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Recently, Ms. Wang complained to the Fujian News Broadcasting "News Three Musketeers" that she spent 59.8 yuan on Douyin on July 29, 2023 to buy a vehicle maintenance coupon, which can enjoy 788 yuan of vehicle maintenance services, which is valid for one year. However, in October 2023, she called to make an appointment and was told that the coupon could not be used.
Complaint: The vehicle maintenance coupon is not allowed to be used within the validity period
Ms. Wang said that at that time, she saw that the purchase page said "3rd Anniversary. welfare package", which can be used in the four stores of Ningde Tmall car maintenance. Why can't I use the coupon while it's still valid? The other party's reply to Ms. Wang was: This vehicle maintenance coupon needs to be verified in August 2023, and if it is not verified in August, it cannot be used, and Ms. Wang can apply for a refund. Ms. Wang carefully checked all the instructions on the Douyin page and found that there was no indication on the page that the clause needed to be written off in August.
Ms. Wang complained to Douyin customer service, and Douyin customer service said that Ms. Wang could go to the store to consume, and then issue an invoice of 100 yuan, and Douyin reimbursed 100 yuan. Ms. Wang did not accept Douyin's solution, and Ms. Wang told the "Three Musketeers" that first of all, it was not her fault that this matter was not her fault, so the services enjoyed should not shrink; Secondly, 100 yuan can't do anything in the store at all, so I went to the store to spend 100 yuan in order to write off the 59.8 yuan I bought the coupon, which went against my own consumption will. She asked Douyin and the merchant to provide the corresponding services according to the terms advertised.
Fujian News Broadcasting "News Three Musketeers" noticed that the vehicle maintenance coupon purchased by Ms. Wang included car washing, waxing, four-wheel alignment, front windshield degreasing film, sterilization and disinfection in the car, paint scratch polishing 2 sides, 1 liter of engine oil, 1 liter of transmission oil circulation machine and other services. However, Ms. Wang's complaint has not been resolved since she started in October 2023. In desperation, in February 2024, Ms. Wang contacted Douyin customer service again and said that she could accept the solution of 100 yuan reimbursement given by Douyin before. However, this time, Douyin customer service suddenly changed its words and said that this solution could not be cashed out, and now Ms. Wang can only apply for a refund herself.
Ms. Wang told the "Three Musketeers" that there is less than a month left before the expiration of this vehicle maintenance coupon, and she asked Douyin to give herself an explanation, why the products sold do not serve as promised, and they will not be solved for several months? How to protect the rights and interests of consumers? How does Douyin make consumers feel at ease?
Lawyer: Douyin bears joint and several liability for breach of contract by merchants
Lin Shanzhi, a lawyer at Fujian Yingrong Law Firm, said that according to Article 577 of the Civil Code, if one of the parties fails to perform its contractual obligations or the performance of its contractual obligations does not conform to the agreement, it shall bear the liability for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses. If the seller breaches the contract, the consumer can demand that he bear the liability for the breach of contract. According to Article 16 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, if there is an agreement between a business operator and a consumer, it shall perform its obligations in accordance with the agreement. Therefore, according to the "purchase instructions" on the screenshot provided by Ms. Wang, the vehicle maintenance coupon does not have the agreement of the verification clause in August 2023, and Ms. Wang can ask the merchant to provide consumers with standard car wash, wax car wash and other maintenance services within the specified service period in accordance with the welfare package of the vehicle maintenance coupon. The merchant's actions have constituted a breach of contract.
According to Article 55 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers, if a business operator commits fraud in the course of providing goods or services, the consumer may request the business operator to compensate for the losses suffered, and the amount of compensation shall be three times the price of the goods purchased by the consumer or the cost of receiving the service, and if the amount of compensation is less than 500 yuan, the compensation shall be 500 yuan. Of course, it is up to the Council or a third party to determine whether the merchant has committed fraud in the course of providing services.
According to Article 46 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers, online trading platform providers shall establish and improve systems for the review of the release of information on goods or services, credit evaluation, and complaint handling, and promptly handle consumer complaints and reports. Therefore, consumers can complain to the live streaming platform Douyin to report the illegal acts of the anchor or store, and request the platform to intervene in the investigation and handling. According to Article 47 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, if an online trading platform provider fails to perform the obligations provided for in the preceding article, resulting in damage to consumers, it shall be jointly and severally liable. That is, if the Douyin platform fails to deal with consumer complaints and reports in a timely manner, resulting in damage to consumers, it shall be jointly and severally liable.
After months of fruitless protection, the "Three Musketeers" intervened and was resolved
On the evening of July 1, Douyin replied to Fujian News Broadcasting's "News Three Musketeers", after verification, the merchant mistakenly set the validity period of use to 1 year when setting up the order, which should actually expire at the end of September 2023, so the merchant did not perform the contract. "Merchant non-acceptance" is a violation, and the merchant has been deducted points for violation in accordance with the platform rules. In order to ensure the user experience, the platform will process the order with "refund one and compensate one", and make experience compensation, that is, a full refund and an additional compensation of 100 yuan.