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recently, mr. zhang from inner mongolia reported to the public interactive platform "service pai" of the paper that in april this year, he joined a milk tea brand called "moshang tea field". just one month after opening the store, he faced operational problems such as collective replacement of the responsible team and the company's refusal to fulfill the contract. later, he found that other franchisees had the same experience.

mr. zhang believes that moshang tea field (beijing) catering management co., ltd. provided false information and fabricated its ability to perform the contract in order to defraud franchise fees, and he demands to negotiate the termination of the contract to compensate for the losses.

mr. zhang’s franchise fee payment receipt.

the paper called the company involved several times, but the company refused to give a positive response.

in this regard, a lawyer said that the company involved used the name of a well-known brand to attract traffic, which at the very least constitutes civil fraud, and at worst is suspected of contract fraud. consumers can pursue criminal liability against the company involved and its responsible persons in accordance with the law.

consumer complaints:

according to mr. zhang, in april this year, when he was looking for investment projects online, he consulted mixue ice city for franchise information and left his name and contact information. soon after, he received a call from someone claiming to be from mixue ice city's investment promotion department. "after asking about the city where i intended to open a store, the other party said that due to the regional protection policy and fierce competition, it was not suitable for me to open another store here. in short, he knew my information very well and recommended the 'moshang tea field' brand to me."

relevant personnel of moshang tea field said that it is related to the mixue bingcheng project.

mr. zhang said that the staff member said that moshang tea field is a new brand jointly developed by mixue ice city and bawang tea princess. "the other party recommended it to me and introduced the current market gap and broad prospects of moshang tea field."

afterwards, mr. zhang was invited to beijing to visit and inspect the headquarters and production workshop of moshang tea beijing catering management co., ltd. "at that time, their company was in a rented office building, with a production workshop and a special reception area, where some employees worked."

during the visit, the other party once again expressed the hope that mr. zhang would join as soon as possible to seize the opportunity. "they also told me that joining now can enjoy national policies. their company has cooperated with relevant departments, and will reduce or exempt certain franchise fees for us rural residents and retired soldiers."

after a series of arguments from the other party, mr. zhang paid the agency deposit, equipment fees and service balance totaling 173,000 yuan on the spot, and signed a service contract, becoming a regional partner of moshang tea field.

the "service contract" provided by mr. zhang shows that moshang tea field (beijing) catering management co., ltd. should assign corresponding operation guidance personnel to assist party a (franchisee) in carrying out the operation of the milk tea project. the operation guidance personnel are fully responsible for the communication, liaison and coordination between the two parties, assist party a in executing and implementing specific plans and give feasibility suggestions.

sign the relevant contents of the "service contract".

of the 173,000 yuan franchise fee, 123,000 yuan was paid to moshang tea field as service fees, which included 10% store site selection assessment fee, 10% store design fee, 40% technical training fee and 40% operation service fee.

the subsequent contract also stated that during the project operation, moshang tea field should help party a solve management and technical problems arising in store operations as required.

after the contract was signed, mr. zhang returned to his hometown to confirm the store and follow up on the decoration. "in the middle of the process, the other party asked me to pay more than 70,000 yuan, which included raw materials, paper cups, straws and other materials needed to open a store."

screenshot of the second material purchase payment.

on june 14 this year, mr. zhang's store officially opened for business. but soon after, the service team members assigned to him by moshang tea garden could not be contacted one after another.

the chat records provided by mr. zhang show that within less than a month, the service team members were replaced one after another for reasons such as "position changes" and "personal work adjustments". "they did not solve the business problems i raised, and kept shirking or even refusing to respond. unless i wanted to buy materials, they would not care about anything else."

"excluding various expenses such as store space, water, electricity, and labor, i am losing money every day. the company also did not fulfill the contract agreement to provide me with any services and guidance. even when i took the initiative to consult them, i did not get a response." mr. zhang said that after operating for a month and a half, the store had to close due to continued losses.

mr. zhang later discovered that many franchisees had the same business problems as him. "the franchisees formed a rights protection group. roughly speaking, there are hundreds of people."

the franchisees who were seeking rights also found that moshang tea garden had no connection with mixue ice city and bawang chaji. after discussion, more than 30 franchisees went to moshang tea garden’s beijing headquarters to negotiate, demanding the termination of the contract and compensation for losses.

a franchisee who went to the beijing headquarters of moshang tea garden to defend his rights told the paper, "after we arrived, they still did not deal with it, showing an attitude of 'it's here, so just wait it out.'"

when mr. zhang rushed to beijing, he found a notice of adjustment of holidays posted at the door of moshang tea field’s beijing headquarters, “the company is going out for team-building activities, so the holiday will be adjusted to september 10th. if you have any work matters, please contact us by phone or wechat.”

business response:

regarding this dispute, the paper consulted the brand investment and franchise manager of mixue bingcheng, who clearly stated that mixue bingcheng and moshang tea field have nothing to do with each other.

the paper subsequently called moshang tea garden (beijing) catering management co., ltd. several times. during the multiple calls, the other party always refused to respond with reasons such as "inconvenient", "the complaint is not true", "no time", and "let's talk about it later".

a search by the paper found that as early as june this year, a consumer complained on zhongsu.com that "the company has been suffering increasing losses since joining the franchise."

it is worth noting that the industrial and commercial information shows that moshang tea field (beijing) catering management co., ltd. was established on december 15, 2023, with a registered capital of 5 million yuan and 0 insured persons. according to the "regulations on commercial franchising management", the franchisor shall file with the competent commercial department in accordance with the provisions of the regulations within 15 days from the date of the first franchise contract. when filing, the franchisor shall submit proof that the enterprise meets the "two stores in one year" (having more than two directly-operated stores that have been in operation for one year). franchisors who fail to file in accordance with the regulations will face legal liabilities such as fines.

in addition, the ministry of commerce's commercial franchise information management platform shows that the moshangchatian graphic trademark was registered by li, the former legal representative of moshang tea field (beijing) catering management co., ltd., on july 4, 2024. at that time, moshang tea field (beijing) catering management co., ltd. had signed franchise service contracts with mr. zhang and others for several months.

regarding this dispute, zhao liangshan, senior partner of shaanxi hengda law firm and a well-known public interest lawyer, believes that the company involved initially used the brand names of mixue bingcheng and bawang chaji, falsely claiming that moshang tea field was a new product jointly developed by mixue bingcheng and bawang chaji, and then made a false claim. therefore, the marketing behavior of the company involved is not only a breach of contract, but also suspected of illegal crimes.

"in reality, such companies tend to develop franchises quickly, attract investors quickly, and go bankrupt quickly. such behavior may constitute civil fraud at the very least, and the company must bear legal liability for civil fraud to the franchisees. in serious cases, it may be suspected of contract fraud, and criminal liability may be pursued in accordance with the criminal law," said zhao liangshan.

zhao liangshan emphasized that according to article 8 of the regulations on commercial franchising, the franchisor shall file with the competent commercial department within 15 days from the date of the first franchise contract. however, the company involved did not file for commercial franchising until july 4, 2024, but quickly recruited franchisees across the country in february 2024 or even earlier, which clearly violated the above legal provisions.

as for whether the consumer mr. zhang encountered information leakage when consulting about joining mixue bingcheng, zhao liangshan said that leaking other people's mobile phone numbers constitutes infringement and the person must bear civil liability for the tort.