New law to place limit on prepaid cards
Print Edition
PREPAID cards issued by local companies must have a limit of 5,000 yuan (US$800) under a draft of the city’s amendment to its consumer rights protection law.
Companies must also publicize on a regular basis the total value of cards they have issued, according to the amendment.
This follows complaints that some companies — usually beauty and hair salons and fitness clubs — encourage customers to buy prepaid cards for future use but then suddenly close, leaving clients out of pocket.
Others complaints include that when companies are sold, the new owners refuse to recognize existing prepaid cards.
The draft law states that a single prepaid card with the owner’s name must be limited to a value of 5,000 yuan. And the value of cards that can be used by any holder must be limited to within 1,000 yuan.
Companies will also be obliged to sign contracts with consumers if they charge them more than 1,000 yuan for any future services. The contract must include the company’s address, contacts, prices, card expiry date and all other details of services and products.
Business must also publicize the total value of all prepaid cards issued, the draft says.
The Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission said it received 2,803 complaints regarding prepaid cards in the first half of this year, about the same compared with the same period last year.
Refusals to refund cash on cards, a limit over the expiry date and sudden closures leaving consumers in a lurch were some of the major problems reported by consumers, according to the commission.
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