After more than ten days of emotional counseling, Xiao Shen thought that the agency did not provide substantive and effective services during its service. On September 20, he proposed to terminate the service and demanded a refund, and then initiated complaints on several consumer complaint platforms. So far, the two sides have not reached the result of communication and consultation.
"Gold Medal Tutor": from 199 yuan to 1 1, 000 yuan. On August 30th this year, Xiao Shen browsed several emotional articles in Zhihu. On the same day, after collecting articles and writing privately to the blogger of an article, he received private letters from several strangers. After a brief conversation with one of them, the other party said that he could give him advice, saying that "it is actually very simple and can be saved" and proposed to contact with WeChat.
After adding WeChat, Xiao Shen knew that the other party was the emotional consultant "Jingjing Teacher" of the "Happiness and Well-being" platform (Guangzhou Yuelao Culture Communication Co., Ltd.). Jingjing said that she would help Xiao Shen arrange a tutor who is good at handling this situation, but at a certain fee, and listed senior tutors of gold medal tutors from 99 yuan and 199 yuan for him to choose from.
Because the gold tutor is "richer than the senior tutor in terms of age, qualifications and case assessment", Xiao Shen filled out a detailed "emotional file form" and paid 199 yuan for the services of the gold tutor. At noon the next day, I contacted Mr. Liang, the gold medal tutor. The other party asked some basic information on the phone, and said that the company had held a meeting that morning to discuss Xiao Shen's case, and the success rate was very high, so he was advised not to give up.
According to the description, Teacher Liang immediately introduced him to a one-way service with a value of 5,800 yuan and a two-way service with a value of12,800 yuan, claiming that the latter is the most recommended, with a reconnection probability as high as 100% and a recovery probability of over 90%, which is not only helpful for recovery, but also helpful for self-improvement. Xiao Shen recalled: "I asked him if there were any failure cases, and he said that all the failure cases were due to customers hiding their own information. I can't take out so much money at once. He said that I should pay a deposit of 4,000 yuan first. Later, he said that he would help me bargain with the finance to 1 1 0,000 yuan, but this low price was limited to that day, so I borrowed 7,000 yuan from others. "
"Happiness" platform interface.
Consultation process: After writing the reading notes and recovering the letter, Mr. Wang, a "senior emotional tutor", was added on the same day and began emotional consultation for more than half a month. He told reporters that during the consultation, Mr. Wang gave him three e-books to read and take notes, saying that "the speed of your recovery depends on the speed of your change". This puzzled Xiao Shen. He thinks he didn't get any substantial help in the middle. Teacher Wang's so-called service is to let him read books by himself.
"A few days ago, she was more active and would know my basic situation and personal status in detail, but she didn't give too much constructive guidance. Every time I ask her what she should do, most of the time she just asks,' What would you do if you were a consultant'. Many times later, he called me for more than ten minutes. She asks me what I want to do every day, but she doesn't give me corresponding plans or arrangements. " Xiao Shen expressed dissatisfaction with the service process.
The emotional tutor sent several documents to Xiao Shen.
Xiao Shen said that during this period, Mr. Wang also recommended him a 10000 Yuan healing course, claiming that it would help him gain strength and it would be difficult to recover without buying it, but he didn't accept it. After rejecting Mr. Wang's "sales promotion", he said that he felt that the other party's attitude became cold and he could contact at any time at first, but later he shirked it on the grounds of "weekend vacation", "accompanying his father-in-law's birthday" and "helping his children with their homework"
Two-way service: the opposite effect of complete termination. The two-way consultation service purchased by Xiao Shen also includes the service content of the tutor's direct docking with his ex-girlfriend. It is said that in early and middle September, Mr. Wang contacted Siqi twice, claiming to be Shen's psychological counselor, and contacted her through the "emergency contact person" he filled out, hoping to communicate with her.
