Original title: the "tail payer" who received the goods, has your deposit been refunded?

　　Consumer: it's not cheap even after paying the deposit. I don't know what the picture is.

The term "tail payer", derived from the pre-sale activities of the e-commerce platform, refers to those consumers who pay a deposit, participate in the pre-sale activities, and then need to pay the final payment.

Consumers choose to pre-sell products because they can provide more preferential activities, or can grab a limited number of products, but not all consumers can get the bargain as they wish. Many netizens who participated in the pre-sale activities complained: "it is better to buy spot goods cheaply!"

"I bought 99 cans of Dove scrub in Li Jiaqi's live broadcast room. As a result, my friend bought a can of 49.5 that day." this made the netizen @ unknown netizen Lai Tsai feel very remorseful. "if I knew I didn't have to rob, I only needed one." It is not only a waste of money, but also a waste of time and energy. after all, grabbing goods live is also a "manual job".

Netizens @ vowed to get rid of procrastination, believing that the initial deposit was really due to the fact that merchants were out of stock on Singles Day, and they could estimate the quantity in advance, but now businesses are all for the purpose of getting out of inventory. "it is true that some deposits can deduct the price more, but now for the same goods, the deposit is not as cost-effective as it was bought on the same day." The deposit that has been "stale" has not only failed to let consumers taste the sweetness, but has only increased the trouble of refund.

It is not uncommon that pre-sale is not as cheap as spot, but it is not easy for consumers who regret it to get back the deposit.

"I didn't know that there were two waves of pre-sales on Singles' Day this year. After paying the deposit, I waited for double 11." as a result, the netizen @ Nuo 131477, who missed the final payment time, had no choice but to wait for the transaction to close. He said angrily: "I went to the seller, and the seller said that this is the rule." just bully me and don't go to Taobao? "

According to the black cat complaint platform, with "forgot to pay the final payment" as the key word for search, a total of 98 related complaint results, of which complaints during the Singles' Day period accounted for the majority.

User 7522365163 filed a complaint on November 14 that he forgot to pay the final payment after paying the deposit at the Tmall flagship store of Starbucks, and communicated with the merchant, who said that the deposit can be refunded and that the final payment must be finished. at present, the link to the final payment has closed the payment channel, and the merchant refuses to return the deposit.

Picture source: black cat complaint platform

As of press time, the complaint is still being processed.

The deposit can be paid before the formal sale, but the time for the final payment is quite limited, which makes many forgetful consumers suffer. Even consumers who have paid the final payment and want to return the products that have placed orders on impulse will experience the embarrassment that the goods have been issued before they have had time for a refund. The result can only be passive receipt, or have no choice but to return the goods, suffering not only the consumers but also the delivery boys who travel thousands of miles to deliver goods.

"I put the goods in the express cabinet and asked me to return them directly after picking them up," said the courier in a certain community helplessly. "Why do you buy so much on Singles Day? you have to return it after buying it!"

　　Lawyer: the deposit can be refunded only after the final payment is legal, but there is a dispute over its rationality.

What is the intention of the deposit pre-sale model that makes consumers and couriers miserable? Is it reasonable and legal to get the deposit back after the final payment? Sina Science and Technology interviewed Guo Xiaoming, a lawyer of Sichuan Zhuo'an Law firm, Sui Bing, a partner of Shanghai Jingheng Law firm, Lei Jiamao, a lawyer of Guangxi Guangzheng University Law firm, Jiang Zhengxiang, vice president of Bijie City lawyers Association, and Li Xuejun, director of Heilongjiang Haiwen Law firm.

The way to return the deposit is to return the final payment, or it can be returned together with the deposit at the time of return, this way is in line with the provisions of the law, but there is a reasonable dispute.

Guo Xiaoming, a lawyer at Sichuan Zhuo'an Law firm, explained, "this method is actually a legal issue at two levels. After the deposit is paid, the final payment must be paid, otherwise the deposit will not be refunded, which is a deposit penalty. After the final payment is paid or the goods are received, the goods can be returned. This belongs to the problem of returning the goods for 7 days without reason, or negotiating to terminate the contract."

Lei Jiamao, a lawyer from Guangxi Guangzheng Law firm, believes that the deposit penalty is in line with the provisions of the contract Law, and the function of the deposit is to ensure the establishment and performance of the contract, and if the party who pays the deposit breaches the contract, the receiving party has the right to confiscate the deposit, on the contrary, the party who receives the deposit breaches the contract, and the party who pays the deposit has the right to double the return of the deposit. Therefore, from this point of view, it is legal for consumers not to pay the final payment within a specified period of time after paying the deposit, and the non-refund of the deposit is legal.

From the point of view that there is no reason to return goods for 7 days, its rationality is questioned. According to the provisions of the measures for the Administration of online transactions, consumers who shop online have the right to return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt of the goods, in addition to buying special goods such as custom-made, fresh and perishable goods, without giving a reason. This means that consumers cannot refund the deposit, but they can wait until the goods are received, which is unreasonable.

