★ Highlight 1: The burden of proof is reversed
Paragraph 3 of Article 23 of the New Consumer Law: If a consumer finds defects in durable goods such as motor vehicles, computers, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines or services provided by operators within six months from the date of accepting the goods or services, and disputes arise, the operators shall bear the burden of proof for the defects.
Case Mr. Zhang bought a mini refrigerator in a shopping mall promotion. After two months of use, cracks appeared on the inner wall of the mini refrigerator. Mr. Zhang found the shopping mall with the invoice, but the shopping mall thought that the small refrigerator was artificially damaged by Mr. Zhang and refused to help Mr. Zhang repair it for free. Mr. Zhang took the shopping mall to court, and was finally sentenced to lose the case because he could not produce evidence to prove that the purchased small refrigerator had quality problems.
Interpretation of "who advocates, who gives evidence" is a general evidence rule stipulated in China's civil procedure law. If consumers want to prove that a commodity is defective, they must produce evidence. However, it is often difficult for consumers to produce evidence because they do not have relevant technology and other information. The revision of the Consumer Law has changed the consumer's "obtaining evidence to protect rights" into the operator's "self-proving innocence", reversed the burden of proof and solved the problem of consumers' difficulty in proving evidence. According to the new consumer law, in the above cases, whether there is a quality problem in the refrigerator should be proved by the merchant.
Reminder, this rule only applies to durable goods such as motor vehicles and decoration services, and it is limited to six months from the date of purchase or acceptance of services, and it is no longer applicable after six months.
Interpretation of Six Highlights of the New Consumer Protection Law
★ Highlight 2 gives consumers the right to regret.
Paragraph 1 of the New Consumer Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) and paragraph 2 of Article 25 stipulate that if an operator sells goods by internet, television, telephone or mail order, consumers have the right to return them within seven days from the date of receipt, without giving reasons, except for the following goods: (1) goods ordered by consumers; (2) Fresh and perishable; (3) Digital commodities such as audio-visual products and computer software downloaded or unpacked by consumers online; (4) newspaper delivery. In addition to the goods listed in the preceding paragraph, other goods that are not suitable for unreasonable return according to the nature of the goods and confirmed by consumers at the time of purchase.
During the "Double Eleven" shopping festival, Miss Wang took a fancy to a pair of high heels on a large shopping website, which were fashionable and cheap. Miss Wang did not hesitate to click on the purchase and paid the fee. After receiving the goods, Miss Wang thought the high-heeled shoes were novel, but the colors were very different from the pictures on the webpage, so she contacted the owner of the online shop to ask for a return and was willing to bear the freight, but the owner refused.
Interpretation In recent years, online and other shopless (remote) shopping methods have gradually become one of the mainstream shopping methods. The "off-site" of long-distance shopping leads to extremely asymmetric information between consumers and merchants, because merchants may hide the negative information of goods, but consumers may be kept in the dark and suffer losses because they cannot directly contact goods. The new Consumer Law gives consumers the right to repent for seven days to promote the equal status of buyers and sellers. According to the new consumer law, Miss Wang has the right to ask for a refund under the above circumstances.
The right to remind you to go back on your word is only applicable to remote shopping methods such as no-store network, and the provisions of this article are not applicable to goods directly purchased by consumers in stores. In addition, the limitation of the right of estoppel is within seven days, except for goods that are not suitable for return according to the nature of the goods. At the same time, the goods returned by consumers should be in good condition, and the freight for returned goods should be borne by consumers; Unless otherwise agreed between the operator and the consumer, such agreement shall prevail.
★ Highlight 3 The responsibility of positioning the online shopping platform
Article 44 of the new Consumer Law stipulates that consumers who purchase goods or receive services through online trading platforms may claim compensation from sellers or service providers if their legitimate rights and interests are damaged. If the online trading platform provider cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of the seller or service provider, consumers may also demand compensation from the online trading platform provider.
Case Ms. Wu bought a well-known imported brand watch in a watch online shop on a large online shopping platform. After actually receiving the goods, Ms. Wu found that the watch she bought was not genuine. So I contacted the seller to return the goods, but I couldn't contact the phone and email left by the online store. Ms. Wu told the staff of the online shopping platform that after verification, they said that the identity documents provided by the other party at that time were forged. At present, they have closed the online shop, and Ms. Wu Can only bears the losses she suffered.
