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recently, mr. zhao from xinjiang reported to the public interactive platform "service pai" on the paper that he bought two boxes of pure milk from the maiqiuer flagship store on taobao on june 17, 2022, but maiqiuer pure milk was later found to contain excessive propylene glycol. out of safety concerns, he applied to the maiqiuer flagship store for a return and refund, and the store said it supported unconditional returns and refunds, and required that the shipping fee be paid in advance when the milk was returned.

however, after the maiqiuer flagship store signed for the milk returned by mr. zhao, it delayed refunding him. he repeatedly asked about the refund progress, but the other party said they would urge the refund and then lost contact. "i wanted to get a refund, but i still haven't received it."

consumer complaints:

according to mr. zhao, he spent 141.54 yuan to buy two boxes of maiqiu'er pure milk at the maiqiu'er flagship store on taobao on june 17, 2022. on june 28, 2022, the market supervision bureau of qingyuan county, zhejiang province, issued a public notice on the food sampling inspection. the information on unqualified products in the sampling inspection showed that the propylene glycol content of the two pure milks produced by maiqiu'er was 0.318g/kg and 0.321g/kg respectively, while the standard value was "not allowed to be used".

mr. zhao said that when he learned about the situation, he had already drunk half of the pure milk he bought. for safety reasons, he wanted to return the remaining milk.

on july 25, 2022, mr. zhao contacted the maiqiuer flagship store to request a return and refund. the chat screenshots he provided showed that the customer service said that they would unconditionally return and refund the milk, and asked them to advance the shipping fee when returning the milk. "but after the maiqiuer flagship store signed for the milk i returned, it delayed the refund." mr. zhao urged for a refund many times, but the other party delayed it on the grounds of system freezing and proposed a replacement plan.

maiqiuer flagship store customer service told mr. zhao that they could unconditionally support returns and refunds. photo provided by the interviewee

this move was rejected by mr. zhao. the screenshots of the customer service response he provided showed that the other party offered different exchange plans on august 5, 2022 and september 10, 2022, hoping that he would cancel his refund application.

"the merchant repeatedly used exchange plans to delay refunds. when i contacted them again, there was no customer service response. moreover, you cannot search for this store directly through taobao now. you must use the shared store link to enter the store page." the information provided by mr. zhao shows that all products in the maiquer flagship store have been taken off the shelves and there is no access to the customer service window.

all products in the maiqiuer flagship store have been removed from the shelves, and the customer service access window has also been closed.

mr. zhao subsequently reported the situation to taobao. relevant taobao personnel stated that the seller’s deposit was insufficient and he did not cooperate in resolving the issue, so collection of payment failed and “the platform will strengthen supervision.”

the screenshots of return and refund details provided by mr. zhao show that on june 1, 2023, taobao closed the refund application he initiated on july 25, 2022.

on june 1, 2023, mr. zhao still had not received a refund, and taobao closed his refund application. photo provided by the interviewee

merchant response:

regarding this dispute, the paper tried to contact the maiqiuer flagship store on taobao, but the store could no longer access the customer service window. the reporter then contacted taobao. relevant personnel said that taobao determined that the seller was responsible for the consumer's refund, but because the seller's deposit was insufficient and did not cooperate in resolving the issue, taobao failed to collect the deposit, so it made the rights protection decision. "taobao has implemented control and punishment on the maiqiuer flagship store and will strengthen supervision."

in this regard, zhao liangshan, senior partner of shaanxi hengda law firm and well-known public interest lawyer, believes that according to the relevant provisions of the consumer protection law, although merchants bear civil liability for compensation, this does not mean that the platform can escape responsibility.

"taobao cannot use the excuse that the merchant has insufficient deposit and is unwilling to cooperate in resolving the issue as an excuse to consumers." zhao liangshan pointed out that the current law clearly stipulates whether the platform should be held responsible for the merchant's infringement of consumer rights. for example, article 1194 of the civil code stipulates that network users and network service providers who use the network to infringe upon the civil rights of others shall bear tort liability. article 1197 of the civil code also stipulates that if a network service provider knows or should know that a network user has used its network service to infringe upon the civil rights of others and fails to take necessary measures, it shall bear joint and several liability with the network user.

wu fenghu, a lawyer at beijing jingshi (shanghai) law firm, said that according to the consumer rights protection law, consumers have the right to ask online trading platforms to provide the specific name, address and effective contact information of the merchant. "after obtaining the above information, consumers can communicate with the merchant or protect their legitimate rights and interests through litigation. if the platform cannot provide the merchant with the above information, consumers can also directly ask the platform for compensation."

wu fenghu believes that according to the consumer protection law, if an online trading platform is aware that the goods sold by a merchant have long-term quality problems and a large number of refunds have occurred, and the online trading platform fails to take necessary measures, such as closing the store or closing the transaction, which results in subsequent losses to consumers, then the online trading platform needs to bear joint and several liability with the merchant for the losses of the consumers.