"it could have stopped the loss in time, but we have to wait until the express delivery has been signed before we can return the goods and refund, which is bound to cause a waste of resources." The waste of resources pointed out by lawyer Lei Jiamao is real.

On the day after Singles Day, the word "refund" appeared on the list of all kinds of hot searches on November 12. However, the speed of express delivery this year is so fast that many consumers have already delivered the goods before they have time to get a refund, and returning goods has become the only possibility. This makes delivery lonely.

Image source: Weibo

In the view of lawyer Jiang Zhengxiang, vice president of Bijie City Bar Association, if we have to wait for the merchants to deliver the goods and the consumers receive the goods before applying the "Consumer Rights Protection Law" for seven days without reason to return the goods, it will undoubtedly waste more social resources, and businesses will suffer greater losses as a result.

That being the case, why are businessmen willing to take such risks? Lawyer Guo Xiaoming believes that on the one hand, it is to create a sense of urgency and reduce the decision-making cycle of consumers, on the other hand, more importantly, the advance sale of deposits can bind and restrain consumers in terms of marketing means and legal effectiveness. reduce the chances of consumers going back on their promises.

In the view of lawyer Li Xuejun, director of Heilongjiang Haiwen Law firm, the online platform takes the payment of the deposit as the condition and requires consumers to agree to the transaction mode in which the online platform or e-commerce collects the deposit and does not return it. If consumers do not choose to agree to the "deposit is non-refundable" option, consumers will not be able to buy goods, let alone get concessions. The network platform provides consumers with other choices to buy goods or services, which consumers can only accept passively.

Some netizens even call this compulsory behavior a "robber". Netizen @ as an excellent engineer pointed out, "(some people) simply did not notice the limited time or forgot it when they were too busy, and the order was automatically cancelled 24 hours later. I think it is a robber behavior that makes consumers unable to pay the final payment and do not refund the deposit."

After receiving the goods, the business has to consider the complaint caused by the return of the goods, which will also have a potential adverse impact on the reputation of the business.

　　Solution:

　　Consumers rationally make orders or complain

　　Merchants replace "deposit" with "deposit"

"in order to buy a full reduction and return it, I can only say that it is better than a little loss, but too much loss." in the netizen @ I think my DPS can also be saved. It seems that if you take advantage of the bargain, you will give yourself a refund and give yourself more discount by taking advantage of the discount given by the merchant. you should bear the consequences.

The behavior of some consumers returning goods and refunds in order to make up for the reduction has virtually brought pressure on merchants to prepare goods and the loss of resources. Consumers also need to consider at their discretion, pre-sold goods than spot stock requirements and logistics speed are higher, in order to reduce unnecessary logistics pressure, consumers should reduce the behavior of refund for order.

For those consumers who forget to pay the final payment and lose the deposit, negotiation with the merchant is the top priority.

Although the law clearly stipulates that the deposit will be lost if the final payment is not paid under the agreed conditions, in this case the consumer needs to bear the responsibility, but it is not mandatory. Lawyer Guo Xiaoming pointed out: "the deposit penalty is only a standard stipulated by law. If the two sides can reach an agreement through consultation, the merchants are willing to return the deposit, and the law will not interfere with it." Therefore, for this part of consumers, it is suggested to recover the loss of deposit by negotiating with businessmen. "

Consumers who have failed to negotiate with the merchants and are not willing to throw the deposit in vain can still complain to the platform where the e-commerce is stationed, seek the help and solution of the platform customer service, and also complain to the consumer association, Sina black cat and other platforms.

In order to avoid conflicts and frictions caused by similar problems, merchants might as well change the pre-sale mode and replace "deposit" with "deposit". Because "deposit" has no corresponding stipulation in law, so "deposit" does not have the meaning of legal guarantee, and the deposit penalty can not be applied when either party fails to perform its obligations.

Sui Bing, a partner in Shanghai Jingheng Law firm, suggested that in similar activities in the future, "deposit" should be directly replaced by "deposit". The former is not guaranteed, and consumers can directly refund for no reason and reduce the waste of resources.

At the same time, it is worth considering by the relevant departments to supplement and improve the relevant laws and regulations.

"the marketing of the network platform under the non-refundable mode of deposit on Singles Day this year, and the commercial operation of the network platform in the name of" deposit "is far from the concept of deposit in the legal sense." in the eyes of lawyer Li Xuejun, this kind of marketing is against the law and should be restricted by the relevant regulatory departments.

Lawyer Lei Jiamao believes that in the "measures for the Management of online transactions," consumers can refund the deposit and not pay the final payment. From the point of view of protecting the rights of consumers, since consumers can return goods unconditionally after receipt and have the right of unconditional return, the relevant refund rights before delivery should be given and protected.

After the shopping spree, various tests waiting for consumers and businesses are being staged. How to make the "refund" happily recover the loss after the "impulse" requires the joint efforts of businessmen and consumers. (source: Sina Technology / Sanya Yunmeng Zeya)