The pace of legislation on prepaid consumption can be faster

2024-03-13

On the occasion of the upcoming International Consumer Rights Day, the China Consumers Association released the "2023 Report on the Protection of Consumer Rights in the Field of Prepaid Consumption", proposing to further improve relevant legislation, emphasize the burden of proof for operators, and reduce the difficulty of consumer rights protection. Against the backdrop of this year's government work report by the State Council proposing to optimize the consumption environment, carry out the "Consumption Promotion Year" activity, and implement the "Safe Consumption Action", relevant departments have called for accelerating the legislative process of prepaid consumption, which is not only a positive response to social concerns, but also a timely action to further stimulate consumption potential. In recent years, in the service industries of fitness and catering, beauty and hairdressing, education and training, the prepaid consumption model has become the preferred choice for most businesses. Under the premise of a reasonable business model and scientifically effective regulation, introducing a prepayment mechanism into the commercial field is conducive to achieving a win-win situation for both businesses and consumers. Consumers can exchange for significant price reductions or discounts offered by operators through a one-time prepayment; Through this method, operators can quickly recover funds, meet their needs for capital turnover, stable customer sources, enhanced competitiveness, and increased market share. Due to this mode, consumers only need to make one payment after multiple purchases, which is beneficial for improving transaction efficiency and saving both operators and consumers the trouble of multiple settlement payments. However, with the development of prepaid models, the number of "refund difficulties" and "runaway" incidents has gradually increased. Consumers often face high costs of rights protection when they demand a refund of their prepaid balance due to dissatisfaction with the goods or services provided by the operator after several purchases. Due to the fact that many prepaid consumption contracts are entered into orally, consumers find it difficult to provide valid evidence for their claims, and their consumption records and other evidence are in the hands of the operators. If a lawsuit is filed, they will face difficulties in providing sufficient evidence. The judgment results released by the China Judgment Document Network show that in multiple prepaid consumer dispute lawsuits from 2022 to 2023, judges rejected consumer claims due to their inability to provide relevant evidence. Meanwhile, due to the imperfect legal system related to prepaid consumption in China, there are significant differences in court judgments, making it difficult to achieve the same case and judgment. The lack of judicial protection for consumers in the field of prepaid consumption is mainly reflected in two aspects: firstly, although most prepaid consumption disputes are small-scale lawsuits, according to the case situation published on the China Judgment Document Network, some prepaid consumption dispute cases require two trials to be resolved, and the cost of manpower, financial resources, time and other costs invested in these procedures can sometimes even make consumers feel that the gains outweigh the losses. Secondly, in handling cases of prepaid consumption disputes, judicial authorities may obtain relevant evidence of breach of contract or illegal business operators. However, due to the lack of a normal linkage mechanism between judicial authorities and administrative regulatory departments, judicial authorities rarely provide information on the illegal breach of contract of business operators to administrative regulatory authorities, and rarely provide judicial suggestions for improving administrative supervision. Accelerating the pace of legislation on prepaid consumption, promoting the healthier development of this "win-win" consumption model, improving the consumption environment, and better stimulating consumption potential has become one of the effective ways to expand consumption. By refining the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law on prepaid consumption

Edit:GuoGuo    Responsible editor:FangZhiYou

Source:people.cn

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