The Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests (hereinafter referred to as the new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests) was voted by the Fifth Session of the 12th the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on October 25th, 2065, and will come into force on March 5th, 2065.
Highlight 1: The online shopping platform bears the responsibility of first payment.
Case: fake and shoddy goods are bought online, and consumers want to return the goods to the seller, but they can't contact the seller. There is no relevant provision on network rights protection in the current Consumer Protection Law, and the online shopping platform can only close the seller's online shop at most, and can't recover their losses for consumers.
Change: In the new Consumer Protection Law, the first payment system of the third-party online trading platform is put forward. When there is a problem with the goods online, consumers can directly negotiate with the online trading platform, and the online trading platform needs to pay first. However, the new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests also sets conditions for online trading platform providers to bear the responsibility of advance payment to consumers, that is, they can only bear the responsibility of advance payment if they cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of sellers or service providers. Although they can recover from the seller or service provider after payment. The new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests also stipulates that providers of online trading platforms know or should know that sellers or service providers use their platforms to infringe upon consumers' legitimate rights and interests and fail to take necessary measures, and they shall be jointly and severally liable with sellers or service providers according to law.
Highlight 2: 500 yuan can at least compensate for consumer fraud.
Case: When I went to the supermarket to buy something, the price of the goods was obviously 10 yuan, but when I checked out, I found that the payment was 1 1 yuan. When a merchant cheats, the current Consumer Law stipulates that the merchant will refund the highest payment 10 yuan and then compensate 10 yuan. Because of the low compensation, many consumers are too troublesome to give up their rights protection.
Changes: The new Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that if a business operator commits fraud in providing goods or services, it shall increase the compensation for the losses it has suffered according to the requirements of consumers, and the amount of compensation shall be three times the price of the goods purchased or the cost of receiving services. At the same time, it is added that if the increased amount of compensation is less than that of 500 yuan, it shall be compensated according to 500 yuan. According to the provisions of the new Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, consumers in the above incidents can get a refund from the supermarket 10 yuan to compensate 500 yuan.
Highlight 3 overlord clause? Invalid content!
Case: Bottle opening fee, private room fee, minimum consumption and many other business overlord clauses often give consumers a headache, and the beauty advance payment is overdue, which also makes consumers impatient.
Changes: The new Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that when using standard clauses in business activities, operators should draw consumers' attention to quantity and quality, price or cost, time limit and method of performance, safety matters and risk warning, after-sales service, civil liability and other matters related to consumers' major interests in a significant way, and explain them according to consumers' requirements.
Operators shall not make unfair and unreasonable provisions to consumers, such as excluding or restricting consumers' rights, reducing or exempting operators' responsibilities, and aggravating consumers' responsibilities, by means of format clauses, notices, explanations, shop notices, etc. , and shall not use the format terms to force transactions through technical means. The new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests makes it clear that format clauses, notices, statements, shop notices, etc. contain the contents listed in the preceding paragraph, and their contents are invalid.
Highlight 4: The obligations of operators are strengthened. Businesses that have problems with goods or services such as electrical appliances should "prove their innocence"
Case: After buying a computer and using it for a period of time, the consumer found that the computer had quality problems and went to the merchant, but the merchant thought that the product was artificially damaged and refused to repair or return it for free. In the past, even if consumers took the merchants to court, they would eventually be sentenced to lose because they could not prove that the products they bought had quality problems.
Change: In the new Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, the consumer's "proof to protect rights" was changed to the operator's "self-incrimination", and the burden of proof was reversed, which solved the problem of consumers' difficulty in proving evidence. In the past, consumers had to produce evidence to prove that a commodity was defective. However, it is often difficult for consumers to produce evidence because they do not have relevant technology and other information. The new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests stipulates that consumers find that durable goods such as motor vehicles, computers, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and other services provided by operators are defective within six months from the date of accepting the goods or services, and if there is a dispute, the operators shall bear the burden of proof for the defects.
Highlight 5: Consumers have the right to regret for seven days.
Case: A consumer bought a favorite item online, and after receiving the goods, he found that the real thing was not as good as the online introduction, so he asked for a return, but the owner often refused. There are no relevant provisions on online shopping and TV shopping in the current Consumer Protection Law. In the past, it was difficult for consumers to return goods, and sellers would only return goods if there were obvious defects.
Change: The new Consumer Protection Law confirms the "seven-day return without reason" system and gives the buyer a certain "right of regret". According to the revised law, operators sell goods through the Internet, television, telephone and mail order. Consumers have the right to return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt without giving reasons. At the same time, in order to prevent the abuse of rights, the relevant regulations also list the situations that are not suitable for returning goods, such as digital goods such as audio-visual products and computer software customized by consumers, newspapers, periodicals and other items downloaded or unpacked by consumers online, delivered according to the nature of the goods and confirmed by consumers when purchasing. The new Consumer Protection Law requires that the goods returned by consumers should be in good condition, and the business operator should return the price paid by consumers within seven days from the date of receiving the return. The return freight is borne by the consumer; Unless otherwise agreed between the operator and the consumer, such agreement shall prevail. If the goods or services provided by the business operators do not meet the quality requirements, consumers may return them in accordance with the provisions of the state and the agreement of the parties, or require the business operators to fulfill the obligations of replacement and repair. If there is no state regulation and agreement between the parties, consumers can return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt.
Highlight 6 It is forbidden to disclose consumers' personal information.
Case: The consumer booked a wedding banquet in the hotel and left a phone number, but soon after, the phone calls from the wedding and travel companies came one after another, which was unbearable. Consumers look for hotel theory, but merchants tell them that the wedding company that calls is the partner of the hotel, which is the value-added service provided by the hotel for the convenience of newcomers. After buying a house and getting a membership card, these problems will exist. Even if consumers are angry, they don't know how to protect their privacy.
Change: The new Consumer Protection Law recognizes the protection of personal information as the rights and interests of consumers for the first time, which is a major breakthrough in the field of consumer protection. The situation that consumers' personal information is "sold" by businesses, but no one cares about it and there is no way to complain will change. The new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests clearly stipulates that operators should follow the principles of legality, justness and necessity in collecting and using consumers' personal information, clearly state the purpose, method and scope of collecting and using information, and obtain the consent of consumers. When collecting and using consumers' personal information, business operators shall disclose their collection and use rules, and shall not collect and use information in violation of the provisions of laws and regulations and the agreement of both parties. Operators and their staff must keep the personal information of consumers strictly confidential, and may not disclose, sell or illegally provide it to others. Operators shall take technical measures and other necessary measures to ensure information security and prevent consumers' personal information from being leaked or lost. In case of information leakage or loss, remedial measures should be taken immediately.
Highlight 7 Consumers Association helps you "public interest litigation"
Case: In the melamine incident of Sanlu milk powder, although there were many victims, many consumers could not defend their rights because of the high cost of rights protection such as appraisal fees.
Changes: The new Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests stipulates that Chinese consumers' associations and consumer associations established in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may bring a lawsuit to the people's court against acts that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of many consumers. The new Consumer Protection Law gives consumers' associations the right to file public interest litigation, which is a major breakthrough from supporting consumers to filing lawsuits on their behalf.