However, many students told the interface news that they were misled by sales or even defrauded of personal information and took out installment loans without knowing it. Although the refund can be made according to the contract, many companies deliberately delay the processing, which makes it impossible for students to refund.
The installment loan, which was originally used to alleviate the financial pressure, has become a perfect routine tool for many education and training companies to "set up a bureau". Faced with a legally binding contract that affects the repayment of personal credit information, many people can't find a solution, and finally have to bear the loan and repay it on time.
Recently, learning English has become a major event in Liu Enhui's mind. After seeing the publicity of Suntech (NYSE: STG) in the WeChat circle of friends, she went in without hesitation. On the evening of September 23, a Suntech salesperson contacted her. In less than half an hour, Liu Enhui bought the course "English major AI but no refund course" and completed the installment loan recommended by sales.
20 17 When Deng Duo was looking for a job after graduation, Dana Branch of Qingdao, Shandong Province called Deng Duo for an interview. According to Deng Duo's memory, a woman who claimed to be the person in charge of personnel told her that Dana was a listed company with good welfare and high salary, but Deng Duo had no internet work experience and needed preliminary training.
"I'm a little stupid, and I feel that I can't do it well without experience. She told me that after three months of training, I would work in Dana with a salary of at least five or six thousand yuan. The training fee is not much, so it can be deducted from my salary. Dana gave it to me. I think it is a big company, you can try it. " Deng Duo said that the person in charge told her that Dana was afraid that the "Lao Lai" who left after the training needed to sign the contract online through a third party, so that everyone would be guaranteed. Deng Duo's interface news stressed that no one mentioned the loan in the whole process, and asked Deng Duo for Baidu account number and password, personal information, ID card, address and so on. Then use this information to complete the contract yourself.
"I always thought it was training before I went to work in Dana, and I didn't ask for a contract." Deng said more. It was not until one day that she received a debit notice from the bank card, which mentioned that "Baidu has money to spend" that she felt that something was wrong. Deng downloaded Baidu Qianhua App and found a loan with a total amount of 233 12 yuan, divided into 20 installments. The name of the merchant shows "Dane Qingdao Shandong Daoshe". Deng suddenly realized that the so-called "agreement" that this person originally filled out was actually to Apply for a loan in Baidu with a spending app. "I thought the loan would be complicated, but I didn't expect it." She said.
According to the agreement, Baidu Huayou App can log in with Baidu account, without opening permissions and registering an account separately. Articles 1, 3 and 4 of Part V of the Agreement also stipulate that Baidu does not need to verify its identity in person to provide services, and the applicant's use of relevant passwords is regarded as a legally binding signature, which constitutes an electronic signature, and the applicant shall not deny or refuse it for any reason.
After handling the loan 1 hour, Liu Enhui regretted it. It turned out that the sales staff of Suntech told her that she could learn English on a zero basis, guarantee to learn it well, and get the Zhejiang Normal University diploma and teacher qualification training class. However, when she finished the loan and downloaded Suntech App, what she saw was the page of "Perfecting the Agreement and Insuring", and there was no promise of sales.
If Liu En drops out of school, he will ask for a refund immediately. But sales are constantly shirking.
"They said that it has been arranged and the refund will be in 65438+February." Liu Enhui said that under her repeated requests, the salesperson gave the solution time of 10+00, and asked "to talk about it after the 11 th holiday".
Helpless Liu En thought of Baidu's rich App, hoping to cancel the loan. However, the seventh part of the Loan Agreement of Baidu Spending Money on Education by Stages shows that the refund needs to be agreed by both educational institutions and users. Baidu's criterion for judging whether it is rich is "S"
Although Suntech and Baidu both have clauses on spending money in their respective agreements, they all say that loans and training are two contracts, and they do not bear any responsibility for each other. However, this refund confirmation standard actually links the two contracts. According to this regulation, the initiative of refund is entirely in the hands of education and training institutions, and only when the education and training institutions take the initiative can the loan agreement be terminated.
Education installment loan has become a service provided by many education and training companies. Some companies describe installment loans as "grants" and other services that are beneficial to users. For education and training companies, installment loans have greatly lowered the tuition threshold, and the promotion effect is very obvious.
In the actual course sales, some salespeople will deliberately confuse the difference between installment payment and loan, and some students don't even know that they are lending before signing up for payment.
As a senior student, Zhang Xiangjun's monthly living expenses are 1.200 yuan, and EF English needs to repay this training loan of 4 1.2. 45 yuan every month, which is more than one third of the living expenses. Zhang Xiangjun thinks she has bought too many classes. When she asked Grace, the sales manager of EF English, for a refund, the other party replied that "most students can't finish their classes." And urged Zhang Xiangjun to attend as many classes as possible.
Knowing that he can't finish the course, the salesman still recommends his family to buy a high package. Zhang Xiangjun felt cheated.
Using installment loans for education, educational institutions have gained a larger potential customer base, and microfinance companies that provide loans are another beneficiary. According to the article "Education Staging: Two Leading Players Killing, Small Players Dangering the Whole Army" pushed by the new media "CBN", more than 30 loan companies aimed at the education staging market in 20 16. Zhao Xinye, a former employee of Baidu Finance, also revealed in this article that the education staging department of Baidu Finance was awarded a company-level award at the annual meeting at the end of 20 16 because of its outstanding performance.
Baidu Qianhua App used by Liu Enhui, Deng Duo and Zhang Xiangjun is a financial product of Du Xiaoman Finance (formerly Baidu Financial Services Group). Baidu established a financial service business group in February 20 15, and installment loans for education and training have always been the key market of the financial business group.
The Consumer Protection Committee found that nearly 80% of loan consumers use mobile phones to download software, and the loan process only takes a few minutes. Some training institutions package loans as "interest-free" and "installment payment" through guidance and recommendation, resulting in some consumers being "loaned".
In addition, the Consumer Protection Committee believes that some education and training institutions are joint.
The lack of fair refund rules and the failure to write verbal promises and benefits into contracts all bring hidden dangers to consumers' rights protection afterwards. In the event of a dispute, it is easy for consumers to fall into a passive situation and it is difficult to ask for a refund.
Yu Chao said that similar to the problems faced by victims of "routine loans", students' complaints about education installment loans are difficult to prove. Even if a civil lawsuit is filed, training institutions and microfinance companies have mastered a complete chain of evidence and can hardly find any problems. Therefore, college students and newcomers in the workplace must be vigilant and read the terms of the contract and agreement clearly before signing any contract.
Faced with the trap rules deliberately set by some education and training institutions, many students and young people lack contract and legal awareness, which has also become the reason for stepping into the predicament of installment loans.
Zhang Xiangjun and Liu Enhui didn't tell their parents that they had taken out a loan. Liu En will regret the interface news: "I dare not. I dare not tell anyone. How could I be so stupid and cheated?"
(At the request of the interviewee, Deng Duo and Currie are pseudonyms)
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