The store collects service fees from consumers who bring their own drinks in the name of drinking fees. The lawyer said that the "corkage fee" belongs to the overlord clause.

There are many companies near Beijing International Trade Center, with a large passenger flow, and there are many middle and high-end western restaurants around. According to a survey conducted by Beijing Youth Daily on August 24th, many stores charge 100 yuan per bottle for the behavior of consumers bringing their own drinks, or charge 300-400 yuan "bottle opening fee" in the name of service fee, use fee and cup rental and cleaning fee. The reporter has reported the relevant information learned in the interview to the Chaoyang District Market Supervision Administration.

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There is a service charge for bringing your own drinks.

"A few days ago, I went to a restaurant called Fulou Bistro in Guomao for dinner. I brought my own red wine. The store said that it would charge a wine service fee for each bottle of 200 yuan. " Ms. Zhang, a citizen, told reporters that because she was puzzled by this practice, she argued, and the staff in the store replied that if she used the bottle opener, red wine glass and decanter in the store, she would be charged. If they don't need it, they can only drink cups, and they can be exempted from the fee. Another way is to buy a bottle of red wine for free from the store, but Ms. Zhang observed the price on the menu and found that the cheapest red wine was above 200 yuan.

In the face of Ms. Zhang's insistence on using red wine utensils, the store said that the fees charged were mainly used to clean the red wine utensils, because the wine glasses were expensive and needed special cleaning, and they would also indicate in the bill that this was a "cup cleaning fee".

Later, Ms. Zhang used the wine set, but said that she would complain to the store. The telephone number is 123 15. In the end, the store was exempted from this fee.

Urge sb. to give an interview

Many stores said that it is free to buy drinks in the store.

For the phenomenon mentioned by Ms. Zhang, the reporter called a number of well-known restaurants nearby in the name of bringing red wine to eat. The staff all said that there should be a service charge for wine or a use fee for wine, a cleaning fee for cup rental and a service charge for wine. Moreover, many restaurants say that if you can buy drinks from the store, you can avoid the cost of bringing your own red wine.

The staff of Beijing Liang Zhonghua Barbecue Restaurant of Park Hyatt Hotel introduced that the restaurant has no restrictions on bringing its own drinks, but there is a service charge for each bottle of 400 yuan drinks. "You can also order a bottle of wine in our store, so you can open a bottle of wine for free."

The staff of another restaurant named Jinting Restaurant in Park Hyatt Hotel also said that for customers who bring their own drinks, the restaurant needs to provide cups and hangover appliances, so 400 yuan's wine service fee is charged for each bottle. "In fact, this means that you don't want guests to bring their own wine. We have high cost-effective wine here, as well as five or six hundred yuan wine. It is not particularly cost-effective for you to bring it yourself. "

Atta bj is an Italian restaurant. The staff said that customers who bring their own drinks will be charged a fee of 100 yuan per bottle. "If you bring five bottles, you don't need to change cups in the middle, we can charge 200 yuan altogether. This is stipulated by our boss. "

The staff said that when customers order a bottle of wine in the store, they can avoid the use fee of wine. "The cheapest red wine here is 238 yuan, and the mid-range wine in the store costs more than 400 yuan per bottle."

The staff of a restaurant named View4 109 said that those who bring their own drinks need to charge a service fee for each bottle of 300 yuan, and each bottle of drinks ordered in the restaurant can be exempted from the service fee for one bottle of their own drinks. "We are a French restaurant that focuses on wine, and the wine in the store is very cost-effective. You can choose to buy wine in the restaurant. If you bring your own drinks, you need to use the wine glasses in the restaurant to sober up and you need wine service, so the company stipulates that you need to charge a wine service fee. "

The staff of Huachu (Guo Mao Store) said that those who bring their own drinks will increase the overall bill cost by 15%. "If we don't use red wine glasses and wine bottles, we can provide water cups for free. In addition, customers can also buy a bottle of wine from the store, which can avoid the extra cost of 15%. "

internal storage

There was a precedent for restaurants to charge bottle opening fees 20 years ago.

