Recently, some users reported that when they unsubscribed from the broadband service in Unicom’s business hall, the business hall demanded to return the "light cat", and the "gift" that consumers thought at first turned into "lease". If they could not find it, they would need to compensate 200 yuan or even more. According to a survey conducted by Beijing Youth Daily, in addition to China Unicom, users in China Mobile, China Telecom and gehuayouxian also complained about similar problems. On the second-hand market, a large number of "off-net-only" light cats have appeared correspondingly, and the price is only 25 yuan. Users said that many users were not clear about the contents of the contract when handling business, and they did not know much about whether the hardware such as light cats and set-top boxes were given or rented, such as the loss of compensation price, the installation fee or deposit, and so on. In order to promote sales, the staff deliberately blurred the statement, resulting in continuous problems when withdrawing broadband.
phenomenon
Many people spit out that "unsubscribing broadband requires retiring cats"
Recently, Ms. Tu, a user, reported that she had encountered a "pit-stepping incident" when she retired from Unicom’s broadband. She said that she couldn’t find the light cat when she moved. When she went to Unicom’s business hall to quit the network, the staff said that "the equipment lost needs compensation, and it costs more than 200 pieces". She even thanked herself for not having Gigabit broadband. "Otherwise, it seems to cost more than 700 pieces."
User Mr. Zhang also had a similar experience. He told the reporter of Beiqing Daily: "I applied for Unicom broadband in the rented house at that time. Later, I had to stop using broadband because I went abroad. I called customer service and requested to stop, but the other party asked me to return the light cat. I said that the light cats were left to the landlord, thinking that they were gifts, and it was not good to go back and disassemble them. After returning to China, I found that I had been on Unicom’s’ blacklist’ and could not handle any business. "
Users in China Telecom and gehuayouxian also said that their experiences were similar: "When it comes to the light cat, it comes to anger. The advertisements all say that the light cat will be given as soon as it is opened, and it will be rented for free when it is opened, but when it is broken, you will be asked to pay for a replacement, and you will have to return it when you return it." "Only when I lost it did I know that the set-top box was not a gift. When you start a business, you say that you will give it away. If you don’t pay it back, you will lose money. "
The second-hand market appears "special optical cat set-top box for quitting the network"
"There are all kinds of good attitudes when doing business, and it is difficult to stop using it." According to the investigation of Beiqing Daily reporter, there are many similar complaints. Most users are very dissatisfied with the fact that they were not clearly informed of various matters when handling. In order to promote broadband, salesmen will not clearly inform users of some key matters in advance, including which hardware equipment to return when unsubscribing, how long the contract period is, whether the deposit is paid or the installation fee is paid, which leads to users being "kept in the dark".
In some second-hand platforms, there are even a number of light cats and set-top boxes sold specifically for returning to the business hall, and the prices are very cheap.
"Off-line optical cat set-top box, full set of accessories, Unicom Telecom Mobile, to ensure successful off-line!" A merchant told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that a set of set-top boxes in 29 yuan includes set-top boxes, remote controls, power cords and all accessories of hd line. A set of cat 25 yuan, including cat and power supply; Both cats and set-top boxes need 50 yuan.
The merchant said that these goods are all bad and can’t be used for personal use, but if you take them and return them to the net, you can "guarantee that there is no problem. Just confirm the receipt after you successfully return the net".
The reporter of Beiqing Daily saw that there are many merchants selling similar "special light cats for quitting the network", and their sales volume is also quite large. A store has sold thousands of units.
survey
Operators call the equipment "leased" and need to return it.
Due to the sales skills, many users will be confused whether these devices promised to be "given" when they access the network are legally "given" or "rented". The reporter of Beiqing Daily called the Unicom broadband expert as a consumer and asked, "How to handle broadband, will you give a light cat?" The other party repeatedly said, "We will provide you with the light cat and the box, and then you can give the master an installation fee." The whole process did not mention whether it was "gift" or "rental". In order to find out the specific policies for unsubscribing broadband, Beiqing Daily reporters called the operator’s customer service to inquire.
The customer service staff of Beijing Unicom told the reporter of Beiqing Daily: "Light cats are rented to users free of charge, and if broadband unsubscribe business is handled, they will be returned to the business hall". The contract period will take three years to be owned by users. If lost, 200 yuan or 400 yuan will be compensated respectively according to the different types of light cats.
Beijing Mobile’s customer service said that the light cats and set-top boxes that were given when the broadband subscription was cancelled need to be returned. If they are three years old, they don’t need to be returned. If they are lost, they need compensation, namely 250 yuan and 220 yuan.
