sign contracts with consumers, they use prepared format contracts, which often contain clauses that are unfavorable to consumers. ?Chen Yinjiang said that this kind of "overlord clause" sets up obstacles for consumers to make reasonable refunds and damages the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

Currently, there is only one regulation at the national level regarding single-purpose prepaid cards: the "Administrative Measures for Single-Purpose Commercial Prepaid Cards (Trial)" that was implemented in November 2012. Liu Junhai said that as time goes by, the "Measures" are lagging behind and only cover three industries: retail, accommodation and catering, and resident services, and do not cover other prepaid card consumption industries that have emerged in recent years.

Regarding the supervision of funds received in advance, the "Measures" require enterprises in the above three major industries to register and deposit custody funds in proportion. Chen Yinjiang said that in fact, in most cases, whether to register and deposit custody funds depends on the voluntary self-discipline of the card issuer.

Why do you still apply for a card when you know there are risks? In the survey, "Great discounts" was the answer most often heard by reporters. ?Substantial discounts and generous rebates are operators' trump card. Many merchants induce consumers to buy prepaid cards by creating the illusion that there is no store in this village. ?Liu Junhai said that faced with various discounts, consumers will inevitably apply for cards impulsively.

Comprehensive and systematic regulation of prepaid card consumption

Not long ago, the Beijing Shunyi District Market Supervision Bureau fined a beauty and hairdressing company 3,000 yuan and ordered the company to temporarily stop issuing prepaid cards.

The basis for the penalty comes from the just-implemented "Beijing Regulations on the Management of Single-Purpose Prepaid Cards". The "Regulations" stipulate that when selling single-purpose prepaid cards, operators should issue a voucher stating the relevant content to consumers, or sign a written contract. However, the beauty and hairdressing company sold prepaid cards without providing receipts or signing contracts. Even after being ordered to make corrections, the company continued to commit illegal acts. This case also became the first administrative penalty case in Beijing to apply the new prepaid card regulations.

The "Regulations" also stipulates a "7-day cooling-off period", that is, as long as the consumer does not open the card and use it after purchasing the card, the contract can be unconditionally terminated within 7 days, and the operator should refund all prepaid fees in one go; clearly It is not allowed to set unfair and unreasonable regulations for consumers such as "no refunds, no reissues, and the right of interpretation belongs to the operator"; establish a depository system for funds received in advance, and punish operators who fail to deposit funds as required?

In recent years, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Gansu and other places have also introduced relevant regulations to strengthen the management of single-purpose prepaid cards. Liu Junhai said that on the basis of local legislation, experience should be summed up, and national-level laws and regulations should be studied and promulgated as soon as possible to comprehensively and systematically regulate prepaid card consumption from the aspects of access conditions, operating requirements, behavioral norms, fund supervision, rights protection and relief, etc.

Prepaid card consumption involves multiple departments such as market supervision, commerce, and public security, and it is easy to form a "vacuum zone" due to multiple supervisions.

Xu Haiyan, a professor at the School of Law at the University of International Business and Economics, said that it is necessary to further clarify the scope of powers and responsibilities of each department, and it is recommended to establish an information-sharing, fast, efficient, and seamless supervision mechanism with the market supervision department as the main body and other departments working together to promote supervision. Legalization, professionalization, intelligence and socialization.

?Businesses should continue to improve their awareness of social responsibility, operate with integrity, and focus on providing better products and services and improving reputation. ?Chen Yinjiang said.

Xu Haiyan pointed out that consumers should maintain a rational and mature consumption mentality, examine the business scale and credit status of merchants, and do not blindly listen to sales pitches. If you purchase a prepaid card, be sure to keep relevant tickets and electronic evidence so that you can fulfill the burden of proof for your rights claims when defending your rights.

