The lack of 2 bottles of soda consumers returned 15 boxes, and the merchant who bears the freight of 600 yuan sued the platform: unfair handling

Modern Express News (reporter Deng Wenting) Under normal circumstances, consumers find that there is a lack of items purchased online, and they will find a shopping platform to protect their rights. However, if there is a consumer who maliciously defends his rights, and the platform over-protects the rights and interests of consumers, resulting in damage to the interests of the merchant, what should the merchant do? Recently, the People's Court of Nanjing Jiangning Economic and Technological Development Zone tried such a case.

The consumer returned 15 boxes of soda, and the merchant was deducted 600 yuan for freight

The Modern Express reporter learned that in the summer of 2021, Lao Zhou purchased 15 boxes of soda on an e-commerce platform, and the merchant shipped it in two times, and the first shipment was 5 boxes. After receiving the goods, Lao Zhou found that one of the boxes of foam packaging was damaged, after inspection found that 2 bottles of soda were missing, Lao Zhou took photos and sent them to the merchants through the platform chat tool, the tone was very rude, the merchants did not give in, and the words of the two sides tended to be fierce, and the dispute could not be stopped.

The merchant said: "We are all shipping in whole boxes, or you should ask the courier." In response, Lao Zhou replied: "Why should I ask the courier?" "Then the remaining 10 boxes of soda are still there?" Lao Zhou replied: "You can refuse to send it." "Merchants have no choice but to continue shipping.

After Lao Zhou received 15 boxes of soda, he complained to the platform and asked for a refund for the return of 15 boxes of soda on the grounds of "cargo quality problems". After the platform intervened, it agreed to Lao Zhou's refund request. The courier picks up the package and returns it, lao zhou pays the courier fee of 600 yuan, and the platform deducts 600 yuan from the merchant's security deposit to pay the old zhou.

Court: The platform forces the merchant to bear the 15-box freight, which increases the burden on the merchant

In the face of such a treatment result, the merchant is very aggrieved, so he sued Lao Zhou and the platform in court, he believes that the purchase price of the goods is a total of 500 yuan, the return freight is deducted 600 yuan, and the old Zhou maliciously defends his rights, the platform handles unfairly, and requires the two defendants to compensate for the loss of freight of 600 yuan.

In this regard, Lao Zhou believes that he follows the rules of the platform to return the refund, which is not improper, and should not bear the liability for compensation. The platform said that it hopes to coordinate with the merchant to solve the problem, and is willing to call the freight to the merchant.

After trial, the court of Jiangning Development Zone held that Lao Zhou and the merchant initially disputed because of the lack of 2 bottles of soda. The seller has the obligation to deliver and the obligation to guarantee the defect, and the merchant is responsible for returning and replacing the goods if the old week does not receive the goods in good condition. The merchant let Lao Zhou ask the courier company himself, which was to shirk the responsibility to a third party and improperly handle the initial dispute.

But do you really need to return 15 boxes of soda? The court held that Lao Zhou's application for full withdrawal had certain emotional reasons, but the platform's handling was unfair. According to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, if the goods provided by the proprietor do not meet the quality requirements and result in the return, the freight shall be borne by the merchant, and if the consumer returns the goods within seven days without reason, the freight shall be borne by the consumer. In this case, the merchant is obliged to deal with the return and replacement of 1 box, the freight of 1 box is borne by the merchant, and the other 14 boxes have no quality problems, which is a return without reason, and the freight should be borne by the buyer. The platform forced the merchant to bear the freight of 15 boxes, which increased the burden on the merchant.

In the end, the tripartite settlement was settled and the plaintiff withdrew the lawsuit.

Judge: Protecting consumers should not come at the expense of merchants

"This case is very interesting, it is the situation where the platform over-protects the rights and interests of consumers, resulting in the damage to the interests of merchants." Zhong Shiwei, the judge in charge, told reporters that the plaintiff had said that the lawsuit was not a temporary intention and was an expression of opinion that the platform's long-term judgment was unfair.

Zhong Shiwei said that in order to maintain good reputation and attract consumers' attention and use, the platform adopts standards higher than the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests to safeguard consumer rights and interests, which has its positive significance, and merchants are ultimately beneficiaries of a high-quality business environment. However, in the handling of this case, fairness and justice are also the most basic demands, and the protection of consumer rights and interests should not be at the expense of the rights and interests of merchants. As the first round of e-commerce dispute resolution mechanism, the platform should not be "one-size-fits-all" when handling actual disputes, but needs to seek a balance of interests, improve the ability to resolve disputes, use wisdom to resolve bad emotions, and safeguard the legitimate rights of business operators within the platform.