“at the time of purchase, no charges were made for television support, but at the time of installation they were charged $900. If the installation is necessary, why not sell it directly with television or make it clear before the installation?” recently, mr. Kang of hebei baopin suffered from the installation of a television set。
It is understood that mr. Kang has placed an lcd television on-line at the official flag shop of an electrical brand, and the passenger service has informed him that it can be installed free of charge and that he has not been informed of the additional cost of accessories. As a result, the installation staff came to the door and said that, in order to hang the television on the wall, it would be necessary to install the original scalable television support for the plant, at an additional cost of $900. After the installation, mr. Kang discovered that the same television stand could be bought at $300 online。
In fact, not only is household electricity installed in a state of secrecy, but the maintenance of household electricity is also an area that is severely affected by indiscriminate charges. Installations are expensive to market unnecessary accessories; repairs are “slightly ill” and false maintenance; door-to-door fees, opening fees, testing fees, etc., are frequent, and many consumers suffer from a variety of fancy routines for repairing after the sale of household electricity: either by spending money or simply doing it themselves. As mentioned in the analysis of complaints received by the national council for the elimination of violence against women in 2022, published by ccp, fees for the installation and maintenance of household electrical products are confusing。
Why increase the money for free installation? Why is it more expensive to pay for maintenance than some electrical appliances? How can consumers avoid pits when the market for the repair and repair of household appliances continues to deteriorate? In response, the daily journalist of the rule of law opened an investigation。
Proclaim free installation before sale
It's a charge on the back floor
On the evening of 18 august, mr. Wen, in the western part of beijing city, purchased a chewwig smoker for $598 from a brand-named kitchen and electric utility shop on the electrician platform, and upon receipt of the goods he agreed to put it on the door。
After the installation survey, it became clear that mr. Wen's purchase of the oil smoker was different in size and could not be installed because he had previously advised the customer that it would be installed free of charge. Mr. Wen did not hesitate to say to the master that he would be prepared to wait for the change of the smoker to arrive and that he was reluctant to leave: “you have to pay me $40 for the flight.”
Mr. Wen is puzzled by this: “didn't you say that i was installed free of charge, i didn't do it, why would i charge for it?” the builder was impatient to say, "who told you to buy the wrong one, it's your responsibility, you have to pay me for the flight" and let mr. Wen contact his own customer service。
Mr. Wen then asked about the customer service, but the other side was not clear or even answerable; mr. Wen also looked online at the product page and did not show that if the installation was not successful, the buyer would have to pay for the flight. The details of the product clearly state that the first oil-smokeer is installed free of charge, such as when the buyer installs environmental problems causing it to go to the house twice, and the buyer bears the cost of the installation itself. As a result, mr. Wen refused to pay the “air running fee”, and the master eventually left in front of him to speak to his own leader, who said that he would ask the seller for money。
During the same night, a man who claimed to be the head of the flagship store for electrical appliances, a branded kitchen, made a call to mr. Wen, expressing his willingness to bear the costs of the flight and, at the same time, part of the cost of the couriers due to refunds. Following consultations, the official eventually indicated that he could pay $150 for the delivery fee, the excess being borne by the buyer. But when mr. Wen sent it back, the call was not answered. The online customer service indicated that the above-mentioned person had not been identified and that the cost of the courier was to be paid by the buyer。
A similar situation has been experienced by mr. Anhui yue。
“the washing machine that the family bought four years ago, when it was in use the previous day, suddenly jumped from the door and could not turn on. After the sale, the master came to the door and examined it, saying that the main board was burned and that it would cost $800 to change it.” mr. Yu said that, considering that the new washing machine had just been bought the previous two days, it was only used to wash dirty clothes and that maintenance costs were less expensive than they were to be eliminated, so he told the master that it would not be repaired. As a result, the master indicated that a fee of $50 would have to be paid and that if he did not want to take the washing machine to the door, he would have to pay for it。
“what is the logic of this? Then master called me and said he could give me $200. I didn't agree. Finally, 60 bucks on the internet to buy a main board and put it on itself so that it can be plugged into electricity, without any technical content, almost cost it。
In august this year, mr. Zhang, in the eastern district of the city of tianjin, purchased a special washing machine for infants and young children. During the consultation service, the other party indicated that it could be installed free of charge, but that some spare parts required a fee. "i looked at the price list, 99 for a tap and 50 for a two-metre pipe. On the internet, these two items combined cost only $50, so i bought them first.” mr. Chang said。
He was surprised, however, that when the master came to install, he told him that he would not pay for the installation free of charge if it was the material he had purchased. If they buy their materials, they are installed free of charge。
In the survey, journalists found that most of the household electricity needed to be installed in life was subject to “free installation” at a fee。
Ms. Wang, a resident of the eastern city of beijing, who had just completed the renovation in june, counted the amount spent on “free installation” of all kinds of household electricity: “electrified hangers, installed free of charge because they were installed on aluminium buttons, which cost $80; gas stoves and gas pumps, installed free of charge, gas pipes short, pipe short, 80 dollars for the aluminium buttons; water heaters installed, everything listened to, he said, first put the pipes away from the gas pipe, 420 dollars, and then recommence the pipe and pay 120 dollars for the second time. With the exception of refrigerators, there is almost no real free house electricity available. The point is that the customer's service is installed free of charge at the time of the purchase of the internet, but the installer comes to the scene and always finds your family's special circumstances and various places that are not free.”
