Insist for 35 days
Don't play with your phone
Work and rest on time
You can get a bonus of 400,000 yuan!
Are you intrigued?
Recently, Mr. Chen from Changsha saw a promotional video of a company's "self-discipline challenge" on the Internet: the challenger entered the hotel room arranged by the company, and under the full monitoring, he insisted on not playing with his mobile phone for 35 days, working and resting on time, etc., and did not communicate with the outside world, and three meals a day were delivered by a special person, and he could get a high reward of 400,000 yuan if the challenge was successful.
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
Mr. Chen paid the registration fee of 9,000 yuan and participated with confidence. As a result, in less than a day, he was eliminated because of an accidental rubbing of his eyes. The challenge stipulates that the face cannot be occluded, and if the face is covered for more than 3 seconds at a time, the challenge is lost. He said that because he was afraid that he would not be able to get up at six o'clock the next day and violate the "lights must be turned on before 6 o'clock" regulations, he turned on the lights to sleep, but the lights were dazzling and he couldn't help but rub his eyes. He believes that the regulation does not conform to the normal physiology of the human body, "it is quite painful, and this cannot be done or that", and felt that this was a deliberate bureau set up by the merchant.
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
Mr. Chen questioned that the company used the high bonus as a gimmick to attract customers to sign up, but in fact created a series of unreasonable obstacles or traps to make the challenger quickly eliminated, and there was a suspicion of fraud, and the company was required to refund the registration fee. The company rejected Mr. Chen's request, stating that they were acting in accordance with the challenge contract agreed between the parties.
It is reported that the company was established on November 24, 2023, and its business scope includes organizing sports performance activities, experiential development activities and planning, etc., and currently has a "518 Self-discipline Challenge Room" brand, headquartered in Chengdu. In August this year, the "518 Self-Discipline Challenge Room" store in Chengdu caused heated discussions, and then the local municipal supervision office intervened in the verification, and the store involved was also closed.
Source: Internet
In this regard, netizens have said that the "self-discipline challenge" is a scam, the registration fee is high and the rules are harsh, "it is impossible to succeed" and "it is simply a living crime".
Source: Douyin Comments
Subsequently, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Tianxin District, Changsha City, said that after investigation, the challenger made a video recording of the whole process when signing the contract, and every clause of the contract was pressed, "judging from the contract, there is no situation of inducing consumers."
Yao Zhidou, a lawyer from Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, said in an interview with reporters that the clause does not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, does not violate public order and good customs, and is legal. However, content that is too harsh and almost impossible to achieve may infringe on consumers' right to fair trade.
In fact, the "self-discipline challenge" is not new, and there have been similar "confinement challenges" before. The temptation of high bonuses, the yearning for self-discipline Xi and the curiosity about the challenge itself, various marketing advertisements on social platforms have attracted many people to try, but they have also been accompanied by controversy. In this regard, a person familiar with the matter said that the success rate is about 1 in 1,000. Some netizens analyzed, "What you fancy is the bonus, but people just want to earn your registration fee."
Source: Douyin
Some netizens believe that the "self-discipline challenge" is a money-collecting fraud, and merchants always have a way to make participants fail in the challenge, they set traps to induce participants to have to violate the rules, or vague the rules, and finally determine the violation......
Source: Douyin Comments
In this regard, lawyer Zhang Zhongkai, a member of the lawyer expert database of "Rule of Law Daily" and founding partner of Beijing Gaojie Pengkai Law Firm, believes that the rules of the activity, as an important part of the contract, are unilaterally formulated by the merchants, and for their own interests, the relevant clauses of the contract generally stipulate less on the obligations of the merchants themselves, while the obligations of the participants are more agreed and the standards are vague, so that the merchants have enough space to make interpretations in their favor, which is extremely unfavorable to the participants.
It is worth noting that many agreements are marked with "lawyers and police officers can be brought for inspection, notarization, and filing". According to lawyer Zhang Zhongkai's analysis, this is more of a publicity gimmick, after all, it is a profit-oriented business activity, and it is unrealistic to expect the merchant to perform the contract with sufficient integrity when the terms of the contract and the challenge rules are formulated by the merchant and the loopholes and traps have been preset.
Source: Little Red Book
Lawyer Zhang Zhongkai believes that if the merchant has fully informed the participants of the rules of the event, the participants are clearly aware of the difficulty of the challenge and are still willing to participate, and the merchant has not used any deceptive or unreasonable means to affect the outcome of the challenge during the event, it does not constitute fraud. However, if the merchant has designed unusually harsh rules from the beginning, such as violating the laws of physiological activities so that it is impossible to "clear customs", deliberately setting up obstacles or even traps to artificially reduce the possibility of customs clearance, or providing false information that seriously misleads participants during publicity, it may be determined as a fraud.
After the challenge is successful, will I be able to get the prize? Many netizens are skeptical about this. However, the above-mentioned company said that there is no need to worry about the bonus, because the insurance company will pay the challenger if the insurance is purchased. In this regard, lawyer Zhang Zhongkai said that if the merchant has insured the relevant business, it is a legal civil legal act, but if the merchant has not taken out the insurance and falsely claims that the insurance company can pay the compensation, it may be suspected of fraud, false publicity, or even fraud.
"Merchants should be responsible for the authenticity of the advertising content when promoting, and must not deceive or mislead consumers, and the rules formulated for the activities must not violate the laws of physiological activities and basic common sense, otherwise it will cause harm to the physical and mental health of the participants. Regulators should also strengthen industry supervision, and ensure rapid response and proper handling of reports and complaints once they are received, so as to maintain market order and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Lawyer Zhang Zhongkai said.
Lawyer Yao Zhidou suggests that consumers should fully understand the rules and regulations of the event before participating, especially the terms that lead to failure, to gauge whether they can comply with the regulations, and to keep relevant evidence and documents after participation, so that they can protect their rights and interests in the event of disputes.
The majority of respondents believe that "pie will not fall from the sky" and that it is most likely a scam; only a few respondents said that they can "gamble", but they cannot accept the high registration fee, and "will not blindly participate for the sake of bonuses".
For the "Self-Discipline Challenge"
What do you think?
Topic selection and planning|Legal Network Research Institute
Text: Li Sitong
Producer|Yu Yingbo
Editor|Fan Jie
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