Let's look at a case first.
In July 2020, Xiaoli went to a fitness company to apply for a yoga membership card and paid a membership fee of 4,980 yuan. According to the membership card, Xiaoli enjoys the qualification of unlimited yoga classes within one year, but the membership card cannot be refunded after swiping the card. On the third day after getting the card, Xiaoli applied to the fitness company for returning the card for personal reasons, demanding a refund of membership fees. The fitness company believes that Xiaoli can't refund the membership fee according to the card agreement. Xiaoli then filed a lawsuit against the fitness company and demanded a refund of the membership fee. The court held that the yoga membership card issued by the defendant was a single-use prepaid card. After the termination of the contract, the defendant company shall refund the membership fee corresponding to the unconsumed part of the plaintiff Xiaoli. Although Xiaoli, the plaintiff, didn't actually use the membership card to study yoga class after handling the membership card, considering that she didn't use the membership card for her own reasons, and in the process of handling the membership card and the plaintiff's appointment to use the membership card, the defendant company paid the corresponding production and labor costs, so 200 yuan was deducted from the membership fee requested by Xiaoli as appropriate. In the end, the court ruled that the defendant company returned the membership fee of 4780 yuan to the plaintiff Xiaoli.
It can be seen that under normal circumstances, part of the unused expenses of the fitness card should be refunded. In addition to fitness cards, there are beauty, hairdressing membership cards, catering membership cards and so on. We call it a single-use prepaid card. Merchants often refuse to return the card and refund the fee on the grounds that the contract clearly stipulates that once it is activated, it is obviously unreasonable. Although both parties have signed a contract, it is usually a standard contract. However, the format clause requires the merchant to reasonably exempt or reduce his own responsibility, increase the other party's responsibility and limit the other party's main rights, otherwise the format clause is invalid. However, merchants often refuse to refund fees on the grounds of "no refund once sold" or "no refund once consumed". An agreement that is obviously unreasonable should be regarded as invalid. Consumers have the right to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests in a legal and effective way.
At the same time, it also reminds consumers to be rational and cautious in the process of consumption, put an end to blind obedience, choose what they really need from their own needs, raise their risk awareness and stay away from the "trap" of consumption.
Having said that, can all prepaid cards be cancelled at any time and asked for a refund without any responsibility? Obviously not, after all, the rights of merchants are also to be safeguarded, so it is conditional to return the card, and the fault is responsible.
We will discuss this problem in two situations.
The first is the card withdrawal caused by consumers themselves. For example, physical reasons are not suitable for continued use, or subjective factors just don't want to use it. This situation should be blamed on consumers themselves. According to the author's statement above, everyone can understand that the card withdrawal caused by consumers' own reasons can also be refunded, but they need to bear certain legal responsibilities. Returned items also need to be deducted. If you just do the card without any consumption, you usually need to deduct the corresponding labor costs. If you actually use or enjoy some services for a period of time, the actual consumption should be deducted normally, and the merchant service fee and labor fee should be paid appropriately. Some merchants will stipulate the liability for breach of contract in the contract, which is the part that consumers should bear. Although the contract can be terminated, it is caused by its own reasons, and consumers need to bear the legal responsibility corresponding to the fault. Reduce business losses.
Secondly, the card is returned for business reasons. For example, the closure of businesses, long-term non-business due to improper reasons, equipment problems, inadequate services, etc., lead to the failure of normal performance of the contract between the two parties, and continued performance will cause losses to consumers. In this case, consumers who want to cancel the contract, return the card and refund the fee not only need not bear legal responsibility, but also need the merchants to compensate for the losses and bear the liability for breach of contract. However, this situation will also bring another problem, and that is the burden of proof. Consumers are required to provide evidence to prove the breach of contract by businesses, how to obtain evidence and what kind of evidence to keep. If you don't understand, please consult a professional lawyer for assistance.
In any case, if you encounter legal problems, I suggest you consult a lawyer in time, seek help, and have the courage to take up legal weapons to safeguard your legitimate rights and interests.
Relevant laws and regulations
Article 53 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests, if a business operator provides goods or services in advance, it shall provide them in accordance with the agreement. If it is not provided in accordance with the agreement, it shall fulfill the agreement or return the advance payment according to the requirements of consumers; And shall bear the interest of the advance payment and the reasonable expenses that the consumer must pay.
"Measures for Punishment of Infringement on Consumers' Rights and Interests" Article 10 When providing goods or services in advance, an operator shall clearly agree with consumers on the quantity and quality of the goods or services, the price or expenses, the time limit and method of performance, safety precautions and risk warning, after-sales service, civil liability and other contents. If the goods or services are not provided in accordance with the agreement, the agreement shall be fulfilled or the advance payment shall be returned according to the requirements of the consumers, and the interest on the advance payment and the reasonable expenses that the consumers must pay shall be borne. If there is no agreement on the refund, the refund amount shall be converted according to the calculation method beneficial to consumers.
If the business operator makes a reasonable request for refund to the consumer, and explicitly indicates that it will not be refunded, or fails to refund for more than 15 days from the agreed effective period, or the consumer makes a request for refund without the agreed time limit, it shall be deemed as deliberate delay or unreasonable refusal.
According to Article 28 of the Regulations on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests in Jiangsu Province, if an operator issues a single-use prepaid card to provide goods or services, the consumer has the right to ask for a refund without reason within 15 days from the date of payment, and the operator can deduct the reasonable expenses incurred by providing the goods or services. If the business operator fails to provide goods or services as agreed, it shall fulfill the agreement or return the advance payment according to the requirements of consumers. If it is not consumed, it will be refunded in full and bear the interest on the advance payment; If they have already spent, they shall deduct the amount they have spent according to the original preferential scheme, give a refund and bear the interest on the refunded part.
The format clause in Article 496 of the Civil Code is a clause drawn up by the parties in advance for reuse, and the two parties did not consult each other when concluding the contract.
Where a contract is concluded by standard terms, the party providing the standard terms shall follow the principle of fairness to determine the rights and obligations between the parties, and take reasonable measures such as exempting or lightening their responsibilities to remind the other party of the terms that have a significant interest in them, and explain the terms according to the requirements of the other party. If the party providing the standard terms fails to perform the obligation of prompting or explaining, so that the other party fails to pay attention to or understand the terms of which it has a significant interest, the other party may claim that the terms will not become the content of the contract.
Article 497 A standard clause is invalid under any of the following circumstances:
(1) The provisions of Section 3 of Chapter VI in Part I of this Law and Article 506 are invalid;
(2) The party providing the standard terms unreasonably exempts or lightens its responsibilities, aggravates the responsibilities of the other party or restricts the main rights of the other party;
(3) The party providing the standard terms excludes the other party's main rights.
Article 498 If there is any dispute over the understanding of the standard terms, it shall be interpreted according to the usual understanding. If there are more than two interpretations of the standard terms, an interpretation that is unfavorable to the party providing the standard terms shall be made. If the standard terms are inconsistent with the non-standard terms, the non-standard terms shall be adopted.