Is it reasonable to claim free installation at all costs
According to a journalist, li jie, a lawyer from the sino-mu (aqingshima) law firm in beijing, under the civil code and the consumer rights protection act, consumers have the right to know the truth about the goods they have purchased, used or the services they have received, and the goods or services provided by the business should be priced. Therefore, in order to charge for other installation materials or other services in excess of the agreed cost, the services offered by the vendor at home should be given a clear indication to the consumer, either in the course of the sale or prior to the provision of the service, otherwise the consumer may refuse to accept the goods or services。
Professors at the school of economic law of the university of political science and law of china are of the opinion that if “air running fees” are notified in advance, consumer consent is a matter of mutual autonomy and the contract is valid at the legal level. The collection of door-to-door fees is a market-regulated price rather than a government intervention to direct pricing. Without prior notification of the flight fee, the consumer accepts and pays the fee, and the “air run fee” is also part of the parties' autonomy valid under the terms of the contract。
It's a stupid charge
It's more expensive than buying
At the end of july this year, mr. Wu, who is fatter in anhui, purchased an online air conditioner at a price of $2899, contacting the worker's master after installation to say that the installation would be free of charge and the cost of materials would be additional。
“the master did not say, nor did i ask, what it would cost to buy the air conditioner, and what it would cost, and what it would cost.” according to mr. Wu, the master received $120 for the hanger, $130 for the installation of air conditioners for the water pipeline, $120 for the installation of a break-out plug, $3 m for the addition of a copper pipe for air conditioners, $4 m for the extension of the drainage pipe and $100 for the cost of work at high altitude。
“everything is a necessity in the master's mouth, and i don't understand it, thinking of spending so much money on air conditioning, and finally not using it for a little renovation, and it costs a total of $810 to cover one third of the price.” mr. Wu said。
A survey of journalists found that a number of netizens on social platforms had indicated that the level of business of some of the teachers who installed the platform was uneven, even without relevant qualifications。
Mr. Li, the consumer in beijing, was in the process of renovating his home and had made several appointments to install a teacher at an installation service platform. On one occasion, an electrician had an appointment to install the plugs, but found that the other had no electric salary marks and that it would cost $30 for running. “if the master does not have the capacity to pay only for running, the consumer cannot evaluate the service; when the installation is completed, the masters will almost always ask for a favourable opinion in person, preventing the other person from knowing his home address, etc., and can only do so.” mr. Lee said。
It has been revealed by industry that there are uneven levels of platform maintenance staff, including part-time staff, who can benefit from the use of spare time indirect sheets, whether or not they are properly maintained。
Journalists also noted that, in the event of a dispute over installation and maintenance, the passenger service played a “silent” role in many instances, but only delayed and the problem remained unresolved。
As a rule, the passenger service is the employee of the repair company who is responsible for connecting the company to the consumer and has an obligation to resolve the dispute between the consumer and the installor and the repairer. Cases such as delays in the settlement of a client's service may result from the passive neglect of the client's staff, or from a lack of experience or capacity to resolve the matter, or from guidance provided by the client's services or maintenance companies. In the long run, maintenance companies that do not provide good services will eventually be out of competition in the market, so active accountability for the client service is not only responsible for their own work, but is also an important part of the company's long-term development。
Why is the electrical installation and maintenance of the house always a mess
According to chen weijiang, deputy secretary-general of the china society for the study of the protection of consumer interests and interests, firstly because of irregularities in industry management, uneven quality of personnel and lack of awareness of services; secondly, because the nature of the problem of house electricity maintenance is not well defined, it is difficult for ordinary consumers to determine whether the product is really problematic or whether the problem is serious, often by maintenance staff. In addition, the low amount involved in household electricity maintenance, the difficulty of proof of rights and the high cost of advocacy, which often led to problems for many consumers, thus condoning irregularities by some maintenance agencies and personnel。
This appears to be due to information barriers between consumers and maintenance workers. “consumers usually register and contact maintenance companies after calling for maintenance needs, and repair companies re-assign services, with consumers having a passive position of receiving information on most content throughout the process.”。