To Xiao Shen's surprise, after these two contacts, the relationship between him and Siqi became more rigid than before. Before Teacher Wang docked with Si Qi, although both parties deleted WeChat, they were still able to send text messages normally. After the direct mediation of Teacher Wang, Si Qi's attitude changed obviously. In the following meeting, she expressed her disgust at Xiao Shen, thinking that he didn't respect the privacy of both sides. She also called Mr. Wang "all he said was chicken soup" and asked him to verify Mr. Wang's consulting qualification so as not to be deceived.
She thinks I am a naive and fragile person, eager to live for a relationship. At this point, Qi refused to meet Xiao Shen again, and even interrupted the SMS contact.
Other cases: borrowing flowers, an empty introduction of WeChat official account, a "blessing", platform services include psychological counseling, emotional repair, marriage recovery, divorce, love recovery, two-way counseling, family system therapy and so on. The platform claims to have "influenced hundreds of thousands of people by word of mouth" and receives thank-you letters and pennants every day.
The platform claims that their tutors have a bachelor degree or above, have a professional skill certificate in psychological counseling or emotional industry, and have more than five years of industry experience or case counseling 1000 hours. In the platform publicity, many successful cases are listed, such as "how did I beat the senior mistress step by step and win back my husband's heart" and "I successfully saved my predecessor who resolutely left me".
In an article entitled "Only Chatting on WeChat, Successfully Rescuing Long-distance Girlfriend in One Month", 25-year-old Liu was terminated by his girlfriend because he was unwilling to give up and found happiness. Mr. Wang, a happy teacher, taught him to open contact with his girlfriend, assigned Liu the homework of "writing letters" and taught Liu more "chatting skills". According to the article, after a month of counseling, the relationship between Liu and his girlfriend is getting better and better and has been successfully recovered.
Some cases are not as "lucky" as advertised by the platform. Du Nan reporter learned that Xiao Shen's experience is not a case, and there are some similar complaint cases on several complaint platforms. Another happy consumer, Xiao Wang, told the reporter that she bought more than 10,000 yuan of two-way service and 3,000 yuan of origin home healing course under the recommendation of her tutor. However, contrary to expectations, during the service period, the ex-boyfriend deleted all her contact information.
She accused Yi of contacting an "assistant" and three "emotional mentors". "I have been reading and writing letters to save my feelings, and I have not provided substantive counseling to save my feelings."
Xiao Wang said that in the process of communicating with the tutor, the other party repeatedly persuaded her to buy new service content. "When I made it clear that the funds were not allowed, let me borrow flowers or even credit cards, and once let me borrow money from relatives and friends." Xiao Wang spent 16499 yuan to buy two-way service and follow-up courses, of which Alipay borrowed 6700 yuan.
Refund difficulty: "There has never been a full refund". Two days after the payment, Xiao Shen received the other party's contract, and then he saw the details of the contract terms. Xiao Shen told reporters, "I was on the phone with Mr. Wang and signed it without thinking too much."
The screenshot of the contract provided by Xiao Shen shows that from the end of August to the end of September, Party B (Guangzhou Yuelao Culture Communication Co., Ltd.) provided emotional consultation and guidance services for Party A (Xiao Shen) during the service period. During the service period, Party A must truthfully reflect his inner confusion to Party B, and need to actively cooperate with Party B's guidance, and shall not act without authorization. Party A's obligations include: truthfully providing information, fully cooperating with the teacher's guidance, and strictly fulfilling the service agreement and paying relevant service fees as agreed, otherwise Party B has the right to terminate the service and not refund all the service fees collected. However, in the obligation of Party B, it is only mentioned that if Party A is not satisfied with the service, it can give feedback to the supervisor, who will be responsible for evaluation and handling.
In the item of "liability for breach of contract", the contract states that in case of force majeure, Party A may voluntarily terminate the service and demand a corresponding refund; If Party B fails to provide the service and unilaterally terminates the service, it shall refund the corresponding proportion of fees according to the remaining service days. In addition, there is no relevant provision for applying for a refund due to other circumstances.
Contents of the contract signed by both parties.
