Qianjiang Evening News
Recently, a video of parents defending their rights in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province circulated on the Internet.
In the video, dozens of parents came to the Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City Center Store to defend their rights, "Gymboree ran away and asked for a refund...... I hope that the relevant government departments will pay attention to it".
On April 17, the door of Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City Center Store was locked.
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, Zhuhai Gymboree's "thunder" began on April 9, after the property management of Zhuhai Impression City posted a "Warm Reminder" in front of the store that Gymboree was in arrears of rent, some parents revealed the news of the closure of the store in the group. The next day, the parents who went to class ate the "closed door", which further verified the news of the closure.
So far, all stores of Zhuhai Gymboree have been closed, involving hundreds of parents with millions of difficult refunds.
Complaints:
I spent more than 60,000 yuan to buy classes
If you don't pay for a class, you can't get it back
Recently, the parents of Gymboree Zhuhai store told reporters about the experience of encountering Gymboree running away.
In November 2021, Ms. Sun from Zhuhai successively purchased "Sigma", programming, aesthetics and other courses at Gymboree Zhuhai Mingtai City Plaza Center Store, with a total amount of 66,963 yuan.
Ms. Sun explained that the types of different classes at Gymboree are not universal, and the early education classes cannot take programming and other courses, and the old course bags have been used up, so they will buy the new programming courses that will be opened early next year under the promotion of sales.
But the subsequent development was unexpected by Ms. Sun. "Originally, it was said that the programming class would start in early 2022, but it didn't start until the beginning of 2023. Ms. Sun said that more than 60,000 courses were not attended, and later relocated and merged into the Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City Center store was also "real hammer", because the distance of the moving store was far away, it was inconvenient to attend classes, and was told that the two stores were the same financial system, and guaranteed a refund.
As a result, Ms. Sun signed a "Refund Form" with the training institution in February 2023, agreeing that the refund time was agreed to be completed within 180 working days, but the refund has not yet arrived.
On November 8, 2023, Gymboree Huafa Shangdu Center Store has ceased operation.
Demands:
Refunds, hopefully government departments
Set up a special investigation team
During the reporter's interview, a couple brought their children to the Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City store to inquire, saying that they couldn't make an appointment for the course recently, and they only learned that the store was closed after watching a short video, "We contacted the customer service, and the other party asked us to transfer classes."
The reporter used the parents' mobile phone numbers to log in to the transfer platform and saw that there were 30 training institutions on it, most of which were offline training institutions in Zhuhai, but there were also several online training institutions.
Regarding the transfer plan, the parents interviewed by the reporter all expressed their refusal and bluntly said that it was unreliable. A parent gave the reporter an example, a kindergarten's acceptance plan and its official account published the same fee standard, "I found it myself and it was the same price, what kind of transfer is this?"
In November 2023, Gymboree Huafa Century City Store will accept students from Shangdu Store.
At present, the parents of each store in Zhuhai Gymboree have set up a WeChat rights protection group to count the number of people and the amount of refunds, and some parents have jointly submitted a petition letter to the Letters and Visits Bureau of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai City. According to the statistics of the WeChat rights protection group of parents in Xiangzhou District, more than 490 parents are currently involved in the refund, with a refund amount of more than 5 million yuan, and hundreds of parents are also involved in Doumen District, with a refund amount of millions of yuan.
Parent representatives in Xiangzhou District told reporters that parents hope that the relevant government departments can set up a special investigation team for the Zhuhai Gymboree incident, clarify rights and responsibilities, investigate the business conditions of the cultivation institutions, and see if there is malicious behavior of running away with money, so as to give parents a clear statement. At the same time, parents do not agree with the current so-called "transfer plan", hoping to find out the relationship between Zhuhai Gymboree and Shanghai Gymboree headquarters, whether the headquarters in Zhuhai Gymboree holds shares, and whether they need to bear joint and several liability.
Survey:
Parents questioned the end of the "professional closed-shop".
133****5912 and 133****7082 are the phone numbers left for parents after the closure of Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City Center store.
A few days ago, the reporter called 133****5912. "We are responsible for answering the phone, and we can't handle the affairs of the Zhuhai campus. The staff responded, and told the reporter that the Zhuhai campus is responsible for the transfer of the teacher's phone number, let contact consultation (133****7082), but the reporter called the phone number many times and no one answered.
With such a hasty closure, parents questioned the existence of "professional closures".
The reporter collected public reports on the Internet, in addition to Zhuhai, on March 19, three stores in Gymboree Nanjing suddenly closed at the same time, in the "Letter to Parents", the explanation of the Gymboree operator is that the business is struggling, so the teaching is suspended.
Since last year, Gymboree stores in Shanghai and Shenzhen have been closed one after another, causing consumer complaints. In the store closure reports in other places, some consumers questioned that Gymboree was behind the closure of the store, which was operated by the "professional store closure", and summarized the routine of the "professional store closure": changing the legal representative, reducing the registered capital, engaging in activity promotion fees, and suddenly announcing the closure of the store. However, the report also mentioned that there is no evidence that the closure of Gymboree's stores in many places is operated by "professional store closures".
The reporter inquired about the change of legal representatives of 5 stores in Zhuhai in the national enterprise credit information publicity system.
