Li Yue (pseudonym), a consumer from Xi'an, recently reported to The Paper that after she canceled her Taobao account in November 2025, she found that the recharge amount of more than 1,400 yuan in the Hema account associated with the account was missing, "customer service said "A Hema account is equivalent to a Taobao account." Canceling a Taobao account will cause the Hema account to be canceled simultaneously, but there was no prompt to associate with Hema when I logged out. "Li Yue has reported this to the customer service of Hema and Taobao platforms many times, but has not been resolved.
When the Taobao platform cancels the account, it does not prompt that it will affect the Hema platform account.
In this regard, Taobao platform staff said that if the user chooses to log in with a Taobao account when logging in to Hema, it will cause the two accounts of Taobao and Hema to be bound in the background. When the Taobao account is canceled, the Hema account will also be canceled. After The Paper intervened, Hema platform staff stated that they would verify whether there is an unspent balance in the user's canceled account, and if so, they would help the customer with the refund process.
On February 11, Li Yue told The Paper that Hema had found her Hema account balance of 1,415.94 yuan based on the Alipay payment record she provided, and it would be refunded within 30-45 working days.
Once the Taobao account is canceled, the balance of 1,000 yuan in the Hema account "evaporates"
According to Li Yue, she applied for a Hema supermarket shopping card with a face value of 2,000 yuan a few years ago and recharged it to her Hema account for consumption. In November 2025, Li Yue canceled the Taobao account associated with the Hema account for personal reasons. "There was no prompt about Hema when I logged out, and I didn't find any problems."
In January 2026, when Li Yue planned to shop on the Hema APP, he found that his account could not be logged in. After logging in again using his original mobile phone number, the original balance of more than 1,400 yuan in the account disappeared.
Li Yue said that after discovering the problem, she immediately contacted the customer service of the Hema APP. "The customer service said that because my Taobao account was canceled, they could no longer see the Hema account and the balance. They asked me to provide a physical card, but I couldn't find the physical card either."
According to the screenshots provided by Li Yue, she has used the balance in her Hema account for consumption many times in the past year. Alipay consumption records show that when she uses the balance in her Hema account for consumption, Alipay deductions are shown as "0 yuan".
Why does canceling a Taobao account cause the balance of the Hema account to be cleared? Li Yue contacted the customer service of Hema and Taobao platforms many times and was told that "A Hema account is equivalent to a Taobao account." After the Taobao account is canceled, the Hema account will be canceled simultaneously, so the balance in the Hema account will also be cleared. But this made Li Yue unable to understand, "During the entire cancellation process of the Taobao account, there was no page reminding me that canceling the account would affect the Hema account. After all, they are two APPs."
Li Yue has contacted Taobao and Hema platforms many times, requesting the refund of the balance of more than 1,400 yuan in his Hema account, but has not been resolved.
Hema: Will handle refunds for users
The Paper reporter learned through social platforms that many users have experienced situations where "cancellation of Taobao accounts has resulted in the cancellation of Hema accounts", resulting in all paid members and account balances in the Hema APP being cleared.
"My membership in Hema APP is gone after I cancel my Taobao account?" Ms. Wang, a consumer from Shanghai, has experienced a similar situation before. She told The Paper that she has been buying daily necessities in Hema stores and APP for a long time, so she spent 258 yuan to buy a Hema X membership card.
However, after canceling the Taobao account, and then using the original mobile phone number to log in to the Hema APP, it was shown that the account was no longer a member. "The customer service said that my Hema account was authorized to log in using the Taobao account. After canceling the Taobao account, the Hema account will no longer exist, and it will be a new account when I log in again. But I am a paid member of Hema. This is very unreasonable."
The Paper reporter learned that both Hema APP and Taobao APP belong to Alibaba Group Holdings Co., Ltd., but they are independent APPs.
The reporter used his own Taobao account to cancel the account. During the cancellation process, the Taobao platform will issue the following risk warning: it is necessary to confirm that there are no recent transaction orders in the account; the asset rights related to the account have been settled; there are no stores under the account that have not yet been cancelled; and the account has no unfinished services. After clicking "Next", it will be displayed: If you use the following related products and services of the Taobao account system, you will not be able to log in with this account. Including but not limited to: Taobao, Tmall, Qianniu, Yitao, Juhuasuan, Taobao Live, Ali Auction, etc. Click "Continue to log out" and "Account logged out successfully" will be displayed. There is no prompt. Canceling your Taobao account will cause your Hema account to be canceled simultaneously.
On February 10, Taobao platform staff responded to The Paper saying that if the user chooses to log in with a Taobao account when logging in to Hema, it will cause the two accounts of Taobao and Hema to be bound in the background. When canceling the Taobao account, the Hema account will also be cancelled. It is recommended that users verify the account binding situation before logging out.
On the same day, Hema platform staff responded to The Paper and said that based on the mobile phone number provided by Li Yue, they checked and confirmed that the Hema account had been canceled and showed that the account balance was zero. "We will ask the business staff to verify whether the user does have unspent balance, and if so, we will help the customer with the refund process."
On February 11, Li Yue told The Paper that Hema had found the balance of 1,415.94 yuan in her previous Hema account based on the Alipay payment record she provided, and it would be refunded within 30-45 working days. Hema platform staff also confirmed that they have helped users with refunds.