Have you ever encountered free photo editing with paid export, or low-cost flight booking projects?

Translated from: The Worker’s Daily

“I just want to edit a single image, but the platform requires me to spend at least 28 yuan to buy a one-week membership.” On April 3, Xiao Zhou from Beijing told reporters that she is currently job hunting. In a recruitment posted by a state-owned enterprise, she needs to upload a white-background passport-style photo. Since she only has a blue-background passport-style photo, Xiao Zhou planned to process it using a photo-editing app, but she ended up falling into a “free photo editing” trap. Following an advertisement for “online free photo editing,” Xiao Zhou opened a webpage. However, after she uploaded the image and converted the background color, the generated passport-style photo was extremely blurry and also had a watermark from the website, so it could not meet the application requirements. Xiao Zhou tried to click “HD quality,” but the page immediately popped up a payment option. “It turns out the ‘free’ is just a front; to get a clear picture, you have to buy a membership.” she said helplessly.

The reporter’s investigation found that digital services marketed with “free” or “low prices,” but which actually require payment and additional charges, are not uncommon—from online shopping to watching movies, from travel to office work. Wang from Dalian, Liaoning, told reporters that in early April she wanted to travel to Guilin, Guangxi, but when she purchased airline tickets on an online platform, she ran into trap after trap. She said that on the quotation page, the platform pinned two recommended options at the lowest prices, both at 1060 yuan. But when she filled in her information and entered the payment page, one of the options priced at 1060 yuan turned into 1178 yuan. After carefully checking, Wang found that in addition to airport construction fees and fuel surcharges, the ticket price also included an additional 48 yuan “All-around Protection,” covering benefits such as delay compensation, airport pickup vouchers, and media/entertainment membership perks, and it could not be canceled. Wang then clicked another ticket-purchasing option. Because it bundled an additional 40 yuan for flight delay insurance and accident insurance, the airfare became 1170 yuan. After comparing for a while, Wang ultimately found that the platform’s truly 1060 yuan low-price airfare was hidden in a drop-down menu under “Other prices” on the page, making it extremely hard to notice.

On the platform of Black Cat Complaints 【Download the Black Cat Complaints app】, many consumers have lodged complaints about similar upselling practices. One consumer bought a phone in installments; when it came time to repay, the amount was incorrect. After a close check, the consumer discovered that at the same time they bought the phone, they had also “bought” a supermarket gift card. Another consumer subscribed to a “Kids’ Video Monthly Bundle” service on TV; only after paying did they realize they had also been charged for an “eSports acceleration” service… “This kind of ‘forced bundling’ disrupts market order and erodes trust in transactions.” Zhang Qingxin, a lawyer at the Beijing YingShan Law Firm, said that according to the E-commerce Law, when e-commerce operators bundle goods or services, they shall bring them to the consumer’s attention in a conspicuous manner. According to the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, operators may not force consumers—or disguise force—to purchase goods or accept services. Setting the bundling as a default option, or hiding it at the end of the process and displaying it in small text, already violates the relevant provisions and infringes upon consumers’ right to be informed, right to independent choice, and right to fair transactions. Zhang Qingxin suggested that regulators further refine the recognition standards in relevant regulations for “conspicuous notices” and “disguised coercion,” while also keeping complaint and reporting channels open and cracking down hard on business practices such as hidden fees and bundled sales, to guide the industry toward fair competition and healthy development.

Source: The Worker’s Daily

Editor: Liao Xuan yi