Weekly Consumer Rights Protection Report | Education-related Complaints Increased Last Week, Involving Issues Such as Institutions Inducing Consumers
Last week, The Paper’s public interaction platform “Service Pai” (https://tousu.thepaper.cn) received an increase in education-related complaints, involving issues such as educational training institutions inducing consumers and students in the international department of private high schools not receiving graduation certificates after completing their studies.
Among them, a consumer named Ms. Yang complained that on October 23, when inquiring about taking the social worker qualification exam in 2024, she paid 4,798 yuan to Shanxi Youwen Education Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Youwen Education”) for exam training fees and book materials. Later, she discovered that the exam notification sent by the company was forged. She contacted Youwen Education to request a refund, but to no avail.
After receiving Ms. Yang’s complaint, The Paper contacted Youwen Education, but the staff hung up the phone and refused to accept the interview after learning about the reporter’s identity.
Business registration information shows that Youwen Education was established in August 2023. On a complaint platform, multiple individuals reported similar experiences to Ms. Yang. A lawyer believes that the company involved may be suspected of fraud.
Resolved:
Several complaints against companies such as ByteDance, Fliggy, and China Mobile have been resolved through mediation by The Paper.
Unresponded:
Several complaints against companies such as Will’s Gym, Qunar, Xiaomi, and JD Finance are still being negotiated.
Not Resolved:
Recently, a consumer named Ms. Zhang complained that on October 27, she purchased three drink vouchers from a store named “Fulu Network Flagship Store” on Taobao. The product page stated that “refunds are available for unused expired vouchers.” However, when the vouchers expired, the merchant refused to refund Ms. Zhang.
“The merchant said that once the recharge is successful, no refunds are allowed,” said Ms. Zhang. The drink vouchers she purchased would be automatically recharged to the account bound to her phone number upon purchase, so there was no situation where they were purchased but not recharged. “If that’s the case, then the statement on the homepage about ‘refunds for unused expired vouchers’ is misleading.”
After receiving Ms. Zhang’s complaint, The Paper contacted the store involved. The staff said that once virtual products are successfully recharged, they cannot be refunded or exchanged. “The refund policy should be based on the transaction snapshot on the order page.”
The staff did not explain the promotion on the product page stating “refunds for unused expired vouchers.”
Currently, both parties have not reached an agreement.
Weekly Rights Protection Update:
No Student ID or Graduation Certificate After Spending Nearly 400,000 Yuan on Private High School International Program; Education Bureau Responds
Recently, Mr. Chen from Dongguan, Guangdong, reported that his child attended the international department of Dongguan Guangzheng Experimental School for three years, but only found out after graduation that the child did not have a student ID and could not obtain a high school graduation certificate issued by the education department. Instead, they only received a graduation certificate issued by the school itself.
“Without a student ID, my child cannot participate in the national college entrance exam or social academic exams with a high school diploma. The graduation certificate issued by the school is not recognized by any organization or company,” said Mr. Chen. The school only informed the parents that international students would not take the college entrance exam but did not mention that they did not have a high school student ID and could not attend university in China.
The Paper learned that the international department of Dongguan Guangzheng Experimental School previously promoted its curriculum as following the British educational system, using original British textbooks, adopting small class sizes similar to British classrooms, with bilingual instruction in middle school and full English instruction in high school. Students could directly apply to prestigious universities in over 160 countries worldwide after passing the school’s exams.
Mr. Chen said that the school did not organize any exams for applying to overseas universities, and his child did not receive any university offers.
In response, a teacher surnamed Dong from the school’s moral education department told The Paper that “the issue has almost been resolved.” They did not respond to questions about whether parents were informed in advance about the lack of a student ID and the future development of the students.
Additionally, The Paper attempted to contact the school’s admissions office and the international department multiple times, but was unable to get through.
Homeowner Claims Decoration Company Stopped Work for Months and Failed to Refund; Company: Organizing Funds for Batch Refunds
Recently, Mr. Sun, a homeowner from Xiaogan, Hubei, reported that in March this year, he signed a hard decoration contract with Xiaogan Baianju Decoration Company Xiaonan Branch, agreeing to complete the construction within three months. However, only the electrical and plumbing work and tiling have been completed, and the construction team has been stopped for the past three to four months.
Mr. Sun joined forces with other homeowners who had similar experiences to seek compensation. With the coordination of local authorities, they reached a verbal agreement with the company to terminate the contract and refund the remaining uncompleted work. However, the company has not fulfilled the agreement.
On November 27, The Paper called Xiaogan Baianju Decoration Company Xiaonan Branch, and they said that the company is organizing funds and will issue refunds in batches. The first batch of refunds is expected to be issued in December.
Weekly Consumer Warning:
MIIT: 27 APPs Found to Infringe on User Rights, Including Unauthorized Information Collection
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced on its official website that, in accordance with laws and regulations such as the Personal Information Protection Law, Cybersecurity Law, Telecommunications Regulations, and Provisions on the Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunication and Internet Users, it continues to rectify violations of user rights by APPs. Recently, MIIT organized third-party testing agencies to conduct spot checks and found that 27 APPs and SDKs infringed on user rights.
Among the list of problematic APPs (SDKs), the “Individual Income Tax Calculation Query” APP developed by Shanghai Guang’erbai Network Technology Co., Ltd. was found to collect personal information without authorization and frequently start up and associate start-ups on its own. The “Wu Yin Assistant” APP developed by Guangzhou Qifu Information Technology Consulting Co., Ltd. also collected personal information without authorization.
Furthermore, multiple APPs such as “Indoor Thermometer,” “Magic Voice Changer,” “Customer-Based Telemarketing,” “Dynamic Wallpapers,” and “Voice Input Method” had issues with “random redirects.” Several APPs, including “Magic Voice Changer,” “Everyone is a Sales Champion,” and “Daily Alarm Clock,” forcibly, frequently, and excessively requested permissions. According to the MIIT’s announcement, the aforementioned APPs and SDKs must rectify the issues in accordance with relevant regulations. If the rectification is not properly implemented, MIIT will carry out relevant disposal work in accordance with the law.
