Consumers Are Facing Zero Tuition Fees: Should The "One To One" Online Education Set The Validity Period?

Xu Min (pseudonym) signed 51Talk to his children in June 30, 2017. This is an online English training organization. The foreign teachers teach one to one, and the students interact with the foreign teachers in Philippines online.

After signing up, Xu Min's children did not attend class. "When the children were enrolled in junior high school, I said to the sales manager that I would like to take the rest of the school after paying the fees and wait for the children to start the class when they are in senior three, so as to prepare for the oral English examination of the college entrance examination." She told the twenty-first Century business reporter.

But at the end of February this year, 51Talk informed Xu Min that the validity of her course was about to end in May 25, 2020. At that time, classes that are not completed will be cleared.

The two sides had a dispute over the validity of the course. 51Talk proposed to extend the validity period for one year. Xu Min asked for an extension of two years or a refund. Xu Min believes that "setting the validity period of this format clause is unreasonable, just like the barber shop's haircut card set the validity period, should be invalid."

In fact, not just 51Talk, but almost all online education companies adopting one to one teaching mode stipulate the validity period when they sell classes. When consumers conflict with industry rules, how should the law protect the rights and interests of all parties?

Validity extension or cancellation?

Xu Min began to let his children study on 51Talk in September 2016. She spent more than 10 thousand yuan to buy 270 classes.

"At that time, the online foreign teachers' one to one organization was just emerging. There were fewer online learners, and the level of foreign teachers could also be, basically, the children who wanted to make an appointment could meet at the right time." Xu Min said.

Less than a year later, that is, in June 30, 2017, Xu Min bought 270 classes, and paid a total of 12588 yuan in tuition fees. The information provided by 51Talk to reporters shows that the renewal course is valid until March 8, 2020. Plus 57 lessons, Xu Min's course is valid until May 25th of this year.

But at present, Xu Min bought 270 classes and 57 lessons in 2017, but not one class.

"The idea at that time was to put money in educational institutions. At that time, I told the sales manager that I would take the rest of the school first, not to calculate the validity period, and wait for the children to attend classes when they were in senior three, because then they had to take the oral test. The course sales begin to say that they need to ask for leadership, and then inform me of the payment. I think the other side agrees. Xu Min said.

This year, 51Talk contacted Xu Min and informed her that the course would expire. There was a contradiction between the two sides. From January to March this year, there were 9 telephone calls between the two sides. 51Talk proposed a further extension of 360 days, while Xu Min asked for an extension of 2 years or a refund. No agreement was reached between the two sides.

"Now I think this is not the question of the duration of validity, but the problem that the period of validity should not be set at all." Xu Min said.

The general rule of "one to one" organization

According to the twenty-first Century economic report reporter, the online education institutions adopting the one to one teaching mode generally set the validity period for class packages.

Online education includes a variety of modes. In the live broadcast large class mode, the consumers do not set the validity period even though the consumers also take the prepaid tuition method to buy class bags. This is because the live broadcast class is regular, and the class is usually unified on weekends. Basically, the end of the tutorial course ends simultaneously, so there is no need to set the validity period.

But the online one to one mode is different. Under this mode, students can freely agree on the learning time with the teacher. The teaching content is not standardized, and can be set flexibly in accordance with the students' mastery level. Therefore, online one to one organizations generally set the validity period.

The 51Talk website's curriculum agreement stipulates: "students must complete all courses within the validity period, and if the system is not completed, the system will clear all the courses until the expiration date." The two class packages sold on the 51Talk website are valid for 330 days and 390 days respectively.

The sales of DaDa English courses for one to one online foreign teachers told reporters that their class packages also set a period of validity, such as a one-time purchase of 114 classes, valid for 540 days.

Another online foreign teacher, one to one VIPKID, also stipulates the validity period of the course sales agreement. For example, the course package of 36 major courses is valid for 155 natural days, and the duration of the 60 major courses is 279 natural days. The agreement also stipulates that if the course is not used or not fully used, the courses and rights and interests will be invalid after the expiry of the validity period.

Some extracurricular counseling online one to one organizations also set the class fee validity period. The introduction of 1 to 1 sales courses at the door is valid for 5 years. The sales of learning tyrants 1 to 1 is valid for 3 years. The introduction of the sales course of the gentle sea breeze is valid for 14 months, and it can not be refunded after expiry, but it can continue to learn.

Why do these online educational institutions set the validity period? An online education industry told the twenty-first Century business news reporter that for online foreign language learning, a relatively high learning frequency needs to be maintained. If limited courses are stretched too long, they will not receive learning results. If students do not finish their studies, they may in turn affect the reputation of the institutions.

How does the policy stipulate?

Whether the class hour fee of online education institutions should be set up valid period, there is no clear law.

In November 2012, the Ministry of Commerce implemented the management method of single use commercial prepaid cards (Trial), which stipulates that the name card should not be valid for 3 years. However, this management method also includes an annex, which lists the single use commercial prepaid industry classification table, which excludes education and training industry.

"In terms of the nature of the law, online education is the same as prepaid tuition and single use commercial prepaid card." Beijing Bank of China law firm senior partner Ge Youshan said.

As a matter of fact, due to the frequent occurrence of running events in the gym, barber shop and training institutions in recent years, prepaid card management has been placed on the legislative agenda. The "Regulations on the management of single purpose prepaid consumer cards in Shanghai" issued in July 2018 is the first relevant local legislation in China, which clearly defined the responsibilities of the education department, but did not specify the period of validity.

In November 2019, Beijing made public comments on the 7 documents on strengthening the management of prepaid consumption market (Draft), including the prepaid consumption management regulations of Beijing discipline training institutions (Draft). However, the draft of this management rule also did not specify the validity period.

In general, the validity period is still within the permitted scope. For example, in accordance with the opinions of the Beijing Municipality on public consultation, the proposal to strengthen the management of the single purpose commercial prepaid card in the city (Draft) shall be valid for a period of not less than 3 years.

How to understand the validity period?

As of press release, Xu Min and 51Talk still have not reached an agreement, 51Talk refused to refund Xu Min, "the reason is 7 months from the payment."

The purchase agreement of 51Talk website stipulates that users can not ask for refund from the seventh natural months from the date of purchase.

"Users of online education generally pay tuition fees in advance, and some of the courses are not prepaid. The prepaid ownership of these courses should be owned by consumers." Ge Youshan told the twenty-first Century economic report.

"The prepaid period of validity should be understood as the period of validity of the service provided by the enterprise. If the contract between the two parties is agreed, the online education institution can set the validity period of the service provided, but after the validity period is completed, the unused expenses should be returned to the consumer. If the refusal of a refund is due to the end of the validity period, it is unfair. Qiu Baochang, a member of the China Consumer Association Expert Committee, told reporters.

Ge Youshan added, "if consumers fail to complete classes during the validity period because of the reasons of consumers, consumers can bear certain liabilities for breach of contract and make corresponding compensation."

Consumers and online education institutions generally signed the format contract, Qiu Baochang told reporters that when disputes arise between the two sides, the consumer protection law can be applied to the twenty-sixth.

The article stipulates that operators shall not make unfair or unreasonable provisions to consumers in terms of format terms, notices, statements, shop notices, etc., to exclude or restrict consumers' rights, reduce or exempt operators' responsibilities, and increase consumer responsibilities. Standard terms, notices, statements, shop notices, etc., which contain the contents listed in the preceding paragraph, shall not be valid.

"For the format contract, which is usually referred to as the overlord clause, it should be interpreted to the consumer side." Ge Youshan told the twenty-first Century economic report.

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