no refunds will be given when a typhoon comes? lawyer: not in compliance with legal requirements
2024-09-29
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complaints about damai.com mostly focus on the "overlord clause" of non-refundable tickets, refusal of refunds due to inability to attend due to force majeure, and no reason to return goods within seven days. picture/visual china
recently, many consumers have reported that they are unable to attend concerts as scheduled due to the suspension of flights, trains and other means of transportation due to weather. although they provided relevant certificates to the ticketing platform damai.com, some tickets were still unable to be refunded. this situation has triggered questions from some consumers. how can the rights and interests of the audience be protected if they are unable to attend the show due to force majeure?
consumers complained that they could not reach the site due to the typhoon, but damai.com refused to refund the tickets (photo provided by the interviewee)
the reporter noticed that on social media, the issue of "difficulty in refunding performance tickets" can be seen everywhere. complainants pointed out that ticketing platforms usually refuse refunds on the grounds that "they do not support seven-day unreasonable refunds" and "tickets are securities, not ordinary commodities, and the cultural services behind them are timely and scarce, so they do not support refunds and exchanges." .
application for refund during typhoon day was rejected
a few days ago, a consumer complained to the yangcheng evening news on behalf of a woman that she purchased three tickets for zhang huimei's concert in shanghai on september 8. however, due to the impact of typhoon "capricorn", the flight was canceled, but damai.com refused to refund the ticket, which made her feel very unreasonable. "i called damai.com, but the customer service said there was no way to cancel. this event was hosted by shanghai jiexin cultural communication co., ltd., but i couldn't contact the organizer at all." ms. dai said helplessly.
according to the screenshot of the ticket provided by ms. dai, the flight originally scheduled from haikou to shanghai on september 8 was notified by the airline that the trip had been cancelled. in response to ms. dai’s feedback, damai’s official blog responded on the black cat complaint platform that damai.com, as a ticketing agency platform, does not participate in the formulation of the project’s refund rules and the collection of refund fees.
after many communications, damai.com customer service said that a specialist would handle the order on behalf of the lady. however, until september 12, ms. dai received information from damai.com, which still stated that "performance tickets are valuable vouchers for watching performances, not ordinary commodities. they carry cultural services and are timely and scarce. this order does not support returns or exchanges.”
but ms. dai did not agree with this statement. she said: "when the flight was notified of cancellation, i immediately contacted damai.com to refund the ticket. i was always kicked out and there was no positive response. in the face of force majeure factors such as typhoons, the plane was grounded. audiences have the right to apply for refunds due to traffic problems.”
regarding ms. dai's order, the reporter contacted damai.com customer service. its staff said that they would provide feedback on relevant issues and had helped ms. dai refund the check.
there are many similar complaints. a consumer said that he purchased two tickets for deyun club gao hecai's shanghai special show at 19:30 on september 16th. due to typhoon "bebigia" landing in shanghai, all flights from september 15th to 16th were canceled. as a result, he was unable to travel to shanghai. damai.com refused to refund the tickets on the grounds that the event had not been cancelled.
another consumer mentioned that due to the force majeure of the strong typhoon, he was unable to attend the suzhou yangcheng lake music festival on september 15 and 16, 2024. although he contacted damai.com’s customer service several times to apply for a refund on september 13 and 14, he was still rejected. he believed that damai.com’s terms involved what he called “overlord clauses” and believed that this violated the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and demanded a full refund.
another consumer mentioned that due to the force majeure of the strong typhoon, he was unable to attend the suzhou yangcheng lake music festival on september 15th and 16th. although he contacted the manual customer service of the ticket seller damai.com for refund processing multiple times on september 13 and 14, the staff said that no refund would be given. he believed that this was an overbearing clause that violated consumers' reasonableness and demanded a full refund.
however, some consumers successfully refunded their tickets after communicating with the organizers and ticketing platforms. this differential treatment also raises questions: is it really that difficult to deal with consumer problems? why is there no unified and clear standard? why can some people refund their tickets easily, while others encounter many obstacles?
can i get a refund by making multiple complaints?
the reporter noticed that as of press time, there were more than 25,000 complaints about damai.com on the black cat complaint platform alone. most of these complaints focus on the "overlord clause" of non-refundable tickets, refusal of refunds due to force majeure and failure to attend, no reason to return tickets within seven days, non-refundable tickets purchased by mistake at the wrong time, and customer service failure to solve problems, etc.
on social media, many people shared damai.com refund strategies. for example, collect evidence and contact relevant customer service and organizers, complain to 12315 and consumer associations, report to local cultural and tourism bureaus and performance approval units, use social media to attract more attention and participate in rights protection actions, etc.
in the process of refunding tickets, many consumers questioned the unilateral stipulation of the ticketing platform that "no refund or exchange once sold" is an overbearing clause. many people cited the provisions of article 25 of the consumer rights protection law in their complaints: “consumers have the right to return goods within seven days from the date of receipt without giving reasons.” “concert tickets do not belong to non-returnable product categories”.
