On January 28, a blogger posted a video saying that he encountered a gold "ghost scale" in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
The video shows that the blogger was about to sell the gold necklace to a merchant who recycled gold, and the other party weighed 62 grams, and then he took out his own electronic scale on the spot and weighed it, and the result showed 77 grams, a difference of 15 grams.
The shopkeeper then threw his gold and scales on the ground and hurled insults at the blogger. The blogger chose to call the police, and after the police arrived, they coordinated the staff of the Municipal Supervision Bureau to deal with it, and finally, the identification results showed that the electronic balance had been modified and a remote control decoding circuit board was installed.
Loading...
Gold "ghost scales" are still relatively rare, and for a long time, the phenomenon of "missing catties and short two" in the farmers' market has been deeply criticized.
On January 20, the Market Supervision Bureau of Sanya City, Hainan Province issued an investigation report saying that in response to the problem of netizens reporting that "buying fruit in Sanya becomes two catties of three catties", the Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau has found the mobile vendor.
Since November last year, the Market Supervision Bureau of Fengxian District, Shanghai has carried out a special rectification action on electronic pricing scales in farmers' markets throughout the district, confiscating a total of 11 unqualified electronic pricing scales and filing 12 cases.
On November 9 last year, the market supervision department of Dalian City, Liaoning Province carried out a special action to comprehensively rectify the order of the electronic scale market in the city, and investigated and dealt with 4 cases of illegal modification and sales of measuring instruments.
What exactly is a "ghost scale"? What are the common cheating methods of electronic scales? How do consumers identify "ghost scales"? How to protect their rights when they encounter "ghost scales"?
What is a "ghost scale"?
Electronic scales belong to the national key management of measuring instruments. In accordance with the provisions of the Metrology Law, electronic scales used for trade settlement shall be subject to mandatory verification.
The so-called "ghost scales" are those electronic scales that have been manipulated and have some deviations between the weighing display and the actual weight.
What are the common cheating methods of electronic scales?
"Ghost scales" are hidden in the market, it is difficult to detect, some netizens lamented that "'ghost scales' are complicated, and there are many tricks for stealing customers", if you want to protect your legitimate rights and interests and not step into the trap of traders, you must understand the common routines of "ghost scales".
1. Weighing underneath the bedding method
Some unscrupulous traders use coins, cardboard, and foam to raise the corner of the scale, so that the electronic scale is unevenly placed, resulting in a shortage of two catties.
2. Rounding
Using the electronic scale can only display the setting of two decimal places, the unit price is deliberately reduced by 100 times, such as 1.25 kg of goods, the unit price is 10 yuan a kilogram, and it should be charged 12.5 yuan normally, but he deliberately beats the price to 0.1 yuan a kilogram on the electronic scale, so that the electronic scale will automatically round 0.125 to 0.13, and you can charge 13 yuan to the customer.
3. Impact force method
Through the impact of the force, that is, the goods are thrown heavily on the scale, and the weighing pan is still shaking when the weight is weighed and the price is quoted, and usually the weight of the goods displayed at this time is heavier than the actual weight. Tests have shown that if the actual weight of a piece of meat is 0.155 kilograms, when thrown on the scale, it can reach 0.198 kilograms, which is 43 grams heavier than the actual weight.
4. Pallet sale method
That is, when the electronic scale is empty, it shows zero, but when weighing, the pallet is placed on the scale together with the commodity, and the weight of the pallet becomes part of the weight of the commodity.
5. Use magnets for weighting
If the weighing pan of the electronic scale is made of iron, it can be weighted with a magnet, and when weighing, use a small magnet to gently pass it at the bottom of the scale, and the weighing will be inflated.
6. Remote control cheating
Install a remote control receiver or a switch in the electronic scale, set the remote control switch to A/B/C three gears, and the weighing will be inflated by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively.
7. Cover display method
There are three items on the electronic scale: weight, unit price, and price, and some vendors will deliberately block one of them, some directly block it with paper strips or adhesive tape, and some use the messy goods stacked on the stall to deceive consumers by falsely reporting the price or weight.
8. Chip cheating
Criminals use technical means to change the electronic chip of the scale, so that the weight is heavier than the actual weight, such as modifying the electronic chip, through the preset button or change the password, the state of the electronic scale can be adjusted at any time, the same is 500 grams of things, press different "keys", the display weight can be changed to 550 grams, 600 grams.
How do consumers identify "ghost scales" in their daily lives?
The phenomenon of "ghost scales" is common in various commodity stalls with high unit prices, such as durian, cherries, seafood, etc., and there are usually three ways to identify "ghost scales".
Take a look: see if the electronic scale has a CPA logo, see if the green "strong inspection" label within the validity period is posted, and see whether the unit price entered by the merchant is correct, so as to prevent the merchant from cheating when the consumer can't see clearly.
Second listening: pay attention to whether the electronic scale has a "tick" button sound before weighing, if there is, it is likely that the merchant is cheating by some means, at this time you can ask the merchant to reset and re-weigh after the power is off.
Three-core: For most bazaars and supermarkets, they are equipped with fair scales, and they can use fair scales for weight review.
How should consumers protect their rights when they encounter "ghost scales"?
In the process of consumption, pay attention to keep relevant evidence such as shopping vouchers, transaction records, certification photos or chat records.
When consumer rights and interests are infringed, consumers may first choose to negotiate with the operator, and if the negotiation fails, they may file complaints, reports, or lawsuits with the relevant departments.
What laws and regulations are violated by using and selling "ghost scales"?
The reduction of "ghost scales" also requires the joint supervision of consumers, and the use and sale of "ghost scales" are illegal.
Liu Junli, a senior partner and lawyer at DHH Law Firm, introduced that the use of "ghost scales" by merchants mainly violates the relevant provisions of the "Metrology Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", and will bear administrative penalties and civil liability.
For businesses that use "ghost scales", according to Article 27 of the Measurement Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 48 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Measurement Law of the People's Republic of China, they will generally be sentenced to confiscation of their measuring instruments and all illegal gains, and may be fined less than 2,000 yuan, and criminal responsibility can be investigated if the circumstances are serious.
At the same time, according to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (2013 Amendment), the merchant shall also bear civil liability, that is, compensation for losses, and shall increase the compensation for the losses suffered by the consumer according to the consumer's requirements, and the amount of the increased compensation shall be three times the price of the goods purchased by the consumer or the cost of receiving the service, and if the amount of the increased compensation is less than 500 yuan, it shall be 500 yuan.
Merchants who sell "ghost scales" may also bear criminal liability. Quan Kaiming, a partner and lawyer at AllBright Law Offices, said that the online sale of electronic scales is illegal, and if the circumstances are serious, there is even criminal liability.
According to Article 27 of the Metrology Law of the People's Republic of China (2018 Amendment), anyone who manufactures, sells or uses measuring instruments for the purpose of deceiving consumers shall have the measuring instruments and illegal gains confiscated and shall be fined;
Some netizens believe that the repeated prohibition of "ghost scales" is also due to the fact that the punishment is too small.
In this regard, Liu Junli said that the punishment is not small in terms of one order, and now the relevant departments will generally deal with consumer complaints according to the maximum limit.
(References: @星视频, CCTV News Client, Guoshi Through Express, China Consumer Daily, China Quality News Network, Hebei Market Supervision, Jiujiang Market Supervision Release, Hohhot Market Supervision Administration, Dalian Market Supervision Administration, Sanya Market Supervision Administration, @海勃湾人民检察等)
Reporter Zheng Zongmin
Editor: Wu Fang
Source: Yangcheng Evening News • Yangcheng faction