On September 20th, I applied to the emotional tutor Mr. Wang and the supervisor to terminate the service, and asked for a full refund. The other party said: the service can be terminated, but there will be no refund, because the tutor has paid the service fee. In addition, when Xiao Shen asked Mr. Wang to show his psychological counselor certificate, the other party said, "I don't need to communicate directly with the Ombudsman to prove it to you."
On September 2 1 day, Xiao Shen uploaded vouchers and complained on the platforms of 123 1 black cat complaint, complaint gathering and consumer protection respectively. On the same day, the supervisor contacted Xiao Shen, saying that he posted many false statements on the Internet, which had an impact on the company. On 23rd, another supervisor was responsible for negotiating with Xiao Shen about the refund. After asking Xiao Shen why he was dissatisfied with the service and his wishes, the other party said that there had never been a successful case of full refund before. The two sides have not yet reached an agreement.
Platform response: Never promised to save 100%. In late September, the reporter contacted a supervisor who claimed to be surnamed Wang on Kaixin platform. Chairman Wang said that the platform should do a good job of emotional recovery, understand where the emotional problems of both sides are, and strive to improve communication methods; Customers are uncomfortable with this relationship and it is difficult to give up. As a middleman, the platform wants the rescued party to see it and find ways to warm up the relationship. She explained, "It's not the platform that makes his girlfriend want him." The contract does not promise 100% recovery. As an adult, you should be aware of this risk.
Director Wang said that the platform has done a lot of cases, which must be supported by the success rate, but some people really can't adjust and recover. The platform will slowly guide customers to let go and accept a new life.
This person sent a chat record between the platform and customer Xiao Shen to the reporter, proving that there was a record of service and communication from the end of August to the middle of September. In addition, the above-mentioned personnel provided the reporter with the qualification certificate of Mr. Wang. The reporter found that the certificate is shown as a "first-class marriage and family counselor", and the professional ability appraisal unit and issuing unit are Hubei Marriage and Family Research Association.
As for the refund, the person said that communication can be negotiated, but the platform has served him for 20 days and it is impossible to fully refund. "Seeing that he wants to solve it through a third party now, we can only respect him." On September 28, Xiao Shen told reporters that he agreed to negotiate, but there was also a minimum acceptance range; The platform insists on refunding only the service fee of 10 day, which he cannot accept.
Lawyer reminds:
Beware of the overlord clause and solve emotional problems rationally
"Party A strictly performs the service agreement and pays the related service fees as agreed, otherwise Party B has the right to terminate the guidance service, and the service fees collected will not be refunded"; "If Party A encounters force majeure factors (such as economic crisis caused by natural disasters, etc.). ), Party A may apply to Party B to terminate the service ... If the situation is true, Party B agrees to deduct 40% of the expenses such as analysis and planning, consulting service investigation, etc. , and can refund the consulting fee paid by Party A in proportion to the actual remaining consulting days. "
Liao Jianxun, a partner and public interest lawyer of Guangdong Baodian Law Firm, told Southern Reporter that the above-mentioned contract clauses on rights and obligations and liability for breach of contract were suspected to constitute "overlord clauses". According to the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Law and the Contract Law, if the party providing the standard clauses unilaterally exempts itself from liability or unilaterally increases the burden on the other party, it is an invalid clause. The above terms are suspected of unilaterally reducing their own responsibilities and increasing the burden on consumers.
Lawyer Liao said that in the face of such consumer disputes, consumers can first communicate with the companies involved and negotiate whether they can refund the corresponding funds; In addition, you can complain to the Consumers Association and other institutions and ask for intervention; Finally, there is another way to arbitrate or bring a lawsuit.
Liao Jianxun believes that emotional problems are very personal and personalized; It is suggested that young people who encounter emotional confusion can seek help from professional psychological counselors or psychologists. The services they provide are generally a one-time payment model, and there will be no one-time payment of a lot of money. Relatively speaking, consumption will be more rational.
Written by: Intern Guan Xingyang, Du Nan reporter Ma Hui