Brief facts of the case
In August 2021, consumer Ms. Wu inadvertently discovered that her daughter, who was in the first grade of junior high school, had secretly purchased a mobile phone of nearly 3,000 yuan without her parents. Ms. Wu was anxious and angry, and in addition to severe criticism and accusations against her daughter, she also questioned why the store could sell mobile phones to minors.
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That night, she took her daughter to negotiate, proposed that her 13-year-old daughter was a minor, claimed that the sale contract for the purchase of the mobile phone was invalid, and asked to return the mobile phone, but the store refused.
The person in charge of the store said that it did not deceive the purchase or force the transaction, it was purchased voluntarily by Ms. Wu's daughter, and there was no quality problem with the mobile phone, so it was not illegal to sell the mobile phone. And the mobile phone has been unpacked and used for nearly a month, the actual value has been a certain loss, if it is returned will affect the secondary sales.
In the absence of fruitless negotiations, Ms. Wu complained about the matter to the Qingpu District Consumer Protection Commission.
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Process and results
This case is a typical case involving the consumption of minors, because one party to the sale contract is a person with limited capacity for civil conduct aged 8-16, and the operator has objectively not committed fraud or other wrong behavior, so whether the sales contract is established is the key to this case.
According to Article 19 of the Civil Code:
"Minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and the implementation of civil juristic acts is to be represented by their legally-designated representatives or with the consent and retroactive recognition of their legally-designated representatives; however, they may independently carry out civil juristic acts that are purely beneficial or civil juristic acts appropriate to their age and intelligence."
In this case, Ms. Wu's 13-year-old daughter is still a person with limited capacity for civil conduct, and her purchase of a mobile phone is a sales contract whose validity is pending, and it needs to be recognized by her guardian, Ms. Wu, to have legal effect, otherwise the sale is deemed invalid. Therefore, the contract in this case is an invalid contract, and the complainant, Ms. Wu, has the right to require the merchant to return the mobile phone.
After mediation, the parties finally reached an agreement, the store recovered the mobile phone, a one-time refund of Ms. Wu 2999 yuan, the dispute was satisfactorily resolved.
Consumption tips
Parents (guardians) and businesses should assume corresponding legal and social responsibilities for minors' unauthorized consumption to ensure the healthy growth of children.
1
Parents should strengthen the education of their children, help their children establish correct consumption concepts and values, develop good behavior habits, instill a correct concept of consumption in their children, and fulfill the obligations of the first responsible person.
2
Parents should also note that in law, unauthorized consumption by minors is not always invalid. If minors purchase books, stationery and other related necessities for their life and study, their payment behavior may be deemed to be valid.
3
Merchants should carefully distinguish whether consumers have the ability to consume and have the capacity for civil conduct when selling goods, and comprehensively judge whether the age and intelligence of the buyer are compatible with the ability to buy.
4
Merchants should not sell goods to minors that are inappropriate for their age and intelligence without confirmation by their parents or accompanied by guardians.