How to prove that your boyfriend is your boyfriend?This question sounds ridiculous, but it's a real dilemma that a couple faces when returning their tickets to Shanghai Disneyland. According to netizens, they bought Disney tickets on a ticketing platform, and later wanted to refund the tickets for personal reasons, but were asked to provide a paper "couple relationship certificate" and the official seal of the school or community. This requirement has sparked heated discussions and questions among netizens, some people think that this is a violation of the rights of consumers by the merchant in order to set up a refund barrier, and some people feel that this is a kind of discrimination and insult to the identity of a couple.
On the evening of November 30th, after the attention and pressure of **, the couple's tickets were finally refunded in full, and the platform also said that it had fed back the refund rules to the partners and would provide better services. However, behind this incident, it reflects the resurgence of "strange proofs" in market players, as well as the difficulties and costs of consumer rights protection.
What is the "Wonderful Proof?".It refers to some certificates that cannot be issued or cannot be proven, such as proving that your mother is your mother, proving that you are single, proving that you have no criminal record, etc. These certificates often have no legal basis, and there is no unified standard and format, but they are just arbitrary requirements set by some departments or agencies in order to facilitate their own management or shirk their responsibilities. These demands have not only brought trouble and trouble to the masses, but also wasted social resources and efficiency, and harmed the legal environment and market order.
In order to rectify the "strange certificates", the Ministry of Justice has repeatedly issued relevant policies and measures, requiring all regions and departments to clean up and cancel all kinds of unnecessary certification matters, simplify and standardize the handling process, and implement the notification and commitment system for certification matters, that is, when the administrative organs handle the relevant license registration and other matters, they will no longer ask for certificates, but let the parties make written commitments, and bear legal responsibility for false promises. According to statistics, by the end of 2019, more than 13,000 certification items had been cancelled across the country, effectively reducing the burden on the masses and improving work efficiency.
However, at the same time that the "strange proof" was cleaned up, it was resurrected in the 2023 annual inventory among some market players. In order to avoid risks or increase revenue, some merchants or platforms use standard terms, notices, statements, etc., to put forward some unreasonable proof requirements for consumers, such as proving the relationship between couples for refunds, proving that the goods have not been used for returns, and proving payment records for refunds. These requirements not only have no legal basis, but also have no necessity and reasonableness, but are only an exclusion and restriction of consumer rights, and also a kind of disrespect and doubt of consumer credit.
In the face of these "strange proofs", the road to consumer rights protection is not smooth. On the one hand, the cost of protecting consumers' rights is high, and they need to complain, report, lawsuit and other channels, which consumes time and energy, and sometimes they will be maliciously retaliated against or delayed by merchantsOn the other hand, consumers' awareness of rights protection is weak, and some consumers are unwilling to protect their legitimate rights and interests in order to save trouble or fear trouble, and are easily oppressed by the overlord clause of the merchant. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the legal education and protection of consumers' rights and interests, and improve the ability and level of consumers' rights protection.
At the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen the supervision and punishment of market entities to prevent the breeding and spread of "wonderful proofs" in the market. The law enforcement and regulatory departments shall actively collect and deal with all kinds of "strange proofs" reported by consumers, promptly urge and guide merchants or platforms to correct illegal acts, and shall punish those who maliciously set up "strange proofs" or refuse to make corrections, and maintain the fairness and order of the market.
"Strange proof" is a violation of consumer rights and a violation of the rule of law market. Only with the joint efforts of consumers, businesses and regulatory authorities can we put an end to the emergence of "wonderful proofs", allow consumers to enjoy a more convenient, reasonable and fair consumption environment, let market players abide by more standardized, transparent and civilized business rules, and make the rule of law market more orderly, dynamic and competitive.