? I haven’t used it a few times and the card is about to expire. ?Ms. Wei from a community in Beijing received news in mid-April that the barber shop downstairs would be closed. What to do with the remaining money on the card? Just when Ms. Wei was worried, the store called and said that it had connected with another barber shop and customers could continue to enjoy related services.

It is a good idea for merchants and consumers to negotiate and resolve the issue. Under the epidemic, offline shops close down from time to time. Some businesses do it maliciously, while others have operational difficulties. In response to the force majeure of the epidemic that has caused some businesses to temporarily close operations and be unable to continue to provide services, some experts have proposed that consumers and operators should understand and accommodate each other. This does not mean that consumers' rights and interests are ignored, but that at this time, everyone needs to communicate, negotiate, and *** Get over the hump. After the crisis is over, businesses can compensate consumers by providing better services, more discounts, etc.

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Key points of the "Beijing Single-Purpose Prepaid Card Management Regulations"

Article 11 If an operator has any of the following circumstances, it shall not issue prepaid cards Or apply for card renewal for consumers:

(1) Being listed as a person subject to enforcement for breach of trust;

(2) The legal representative or principal person in charge is imprisoned due to the illegal behavior of the unit where he works. Listed as a person subject to enforcement for dishonesty;

(3) Listed in the directory of abnormal business operations;

(4) Application for cancellation or in the process of cancellation procedures;

< p> (5) Other situations stipulated by laws and regulations.

Article 12 Consumers enjoy the following rights:

(1) Understand the operator’s filing and custody of funds received in advance;

(2) Report to the operator The person has a comprehensive understanding of the content, quantity and quality, price and fee, validity period, balance return, risk warning, liability for breach of contract, dispute resolution and other information of the goods or services redeemed by the prepaid card;

(3) Independent decision-making Purchase a prepaid card;

(4) Understand the use of prepaid cards, inquire about consumption records, balances and other information;

(5) Other rights stipulated by laws and regulations.

Article 13 Operators shall issue certificates to consumers stating the following contents:

(1) Names or names, contact information, etc. of both parties;

(2) The operator’s collection account information, advance payment amount, payment method, and performance guarantee measures;

(3) Content, location, quantity, quality, redemption calculation type, and charges of the goods or services to be redeemed Standards and deduction methods;

(4) Performance period, as well as whether the business premises are owned or leased, and the lease period;

(5) Risk warning;

(6) The scope and conditions of use of gift rights and how to handle refunds;

(7) How to handle advance payments in the event of changes, suspensions, terminations, etc.;

(8) Refund calculation methods, channels, and handling fees;

(9) Loss reporting, replacement, and transfer methods;

(10) Consumption records and balance inquiry methods;

(11) Liability for breach of contract;

(12) Methods of resolving disputes.

If an operator and a consumer sign a written contract stating the contents specified in the preceding paragraph of this article, the receipt shall be deemed to have been issued.

The model text of the prepaid card written contract shall be formulated by the municipal industry authorities in conjunction with the municipal market supervision and administration department.

When formulating model contract texts, opinions and suggestions from consumers, operators, consumer associations, industry associations, and chambers of commerce should be solicited.

Article 14: If a prepaid card has a validity period, a large advance payment amount, or other content that has a significant interest in consumers, the operator shall provide a risk warning to the consumer in a written contract.

Article 15 The format terms, notices, statements, store notices, consumer notices, etc. formulated by the operator shall not contain any content that is unfair to consumers such as no refunds, no reissues, and the right of interpretation belongs to the operator. , unreasonable regulations.

If the format terms, notices, statements, store notices, consumer notices, etc. contain the content specified in the preceding paragraph of this article, their content will be invalid.

Article 16 If a consumer fails to redeem the goods or services within seven days from the date of purchasing a prepaid card, he or she has the right to request the operator to refund the card. The operator shall refund the card within five days from the date the consumer requests the refund. A one-time full refund of the advance payment will be made within the day; consumers shall return or pay a reasonable price for any gifts or services received by purchasing prepaid cards.