There are many companies near Beijing Guomao, the passenger flow is huge, and there are many medium-to-high-end Western restaurants around. Recently, a media reporter investigated and found that for consumers to bring their own wine, many stores in the name of wine service fees, wine utensils use fees, cup rental cleaning fees, etc., each bottle charges as little as 100 yuan, as much as 300 or 400 yuan "bottle opening fee". The reporter has reflected the relevant situation learned in the interview to the Chaoyang District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau.
Regarding the dispute over the "corkage fee", a lawyer said that the "prohibition of bringing own alcohol" and "collecting the corkage fee" in the catering industry are overlord clauses in the service contract. In fact, for the "flower name" of such overlord clauses in some hotels, everyone knows it. Whether it is called "corkage fee", or "service fee", "cleaning fee" and "utensil fee", it is not a change of soup. However, in the face of the dominant position of the catering service industry, even if consumers know that these are overlord clauses, it seems that they can only eat the "dumb loss".
Of course, some people will say that there are so many restaurants, consumers have full choice, you can go or not. For hotels with overlord clauses, don't you want to go? At first glance, it seems to make sense, but when you think about it carefully, it is a sophistry that avoids the important and the light, and does not distinguish between right and wrong.
Even if consumers can choose to "go" or "not go" to hotels with overlord clauses, shouldn't such a phenomenon as "corkage fee" exist? Is this in line with the laws of the market? Is this in line with the market order? Is this in accordance with the law? The "corkage fee" is as high as hundreds of yuan, is this in line with the basic labor value? Why is it so simple to open a wine bottle, so "high"? Is it because the restaurant is "tall", and even the bottle opener is "chicken dog ascension to heaven" and suddenly appreciates?
Consumers and merchants have been sued for "corkage fees", and there have been cases of this 20 years ago. The first domestic case of corkage fees between consumers and merchants occurred in Guangzhou. On the evening of July 15, 2001, Mr. Qu, a citizen of Guangzhou, went to a restaurant for dinner and was charged a "corkage fee" of 20 yuan. As for whether to charge or not, consumers and merchants have started a lawsuit. After trial, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court held that the "corkage fee" charged by the restaurant was actually a service fee, which violated the basic principles of fairness, voluntariness, and equal remuneration in the General Principles of Civil Law. The Haidian court has heard the first case in Beijing when customers bring their own liquor when they go to the store to consume, and the restaurant charges a "corkage fee". The plaintiff, Wang Ziying, was charged a "corkage opening service fee" of 100 yuan when the customer brought a bottle of liquor to a restaurant. After trial, the court held that the restaurant's practice infringed on the consumer's right to fair trade and was unjust enrichment, and ruled that the consumer should be refunded the "corkage fee" in full.
It can be seen that charges such as "corkage fees" are illegal acts, as early as 20 years ago, it was "a hammer and a hammer", why has it not converged to this day, and is still popular? Moreover, the supervision of "corkage fee" is not a novelty, but why is the "corkage fee" still high? If you want to tighten the "bottle cap" of such problems, you need to further improve the relevant regulations and do not give the relevant merchants the opportunity to exploit loopholes. At the same time, supervision must not be relaxed, for businesses with relevant problems, we must punish them in accordance with laws and regulations, so that consumers feel truly fair and reasonable. (Hao Dongmei)
Source: China Youth Network