the reporter inquired on the ticketing platform and found that the refund rules for each performance are different, mainly divided into two types: "refund is not supported" and "conditional refund". most performances marked with "conditional refund" clearly specify the corresponding refund time and handling fee standards. most rules state that only full refunds for the entire order are supported, that is, multiple tickets in an order must be returned in full, and individual tickets cannot be refunded; if the information filled in when purchasing the tickets is incorrect and the ticket cannot be admitted, the responsibility will be borne by the ticket purchaser and the organizer the party and ticketing party are not responsible. the "returns and exchanges are not supported" rule clearly states that tickets are valuable tickets and not ordinary commodities. the cultural services behind them are time-sensitive and scarce, so returns and exchanges are not supported.
it’s not easy to grab tickets, it’s also difficult to refund tickets, and various “refund disputes” emerge in endlessly. this is not only a problem for damai.com, other ticketing platforms such as maoyan and taopiaopiao are also facing similar situations. according to the "2023 china performance consumer insights report", about 40% of consumers encounter difficulties in purchasing tickets and cannot return or transfer tickets.
the reporter noticed that many consumers cited relevant laws and regulations to question the practices of damai.com regarding the issue of non-refundable tickets due to "typhoon", hoping that relevant departments would take action. for example, article 9 of document no. 96 [2023] of the ministry of culture and tourism stipulates that performance organizers should establish a refund mechanism for large-scale performance events, set reasonable tiered refund fees, and protect the legitimate refund rights of ticket buyers.
it is understood that damai.com is affiliated to beijing hongma media and culture development co., ltd. regarding this, the reporter called the beijing dongcheng district culture and tourism bureau where the company is located. relevant staff said that specific questions should be directed to damai.com and the organizer. if you have any objections, it is recommended to go through judicial procedures.
why has "difficulty in refunding tickets" for performances become a problem for all parties? industry insiders said that performance tickets are different from other ticket types in that they are highly time-sensitive, and ticket purchases require real-name authentication. refunded tickets may affect secondary sales, so the organizer needs to bear greater risks. even if you set up tiered refund rules, refunds in different time periods may affect overall revenue. in addition, scalpers often grab tickets and raise ticket prices. if strict refund restrictions are not set and a certain refund fee is not charged, it may encourage the behavior of "scalpers".
ms. huang, who is keen on attending concerts, said in the interview: "although i understand the original intention of the organizer to set up a 'conditional refund', i hope there will be a more reasonable refund system to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. especially for people who are sick, in special circumstances such as extreme weather, death of a family member, or incorrect information, effective feedback and resolution channels should be provided instead of allowing consumers to complain repeatedly without actually solving the problem. "
lawyer: "returns and exchanges are not supported" does not comply with legal regulations
what should be included in "force majeure factors in refund of check"? is it reasonable for concert tickets not to be refundable or exchangeable? what are the reasons why it is difficult to refund a ticket? with these questions, the reporter interviewed lawyer liu xinyuan from shanghai qinbing (beijing) law firm.
liu xinyuan said that in the face of force majeure such as natural disasters, consumers can claim to terminate the contract and request the return of consumption payments and other rights. according to article 563 of the civil code: “the parties may terminate the contract under any of the following circumstances: (1) the purpose of the contract cannot be achieved due to force majeure.” this legal provision gives consumers the statutory right to terminate. in the event of force majeure, such as flight cancellation due to typhoon, consumers have the right to request a refund. if the organizer refuses to refund the ticket, the platform also belongs to the operator and shall bear joint and several liability.
many consumers question whether the "no refund or exchange once sold" unilaterally stipulated by the ticketing platform is an overbearing clause, and believe that damai.com has restricted the legitimate rights and interests of consumers through format clauses. in this regard, liu xinyuan pointed out that according to the civil code, the provision that tickets can only be changed but not refunded is a clause that unreasonably exempts or reduces the liability of one party of the online ticket purchasing platform, increases the liability of the other party, and restricts the major rights of the other party, and is invalid. standard clauses are also the so-called "overlord clauses". "once sold, no return or exchange" actually deprives consumers of their legal right to terminate. the right to terminate is a statutory situation, and the platform's overbearing regulations do not negate statutory rights, so it is invalid.
damai.com, as a ticketing agency platform, claims not to participate in the formulation of refund rules. so, is this disclaimer legally recognized? in this regard, liu xinyuan believes that damai.com's unilateral disclaimer violates article 25 of the "consumer rights protection law", that is, operators use the internet, tv, telephone, mail order, etc. to sell goods, consumers you have the right to return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt.
currently, the problem of "difficulty in refunding tickets" occurs frequently, and how to fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of viewers has attracted much attention. in liu xinyuan's view, "the fundamental solution to the difficulty of refunding tickets often involves litigation. consumers often have difficulty in safeguarding their rights because of the high cost of safeguarding their rights or because they have no time to safeguard their rights. this also encourages the relevant platforms to exempt themselves from illegal activities. mainly the relevant governments the department must increase the intensity of platform supervision. if there is behavior that violates the rights and interests of consumers, it must increase the difficulty of approval and punishment, especially for cultural public service products. consumers cannot just be told to litigate to solve the problem, but administrative departments should give full play to the problem. responsibility for public regulatory efforts.”
source: people's daily