The customer service staff of Beijing Telecom told the reporter of Beiqing Daily that Guangmao is rented to users free of charge, but it must be returned to the business hall when it is returned. No matter how long the contract period is, Guangmao must be returned. If it is lost, 300 yuan will be compensated.
In addition, the customer service staff of Beijing gehuayouxian replied to the reporter of Beiqing Daily that when unsubscribing from the cable TV service, they need to return the set-top box. If they are lost, they should compensate 200 yuan for more than 5 years, 400 yuan for 2 -5 years and 600 yuan for 1 -2 years.
press sb for an interview
There are different opinions about the deposit and installation fee. A "cat" may not get the money back.
In addition to the question about returning the light cat, many users also reported that they paid the deposit or installation fee when they handled the business, and they were not told clearly, which led to trouble when they unsubscribed.
User Ms. Wang reported that she subscribed to Unicom’s broadband service in November 2021. At that time, the staff said that the optical cat was rented for free, but she had to pay a "deposit" from 200 yuan, and she could get the deposit back after returning the optical cat later. Ms. Wang believes that "it is a normal rule to rent something and pay a deposit, so she accepted it." However, when I went to the business hall to return the cat in March this year, the staff also said that the money paid before was "installation fee", not "deposit".
Ms. Wang also said that the staff did not give her a deposit certificate when handling broadband business at that time. However, when she contacted the business hall to quit the network, the online customer service kept asking her for a deposit slip, and she could not return it without a deposit slip; The offline staff also said that there was no such thing as a deposit. The salesman who had previously handled it belonged to the franchisee and had already withdrawn from the store. You need to find this salesman before you can give it back. Finally, Ms. Wang returned the light cat, and the business hall did not refund the deposit.
So, is the fee paid at the time of handling a deposit or an installation fee? The reporter of Beiqing Daily called the business hall of Beijing Unicom, and got a response that at present, the broadband service generally only needs to pay the installation fee of 100 yuan, and there is no deposit requirement. The business hall will rent the router and cat all-in-one machine to the user for free, and return the all-in-one machine to the business hall when logging off the network, but the specific charges need to be based on the requirements of the business hall in this region.
However, after the reporter of Beiqing Daily dialed Unicom’s customer service again and asked about the inconsistent statement about the deposit online and offline, the customer service said that because the broadband business is handled online, the deposit can be refunded when the cat is returned. The deposit may not be refunded because it has not been three years, and I need to go to the offline business hall to inquire. It can be seen that the different customer service statements of an operator of Unicom are inconsistent, and it is no wonder that consumers are confused.
analyse
The behavior of light cat deducting fees is unreasonable, and the fees are mostly installation fees.
The reporter of Beiqing Daily learned that the total number of broadband access users in China has reached 614 million. According to the public data of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the number of fixed broadband access users increased steadily in the first half of 2023. By the end of June, the total number of fixed Internet broadband access users of the three basic telecommunications companies reached 614 million, a net increase of 24.68 million over the end of last year. At the same time, the income from fixed Internet broadband services has also achieved steady growth. In the first half of the year, the income from Internet broadband services completed by three basic telecommunications companies was 130.1 billion yuan, up 6.3% year-on-year. With the steady growth of fixed broadband access users, the relationship between operators and users is becoming more and more important for the good operation of communication industry economy.
In the investigation, the reporter of Beiqing Daily noticed that when handling business in the early stage, users must carefully check the agreement. There are three points that need special attention: First, it is necessary to find out whether the package includes light cats, set-top boxes, cables, plugs, etc. Whether the physical equipment needs to be returned when logging out of the network; Second, ask whether the fee charged is a refundable hardware rental deposit or a one-time installation fee; The third point is to keep invoices, receipts, etc. to avoid losses caused by incomplete information when you quit the network later.
So, is there a problem with this practice of operators? According to Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of china law society Consumer Law Research Association, ordinary consumers will regard light cats as "gifts" rather than "rentals" as operators say, because operators have not fulfilled their obligation of "informing". He stressed that operators must ensure that consumers are fully informed in advance. When opening, they should inform consumers that these goods should be returned. It is best to let consumers choose whether to rent them, otherwise they may be suspected of infringing consumers’ "right to know".
Fu Liang, an independent telecom analyst, said that there are indeed many problems in the return of the light cat. Most of the money collected is not a deposit, but an installation fee. In addition, the light cat is free to use, and there is no need to return it after a certain number of years, but first, this number of years is not clear most of the time; Second, when returning a cat, all accessories are required, but some cheap accessories are not in use, so users can’t return them if they can’t find them. Fu Liang suggested that operators should pay attention to the management details of the "whole life cycle" of broadband users and family package users, and give users a sense of belonging. Otherwise, some details may bring users the feeling of being "trapped".