Unscramble online shopping methods are different from traditional shopping methods. Buyers can't verify whether businesses have business qualifications and credibility, which requires network platform providers to strengthen audit and supervision. The new consumer law clearly stipulates the responsibilities of online trading platform providers, that is, if online trading platform providers cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of sellers or service providers, they should bear the responsibility of compensation in advance. In the above cases, according to the new consumer law, Ms. Wu has the right to ask the online trading platform provider to bear the liability for compensation.
Remind the online shopping platform to take responsibility. The online shopping platform will only be liable for compensation if it can't provide the real name, address and effective contact information of the seller or service provider.
★ Highlight 4: Increase punitive damages for fraud.
Article 55 of the new Consumer Law stipulates that if an 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 by consumers or the cost of receiving services; If the amount of additional compensation is less than that of 500 yuan, it shall be 500 yuan. Where there are other provisions in the law, those provisions shall prevail.
Case Miss Sun saw a promotional Thai rice when she was shopping in the supermarket. Original price 10.5 yuan/kg, promotional price 6.2 yuan/kg. Miss Sun thought it was quite cheap, so she bought 1 kg. Later, Miss Sun bought 1 kg apples. Apple original price 15.5 yuan/kg, promotion price 10. 1 yuan/kg. After returning home, Miss Sun carefully checked the receipt and found that the supermarket settled the original price of rice and apples, so she went to the supermarket to ask for compensation.
The interpretation and revision of the Consumer Law not only changed the multiple of punitive damages from "refund for one loss" to "refund for one loss for three losses", but also determined the minimum compensation amount. According to the new law, Miss Sun can get triple compensation. As the amount is lower than that of 500 yuan, Miss Sun can get compensation from 500 yuan.
Let me remind you that this compensation principle is only for operators who cheat consumers. The so-called act of deceiving consumers refers to the act of deceiving and misleading consumers by false or other improper means when providing goods or services, which harms the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
★ Highlight 5: New personal information protection
Article 14 of the new Consumer Law stipulates that consumers have the right to protect personal information according to law when purchasing, using goods and receiving services. Article 29 stipulates that when collecting and using consumers' personal information, business operators should follow the principles of legality, justness and necessity, 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.
Case Mr. Wu booked a wedding banquet in a hotel and left his phone number. Soon, however, phone calls from companies such as wedding and travel came one after another, which made Mr. Wu very uncomfortable. Mr. Wu recalled that in the process of wedding planning, the only thing that left the number was the banquet. So he found the hotel, and the hotel told him that the wedding companies that called were all partners of the hotel. This is a value-added service provided by the hotel for the convenience of newcomers, and newcomers can enjoy corresponding discounts in these companies. In this regard, Mr. Wu is very angry, but there is no way to complain.
Interpretation of personal information disclosure or random transactions seriously disrupts the normal life of consumers. Everyone knows that businesses have "betrayed" consumers' personal information, but no one cares, and there is no way to complain. The new Consumer Law defines the protection of personal information as consumer rights for the first time, which is a major breakthrough in the field of consumer rights protection.
I would like to remind you that although the new consumer law has clearly defined the need to protect consumers' personal information, at present, this provision still stays on the document, and the specific operability is not strong. If personal information is leaked, how can consumers obtain evidence to protect their rights? What kind of punishment will the relevant operators receive? Relevant implementation rules have not yet been issued.
★ Highlights Six Consumers Association can file a public interest lawsuit.
Paragraph 1 of Article 37 of the new Consumer Law stipulates that consumers' associations shall perform the following public welfare duties: …… (7) Support the injured consumers to bring a lawsuit against acts that harm the legitimate rights and interests of consumers or bring a lawsuit in accordance with this Law. Article 47 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 for acts that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of many consumers.
In recent years, mass consumption incidents that infringe on consumers' rights and interests have emerged one after another in China. For the events with a small amount of consumer disputes, a considerable number of consumers are unwilling to defend their rights for various reasons after weighing the cost of defending their rights. In mass consumption events such as Sanlu milk powder and problem capsules, consumers are often in a weak position, it is difficult to prove, and consumer rights protection is often in an embarrassing position. The new Consumer Law clarifies the subject status of consumer associations at or above the provincial level in public interest litigation. For mass consumption incidents, consumers can report to the Municipal Consumers Association, and the Municipal Consumers Association requests the Provincial Consumers Association to file a public interest lawsuit, and the Provincial Consumers Association decides whether to file a public interest lawsuit.
Reminder: Public interest litigation is aimed at mass consumption events. The Chinese Consumers Association and the consumer associations established in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government bring a lawsuit to the people's court. In a single consumption event, consumers can only file a civil lawsuit on their own.