Abstract:
A few days ago, many consumers reported that when using an application called Fanhua Theater to watch dramas, after paying for the "first period of 5 days and 6 yuan" package, without actively checking "I have read and agreed to the "VIP Membership Service Agreement" and "Automatic Renewal Agreement", they were continuously deducted at the standard of 29 yuan every week. Some consumers have lost thousands of dollars without knowing it.
According to the Beijing Business Daily, "There was no prompt before the deduction." Consumer Ms. Zhang said that at first she just wanted to spend 6 yuan to watch the short drama for free for 5 days. Unexpectedly, after 5 days, she was automatically deducted 29 yuan every week. In less than a month, she was deducted 4 times, totaling 116 yuan. Consumer Ms. Wang said that the elderly at home had been deducted from Fanhua Theater for two or three years without knowing it, resulting in a total loss of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. During this period, the platform did not provide any form of reminder for the deduction. The family found something unusual and applied for a refund. The platform only agreed to refund the fees for the last 10 orders on the grounds that some of the deducted orders were more than one year old.
The reporter used four real-name accounts aged in their 20s to register and log in to Fanhua Theater on four different mobile devices. They watched short plays for several days, but did not find the "first period of 5 days and 6 yuan" package. The reporter used two more real-name registered accounts and logged in with an age in their 60s. A few minutes later, a service option of "6 yuan for the first period of 5 days" appeared on the VIP member interface.
Compared with the eye-catching reminder of "6 yuan for 5 days for the first period", there is a line of small gray text below it: "After activation, all dramas can be watched for free for 5 days, and you can enjoy ad-free privileges. It will automatically renew at 29 yuan/week starting from the next week. There will be a reminder before renewal. You can check it at any time. Alipay App to terminate the contract. "At the bottom of the payment page, "I have read and agreed to the "VIP Membership Service Agreement" and "Automatic Renewal Agreement" are checked by default, and Alipay payment is selected by default. Tap the payment button to complete the contract.
As for the "reminder before renewal" marked on it, many consumers interviewed by the reporter said they had not received it.
It is worth noting that if you sign up for automatic renewal through the "first period of 5 days and 6 yuan", the 29 yuan can only be viewed for 7 days. However, the continuous monthly subscription service under the same interface can be used for one month for 29 yuan.
Researcher Jiang Han believes that this is a differentiated operation strategy based on precise user stratification and harvesting. The core principle is that the platform uses user profile tags for risk stratification, giving priority to routine rights and interests to the groups with the weakest rights protection ability and least likely to detect abnormal deductions, using directional traffic allocation to maximize its own profits, while minimizing the probability of violations being exposed and being complained.
Public information shows that Fanhua Theater is an application product developed by Beijing Kuaidu Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Beijing Dianzhong Technology Co., Ltd. In addition to Fanhua Theater, consumers on platforms such as Hippo Theater and Diazhong Novel owned by Diazhong Technology have reported encountering similar situations, involving default renewals, silent deductions, etc.
Lawyer Sun Hanming said that according to the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions", online transaction operators that provide services through automatic renewal should draw consumers' attention in a conspicuous manner before consumers accept the service and before the automatic renewal date, and provide conspicuous and simple options to cancel or change at any time. The platform's "default check" for automatic renewal, no reminder before renewal, and dozens of silent deductions for up to a year violate the above-mentioned mandatory obligations and infringe on consumers' right to know and make independent choices.
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