Although "3.15" (International Consumer Rights Day) in 2021 has passed, incidents related to consumer disputes and rights protection are still happening in all walks of life. Recently, a striking consumer dispute occurred in the ceramic tile industry.
In October 2020, Ms. Li from Nanning, Guangxi, was introduced by a friend to a local building materials market ××zhe ceramic tile store to buy ceramic tiles. At that time, she thought the ceramic tiles in the store were pretty good, so she told the merchant that she wanted to see the design. Effect. The merchant told Ms. Li that she needed to collect earnest money or a deposit before making a design plan, and promised to refund the full amount if she felt it was inappropriate or dissatisfied. Out of trust in her friend, Ms. Li paid 200,000 yuan directly, and the merchant issued a receipt after receiving the payment.
Later, Ms. Li was not satisfied with the design plan made by the merchant. After several rounds of communication and modifications, she was still dissatisfied. During this period, the two parties did not sign a contract. In late January 2021, Ms. Li requested a refund, but the merchant did not agree because the receipt at that time said "deposit" instead of "deposit".
Ms. Li reported to the reporter who reported the matter: "I didn't take her to my house to measure the house, nor did she go to my house to measure the house. I asked her to communicate with my designer, and she designed it for me. I was really dissatisfied when I first asked for a refund. She said that she took me to Hangzhou to see the flagship store and that she had incurred expenses for air tickets and accommodation, including her overtime work and the plans she had made. Expenses. I said OK, I can pay you back these expenses according to the mall's 20% default, which is equivalent to saying that you will pay me 160,000, and you will get 40,000. The reason is that she wrote the receipt. What’s written on the receipt is the deposit.”
After many mediations in the building materials market where the merchant is located, the merchant proposed two solutions: the first solution is for the merchant to refund the 200,000 yuan deposit paid by Ms. Li after a customer comes to sign the order; the second solution is for the merchant to pay in installments The money will be returned after three years. However, the two sides ultimately failed to reach an agreement. As of March 19, Ms. Li and the merchant had another negotiation under the organization of the market, but the negotiation was still unsuccessful.
Is the "deposit" really non-refundable? How should we deal with a situation like Ms. Li who paid a deposit but did not sign a contract? The reporter who reported this matter consulted Liao Li, a lawyer from Guangxi Banzhou Law Firm.
Lawyer Liao introduced that the general principle is that the deposit is refundable but cannot be refunded, but the deposit can still be returned if it meets certain conditions. "civilThe Code stipulates that if the party who paid the deposit fails to perform its debts or performs the debts inconsistently with the agreement, resulting in the failure to achieve the purpose of the contract, it has no right to require the return of the deposit. If the party receiving the deposit fails to perform its debts or the performance of the debts does not meet the agreement, making the purpose of the contract unable to be achieved, then the deposit should be returned double. Whether the deposit paid by Ms. Li can be refunded depends to a large extent on which party is responsible for the failure to sign the contract, or what is the reason for the failure to achieve the purpose of the contract, and which party is responsible. This can be analyzed based on different situations.
In this regard, netizens, including ceramic tile dealers, have heated discussions.
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——The merchant does not allow you to dissatisfy the pictures
——Typical money fraud scheme.
——Let this deceitful ××zhe ceramic tile store disappear from the Chinese market, and hold its person in charge criminally responsible!
——If you don’t comment, this owner has more than 200,000 yuan to buy ceramic tiles. The lawyer’s statement that the deposit cannot be refunded is nonsense! I have had this experience, and I came back without fail. Submit the information directly to the Market Supervision Manager of the Industry and Commerce Bureau. As long as you have genuine evidence, they will accept it directly and you can decide whether to refund it or not! If you are inexperienced, go to the Consumers Association, lawyers, market customer service, or the media. They have no law enforcement rights. It is all nonsense and meaningless!
——Is it interesting? Can dishonesty and word games in business last long? Don’t you feel guilty for making a fortune by stealing and abducting?
——Where are these customers? Come to me, I guarantee the service until you are satisfied. Picture
——Deposit 200,000? The full payment is probably in the millions! The biggest reason for not withdrawing is probably that my friend took away the 100,000 commission.
——The reason is that the friend’s benefit fee was not refunded to the merchant. Obviously, it is unreliable to buy ceramic tiles from acquaintances.