The high cost of drinks in restaurants is the main reason why most consumers choose to bring their own drinks. However, consumers and businesses have caused lawsuits because of the "bottle opening fee", and related cases were reported by the media 20 years ago.

The reporter combed the relevant cases and learned that the first domestic bottle opening fee dispute between consumers and merchants occurred in Guangzhou. On the evening of May 38, 2006 1, Mr. 20 yuan, a citizen of Guangzhou, was eating in a restaurant and was charged a "corkage fee". Consumers and businesses launched a lawsuit on whether to charge. In the end, Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court held that the "corkage fee" charged by the restaurant was actually a service fee, which violated the basic principles of fairness, voluntariness and equal compensation in the general principles of civil law and upheld the first-instance judgment of 20 yuan that the restaurant needed to refund the corkage fee.

Haidian Court once heard the first case in Beijing in which a customer brought his own drinks to the store and the restaurant charged a "corkage fee".

On September 3rd, 2006, the plaintiff Wang Ziying took a bottle of white wine to a restaurant with her customers. After dinner, the restaurant charges 296 yuan, including 100 yuan "bottle opening service fee". The menu of this store is printed with: "Guests bring their own drinks, and the service charge is 50% of the price of this store", and "The service charge for drinks not provided by this store is 100 yuan per bottle". Haidian Court held that the restaurant's practice violated the consumer's right to fair trade in Wang Ziying, which was unjust enrichment and should be returned. In the first instance, the court ruled that the merchant fully returned the "bottle opening service fee" 100 yuan to the consumer.

Lawyer's statement

"Bottle opening fee" belongs to the overlord clause in the service contract.

Is "corkage fee" legal? Is it allowed to charge if the name is changed? Is it worthwhile for consumers to go out for a meal? If you don't go to court, is there any way to defend your rights?

In view of the above situation, lawyers of law firms believe that "no bringing your own drinks" and "opening bottles for charges" in the catering industry belong to the overlord clauses in the service contract, which are unfair and unreasonable provisions made by the catering industry when it uses its dominant position to provide catering services to consumers. Consumers can request the people's court to confirm that the overlord clause is invalid according to the above-mentioned legal provisions.

At present, how should consumers protect their rights when they encounter "bottle opening fee" and "private room fee"? According to Article 39 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests, disputes between consumers and business operators can be resolved through the following channels: (1) through consultation with business operators; (2) Requesting consumers' associations or other mediation organizations established according to law to mediate; (three) to complain to the relevant administrative departments; (four) according to the arbitration agreement reached with the operator, submit it to an arbitration institution for arbitration; (5) bring a lawsuit to the people's court. When the negotiation between consumers and catering enterprises fails, they may request consumers' associations to conduct civil mediation. If not, they can call 123 15 through the market supervision department for administrative mediation. If no agreement can be reached, consumers and businesses can also sign arbitration clauses and submit them to arbitration institutions for arbitration. Consumers can also bring a lawsuit to the court to safeguard their rights and interests.

Jin Jiannan believes that the key to solving the problem of "corkage fee" lies in clarifying the illegal responsibility of catering enterprises. I hope that laws and regulations can be further clarified, and the rights, responsibilities, obligations and punishment methods of collecting corkage fees can be further clarified.

The charging of value-added services should set standards.

Lawyers of law firms said that there should be a reasonable price range on the issue of fees. In the catering services provided by restaurants, there are obvious differences between drinks and meals. The food is processed in the restaurant, and the drinks have no added value. There should be no obvious price difference when buying in a restaurant or outside.

Chang Liang believes that the price department should guide and set standards for merchants to charge "corkage fees" or other fees, and should not overcharge or charge without authorization. If the price of bottle opening fee charged by merchants is too high, consumers can report the situation to the relevant departments, and the price department will also impose penalties.