The business entity of Gymboree Doumen Huafa Fengshang Center Store is Zhuhai Doumen Feishangfeng Information Consulting Co., Ltd., and the legal representative was changed from Chen Jianxuan to Li Jinhua on August 29, 2023, and no change of legal representative was found in other stores. In addition, Li Jinhua is also the legal representative of the business entity of Gymboree Huafa Century City Center Store, Chen Jianxuan is the legal person of Gymboree Huafa Shangdu Center Store and Gymboree Zhuhai Mingtai City Plaza Center Store, and Zhu Ruochan is the legal representative of Gymboree Zhuhai Impression City Center Store.
News+
Another Gymboree in Hangzhou was shut down
The $1.5 million class has not yet been taken
Following the closure of Gymboree in Hangzhou Fushi Center, on April 23, some parents reported to the "Reporter Gang" of Chao News and Qianjiang Evening News that the door of the Gymboree store on the 3rd floor of Joy City, Gongshu District, was locked, and the "Letter to Customers" posted on the glass door said that consumers need to contact the person in charge of the store to negotiate the course treatment.
At present, parents who have defended their rights due to the closure of the store have set up a group, in which there are nearly 200 parents who defend their rights, and more than 8,800 classes are counted, with a total value of more than 1.5 million yuan.
So, what is the current situation of the Gymboree stores that have not yet closed? Will they take over the transfer students of the closed stores? On April 25, the reporter further investigated with questions.
Reporter detective video shooting, editing: reporter Du Xuemei
The remaining six Gymboree in Hangzhou are still operating, saying that they will wait for the notice if they can transfer classes
According to a review APP, there are now 7 Gymboree stores in Hangzhou. In addition to the Joy City store, the remaining 6 are located in Gongshu District, Qiantang District, Yuhang District, Xiaoshan District, and Linping District.
Xintiandi Shopping Center is the closest store to Joy City, 7.8 km away. The reporter came to Gymboree on the 3rd floor of Xintiandi Shopping Center and saw that the store was in normal business. On the cartoon KT board with the image of Gymboree, there is still a notice of recruiting course consultants.
There are not many children attending classes at this store, and more than a dozen trolleys for young children are parked on both sides of the door, and several children are playing in the rest area of the store.
Gymboree Early Education Xintiandi Shopping Center Store Photo by Yu Qianwei
"In the morning, many parents called, but we couldn't handle it, and we needed to contact the person in charge of the Joy City store. The front desk staff told a parent who came to the door.
The staff member mentioned that each store of Gymboree is financially independent and operates independently, and even the class scheduling system uses its own independent account. At present, they have not been able to know the schedule of the Joy City store, and they have not received any information about the transfer of classes. "We contacted the teacher of the Joy City store on WeChat, but there was no reply. ”
"The students over there are coming to us now, and they can't attend classes, and they can't schedule classes on the system. Said the staff.
Gymboree Early Education Xintiandi Shopping Center Store Photo by Yu Qianwei
Subsequently, the reporter called several other Gymboree stores in business. Among them, the clerk of the Linping Intime City Center store told reporters, "At present, we have received a notice that we will move in June, and where to move has not yet been determined." ”
The operators of several stores said that they had not received the transfer information of the Joy City store and could not accept students.
"If there is any news in the future, we have to wait for the notification from the headquarters. The staff of Xixi Impression City Center Store emphasized.
The aftermath said that the legal representative of the company behind the treatment plan will be provided has been restricted from high consumption
Some parents noticed that the mobile phone number of the aftercare contact "Mr. An" mentioned in the "Letter to Customers" was the same as that of the person who handled the closure of the store at Raffles. After the reporter called the number several times, it was finally reached on the afternoon of April 25.
The Joy City store has been closed Photo by Du Xuemei
"Teacher An" claimed to be a member of the operation department of the Gymboree Joy City store.
She said that parents can be arranged to transfer to surrounding institutions. "We are counting everyone's remaining class time, and we will provide parents with a plan to transfer to a nearby institution by April 26 at the latest. ”
As for whether the fee can be refunded, Mr. An said that it needs to be written in the training contract, and if the conditions are met, it can be refunded.
The reporter inquired and learned that the main business entity of the Gymboree Joy City store is Hangzhou Baoyue Culture and Art Co., Ltd.
Source: A query software
According to a query APP, Hangzhou Baoyue Culture and Art Co., Ltd. was established in July 2018 and is currently in existence. On August 12, 2022, the legal representative was changed from Liu to Wang.
On the afternoon of the 25th, the reporter dialed the company's registration number. The person who answered the phone said: "It's a mistake, I don't know him (Wang), and it has nothing to do with the company." ”
The reporter noticed that there were 12 affiliated companies with Wang, all of which were served by him as the company's legal representative. In January 2024, he was executed by the court to restrict high consumption due to a dispute over a medical service contract involving his company.
The "Journalists' Gang" will continue to monitor the progress of this matter.
Chao News Qianjiang Evening News Comprehensive Zichao News Reporter Yu Qianwei Du Xuemei Ye Haihan Li Xiang Intern Sun Maoyu, Southern Metropolis Daily
Editor in charge: Yuan Ying
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