With law as the measure and integrity as the foundation–Do not let consumers suffer both financial loss and heartbreak
Seeking the finest ingredients, we dare not reduce material costs despite their expense; upholding our reputation, we dare not cut labor despite the complexity of processing.
The Hebei Consumers Rights Protection Commission released an analysis report on consumer complaints received in 2019. In 2019, consumers rights protection commissions (consumers associations, hereinafter referred to as consumers rights protection commissions) at all levels across the province accepted a total of 16,274 consumer complaints and resolved 13,286 of them, with a resolution rate of 81.64%, recovering 14.58 million yuan in economic losses for consumers. Among them, 99 cases received double compensation due to fraudulent acts by business operators, with double compensation amounting to 10 yuan.
The report shows that a total of 3,134 service-related complaints were received. Among them, 1,534 complaints involved lifestyle and social services such as catering, accommodation, beauty and hairdressing, and domestic services, accounting for 48.95% of the total service-related complaints and ranking first among all service-related complaints. Complaints regarding cultural, entertainment and sports services, sales services, telecommunications services, and housing renovation and property management services ranked second through fifth, respectively.
The principles of good faith are inexhaustible, and examples of good faith are everywhere. On November 3, 2019, the China Judgments Online published a judgment document concerning a case in which the plaintiff Zhang Fuhai and 42 others sued the defendants Shenzhen Kaihui Education Technology Development Co., Ltd., Zhang Sai, Yi Qin, and Liu Jian over a dispute involving an education and training contract.
The relevant facts of the case are as follows: between 2017 and 2018, the plaintiffs in the forty-two cases respectively entered into Summer Camp Agreements, Top Student Summer Camp Course Confirmation Letters, or Winter Camp Agreements with the defendant Kaihui Company, reaching agreements regarding the participation of the plaintiffs’ children in the “Summer Camp,” “Happy Top Student Winter Camp,” or “Winter Camp” organized by the defendant Kaihui Company. The defendant Kaihui Company provided all teaching staff for the “Summer Camp,” “Happy Top Student Winter Camp,” or “Winter Camp,” and offered a five-module curriculum based on the enrollment promotional itinerary of Kaihui Education, aiming to enhance campers’ comprehensive abilities, cultivate good habits and learning capacity in children, and help and guide children in developing study habits and emotional management skills; it organized and implemented various training courses and lectures, arranged various visits and training activities during the camp period, and was responsible for the daily life management of campers during their stay. The agreements also stipulated matters such as camp admission time, fees, meals, accommodation, discipline, safety, visitation and contact, camper pick-up and drop-off, and refunds and withdrawal from the camp.
The plaintiff claims that: the defendant Kaihui Company, disregarding the fact that it lacks qualifications for educational training, engaged in false advertising and operated a so-called summer camp with lax management and crude facilities; the academic qualifications of defendant Zhang Sai and several instructors do not match the advertising; defendant Kaihui Company induced the plaintiff to sign a training agreement through false advertising and other means, which constitutes fraud; defendants Zhang Sai and Liu Jian are shareholders of defendant Kaihui Company and failed to fulfill their capital contribution obligations as agreed; defendant Yi Qin is the legal representative of defendant Kaihui Company; all defendants have commingled finances with defendant Kaihui Company and should, in accordance with the law, bear joint and several liability for the debts of defendant Kaihui Company.
Finally, in accordance with Articles 54 and 58 of the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 20 of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 55 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, and Article 64, Paragraph 1 and Article 142 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, the court ruled to rescind the “Summer Camp Agreement,” “Top Student Summer Camp Course Confirmation,” or “Winter Camp Agreement” signed between the plaintiffs in each case and the defendant Shenzhen Kaihui Education Technology Development Co., Ltd.; the defendant Shenzhen Kaihui Education Technology Development Co., Ltd. shall, within ten days from the date this judgment takes effect, refund the payments already made to the plaintiffs in each case.
Integrity is a weighty counterweight; once placed, life no longer wavers, and the scale immediately tips steadily to one side.
Since 1987, on March 15th each year, consumer organizations across China have joined forces with relevant departments to hold grand commemorative events, using various forms to publicize laws and regulations on the protection of consumer rights and interests as well as their achievements, and to encourage the whole of society to care about and support consumer rights protection efforts. The publicity activities for "March 15 International Consumer Rights Day" have become a social activity with broad social influence and far-reaching significance.
Therefore, the author believesOne should develop the habit of collecting materials that can serve as evidence for rights protection in daily lifeSuch as shopping receipts, warranty slips, invoices, paper or electronic contracts, audio and video recordings, online transaction records, chat logs (preserved through web notarization), travel itineraries and plans with official seals, and consumption lists with official seals.
According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, Product Quality Law, General Principles of Civil Law, and other legal provisions, consumers have the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose independently, the right to fair trade, the right to seek compensation, the right to protect their legitimate rights and interests, the right to acquire knowledge, the right to personal dignity, and the right to supervise and report when purchasing goods or receiving services.
The law does not protect those who sleep on their rights.When your lawful rights and interests are infringed upon, you must assert your rights within the limitation period prescribed by law. If you fail to assert your rights beyond the statutory period, you lose the right to prevail in litigation—even if you are in the right, you cannot win your case. Therefore, it is all the more important to strengthen your legal literacy and courageously say “no” to lawbreakers.
Great sound is barely audible; great form is shapeless; great sincerity appears as simplicity. Shakespeare once said, "To lose integrity is to destroy oneself as an enemy would."In life, whether in big or small matters, one must embody honesty to travel the world with a sword and remain invincible.Because integrity is an orchid, blooming nobly in people's hearts; because integrity is a cup of fragrant tea, suffusing people's hearts; because integrity is a song, resounding across the world.
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