I bought a Mercedes Benz car, but I didn't expect to be "tied up insurance"! Mr. Dai, a citizen, reflected to the helper about his troubles.
When I bought a car, my "old car replacement" subsidy was withheld by 1,000 yuan, and now it cannot be used or refunded without "compulsory renewal".
Mandatory renewal
A subsidy of 1,000 yuan was deducted
Mr. Dai told Mr. Dai that in early January last year, he bought a Mercedes-Benz GRC260L four-wheel drive luxury SUV at the Mercedes-Benz 4S store, and at the same time "depreciated and replaced" his old car in the store.
Mr. Dai purchased the Mercedes-Benz GLC260L four-wheel drive luxury SUV
Invoice for car purchase
After the two parties signed the car purchase contract, the 4S shop agent insurance officer told him that according to the provisions of the "limited-time car purchase plan" of Beijing Benz Automobile Company, 1,000 yuan of the 6,000 yuan of the "old car replacement subsidy" needed to be withheld, which could be used to offset the renewal cost of the second year. The other party said:
This is the "old car replacement subsidy", which has nothing to do with the state subsidy project and must be withheld; as long as the Pacific car insurance is renewed in 2022, this 1,000 yuan can be offset.
Mr. Dai said:
At that time, I wanted to renew Pacific Insurance Company and there was no problem.
Therefore, he signed the "Supplementary Agreement to the Automobile Sales Contract" on the spot, in which the "factory replacement/re-purchase insurance support" was marked as "replacement: 5,000 yuan for the new insurance + 1,000 yuan for renewal".
Supplementary Agreement to the Automobile Sales Contract signed by Mr. Dai
This year is approaching the renewal period, Mr. Dai compared the car insurance quotations of many insurance companies and found that under the same circumstances, the renewal price given by the 4S store is much higher. The insurance salesman said that as long as Mr. Dai renewed his insurance, he could give away shopping cards or fuel cards.
After repeatedly calculating the offer and the total price again, Mr. Dai still felt that the renewal fee was "uneconomical", so he proposed to the salesman:
Can the withheld renewal fee of $1,000 be refunded?
The other party immediately refused:
$1,000 can only be used to deduct Pacific Insurance Renewal!
In this regard, Mr. Dai is difficult to understand:
It was not stated that the withheld benefits could not be recovered without renewal. I just want to get my $1,000 back, or the 4S store offers the same discount renewal plan as outside.
After many consultations between the two sides, the brand still refused to give in. During the period, Mr. Dai called the Beijing Benz hotline twice to consult and reflect, but there was still no result. As a result, Mr. Dai had no choice but to give up the 1,000 yuan he had withheld and find other insurance channels.
Bundling
Consumers are "hurt"
Help Jun to get in touch with the Mercedes-Benz 4S shop, the relevant staff said that they have clearly explained to Mr. Dai:
■ The "time-limited car purchase plan" at the time of car purchase and the deduction of 1,000 yuan for renewal of the insurance are stipulated by the Beijing Mercedes-Benz factory, and the 4S store is only the executor;
■ The types of insurance sold by the sales staff are also stipulated in the new insurance policy of the state. Under the current circumstances, Pacific Motor Insurance must be renewed to benefit from the deduction.
For such a reply, Mr. Dai really cannot accept:
Originally, I bought a car for a big brand, but I didn't expect to encounter such a thing! Is bundling and compulsory renewal a violation of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law? Is such a provision a "overlord clause"?
To this end, He consulted lawyer Li Ruqin, a partner of Shanghai Daopeng Law Firm, who believes:
■ First of all, according to Article 8 of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods they purchase or use or the services they receive. When the brand signed the Supplementary Agreement to the Automobile Sales Contract with the consumer, it did not clearly and in detail the applicable conditions of the "renewal of 1,000 yuan", which infringed the consumer's right to know.
■ Secondly, according to Article 9 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, consumers enjoy the right to choose goods or services independently. When the consumer redeems the renewal limit, the brand emphasizes that the consumer must purchase a specified type of insurance through its designated insurance company in order to obtain a renewal subsidy of 1,000 yuan, which infringes on the consumer's right to choose independently.
Defending rights is tough
It's all full of routines
It is understood that at the end of May 2020, the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the "2020 Insurance Intermediary Market Chaos Rectification Work Plan" to the various banking and insurance regulatory bureaus, in which the banking and insurance regulatory commission clearly stated: focus on rectifying the compulsory tying of insurance by car dealers.
From the 12345 citizen service hotline, he found that complaints like Mr. Dai are not uncommon:
■ Some car brand parties force consumers to purchase insurance by collecting a "renewal deposit".
■ In order to obtain greater benefits, some brands are also forced to purchase many unnecessary insurance, which seriously damages the rights and interests of consumers.
The automobile consumer market has always been full of various complex preferential policies and loan services, and many of these "wool out of the sheep" activities often hide a variety of "routines", which is difficult to prevent. Car insurance is one of the more prominent problems, often added many "mandatory clauses", if you do not meet the conditions issued by the brand side, you may not get the "original should belong to themselves" offer.
Industry insiders pointed out:
The car purchase process is complex, the process is cumbersome, each link may be "cleverly set up", insurance, license, testing, car pick-up, financial services, etc., this large string of unreasonable and even absurd costs, often in the "unconscious" has become the consumer "have to pay" money, and even become the industry's "unspoken rules". However, due to the fact that automobile production, sales, finance, after-sales and so on involve different regulatory departments, when consumer complaints, there are many handling links, which takes a long time and is difficult to solve complaints.
In this regard, industry insiders remind:
■ When buying a car, do not trust the verbal promises of the sales staff, everything should be based on the content of the contract;
■ For each clause of the main contract and the additional contract, it is necessary to carefully review, and the doubtful part must be confirmed before signing;
■ Encounter the problem of renewing the "deposit", or agree on the refund conditions, or refuse on the spot.
When will the "deep pits" in car sales be filled? How can consumer rights and interests be truly protected? Help jun will continue to pay attention.
Help Nong's studio
Planning | Qian Junyi
Text | Lu Changqing
Image | Respondents
Edit | Xu Liuman Qian Junyi Yao Chujie