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Zhong Taojun believes that this dispute should be viewed from at least two perspectives.
First, from the consumer’s perspective: be careful when paying money, signing an agreement or contract, and don’t forget the precautions.
Everything that involves paying money and signing an agreement or contract must be done with caution. Before paying money, you must understand what is earnest money and intention money, and what is the difference between "deposit" and "deposit". Before signing an agreement or contract, you must let The seller clearly states his responsibilities, obligations and the services he can provide and writes them into the contract: for example, should the delivery (tiles) be delivered downstairs or directly into the room? Is it possible to refund or replenish the goods after delivery? Is there any additional fee for delivery directly to the room? Who is responsible if the tiles are damaged during transportation...
As Liao Li, a lawyer at Guangxi Banzhou Law Firm, said, it is easy to pay a deposit but difficult to get it back. Consumers should not pay deposits to merchants casually, but should pay attention to the content of the consumer agreement. If a merchant makes an oral commitment, it must be written down when signing the agreement, and the evidence must be kept in written form. Do not fail to write it into the agreement because you are afraid of trouble or because of face, which will bring hidden dangers to your consumption.
The second is from the perspective of dealers and brands (manufacturers): Merchants should not make empty promises in order to close orders, let alone damage the brand image for immediate benefits; manufacturers and dealers must take the responsibility of building brand reputation. responsibility.
Integrity is the foundation of doing business. Don't talk nonsense about things you can't do, but if you say it, you must do it. An excellent ceramic tile brand worthy of consumers' trust must not only provide consumers with excellent products, but also provide consumers with thoughtful services. Building brand reputation, whether in terms of products or services, is a step-by-step, long-term accumulation process, and only success is allowed and failure is not allowed. Because, "Good things don't go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles": no matter how well dealers and manufacturers do, consumers will take it for granted; but once they do something bad or make a mistake, they will be ignored by consumers. If it is magnified, the reputation that has been built up over many years and hard work will be destroyed in one day.
In addition, building brand reputation is not just a matter for manufacturers or dealers, but a shared responsibility and obligation for both parties. Once problems arise that damage the brand image, including consumer disputes, both parties should actively resolve them, rather than passively waiting for the other party to promote or even shirk responsibility, saying to consumers, "This is none of our business, it's the manufacturer/distributor's business" problem".
In a word, in the Internet era, anything involving consumer disputes is no small matter.
After the ceramic tile industry has entered a development stage where engineering and assembly channels are booming and traditional retail channels are shrinking, some ceramic tile companies in the first camp have expanded production scale, improved product cost-effectiveness, and improved service levels through acquisitions and mergers in order to further seize the market. A series of measures have been implemented to reduce the dimensionality of small and medium-sized enterprises. Especially on the road to improving service levels, many very eye-catching brands have emerged in the ceramic tile industry. For example:
"In order to better serve customers, better communicate with customers sincerely, and truly understand their needs for ceramic tiles for decoration," Jianyi Marble Tiles has launched a series of services such as clear prices and Xiao's service method. On this basis, in February 2020, a service account called "Jianyi Li Zhilin Direct Train" was opened on the WeChat public platform, and a "Direct Link to Lao Li" column was specially set up to connect customers, so that consumers can communicate with the directors of Jianyi Marble Tile You can also communicate with the director Li Zhilin and complain to him about the ceramic tile problem.
Marco Polo Ceramics has established the "Thanksgiving Service Month" since 2020 to win the trust of customers with professionalism and service.
Based on the successful holding of 12 consecutive Smile Festivals, Mona Lisa Tile will launch the "Smile Service Day" in March 2021.
Jinyi Ceramic Tiles launched the first "Quality Service Day" today (March 22, 2021) and released a "Quality Warranty Card" that provides consumers with "four guarantees" and "five services", becoming the first to Ceramic tile brands that provide warranty services to consumers.
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It can be seen from the above cases and the development trend of the ceramic tile industry that high-quality services will surely become the main track for ceramic tile brand competition in the future.
On the other hand, "water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it." If consumers do not pay attention to after-sales service, especially disputes and rights protection issues, no matter how big the store (dealer) and the brand (manufacturer) ) may capsize in the gutter. Are there too few cases like this in all walks of life?
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