"Can I change my ID number?" "No!" "Can I refund the ticket?" "No!" "Then can I get on the bus?" "No!" "Then can I get on the bus?" "No!" "Then will I give this more than 2,000 yuan to you for free?" "Uh... OK!"
Recently, crosstalk actor Dabing posted a video on the Internet, revealing the "ticket bullying" behavior of a third-party online ticket booking platform: Ms. Huang bought a high-speed rail ticket worth more than 2,000 yuan on an online travel platform. Because she hurriedly wrote the two ID numbers, she encountered the "three-fold strike" of "the number could not be changed", "the car could not be put back", and "the money could not be refunded".
Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters investigated and found that Ms. Huang’s experience was not an isolated case. When the reporter bought tickets on multiple platforms, he was also in the dilemma of “two-tickets left”. Under the real name system of
, why can you still buy a ticket if you fill in the wrong ID number? The Spring Festival travel rush has arrived. What are the "pits" left by third-party ticket purchasing platforms? How can consumers break out of the vicious circle of "spend more money" and "not worry-free"? The reporter launched an investigation on this.
Identity card is wrong, and I have to get "waste"
Ms. Huang told reporters that this is the first time she has operated and purchased tickets by herself in recent years. "In order to save trouble, I want to buy it directly on WeChat." Ms. Huang said that the page automatically jumped to the "Tongcheng Travel" mini program. When placing an order, the system reminded her to pay 15 yuan to use the "verification-free channel".
Out of the mentality of "wanting to save trouble" and "spend a little more money to enjoy better service", Ms. Huang spent a total of 2,065 yuan and purchased a business high-speed rail ticket from Changsha South Station to Beijing West Station through the "free verification channel". The platform then showed that "ticket issuance was successful", and the seat number was also displayed in the order details.
But when Ms. Huang went to the high-speed rail station to collect tickets, she learned that there was no relevant ticket purchase information in her name. Only then did she realize that she entered her ID number wrong when purchasing the ticket. "I asked the customer service of the ticket purchase platform and he asked me to go to the ticket sales window of the station to apply for a refund, but the window said that the ticket could not be found and I needed to contact a third-party ticket purchase platform." Ms. Huang contacted "Tongcheng Travel" again and asked for a refund or modifying her ID number, but was rejected by the customer service.
Under Ms. Huang's argument, the platform provided a solution to refund Ms. Huang's "free verification" service fee and give away 2 50 yuan train ticket coupons. Ms. Huang said she could not accept it and raised several questions: How did the platform complete the issuance of the ticket when the identity information was incorrect? Whose votes were issued? Since the ticket is not refundable, where did the ticket purchase fee of more than 2,000 yuan go?
Zhong Wenke, a lawyer at Hunan Furong Law Firm, believes that although the platform mentioned in the disclaimer that "the ticket buyer should bear the losses caused by errors in information provision", this format clause significantly reduces the merchant's own obligations, and the merchant has not taken reasonable measures to remind consumers to pay attention to this clause, so the merchant has the obligation to help consumers with subsequent processing such as refunds and changes. Why can I still buy tickets if I fill in the wrong ID number under the real name system?
China Railway's official ticket sales platform "12306" shows that "according to the relevant regulations on real-name ticket purchase of railways, tickets, certificates and people can only purchase tickets and ride the bus. At the same time, in order to effectively crack down on illegal acts of hoarding tickets and minting tickets, the railway department has verified the identity information of registered users and passengers through the authoritative department of national identity authentication." Users must pass the identity verification and mobile phone number verification before they can purchase tickets normally.
reporter found during the investigation that platforms such as "Qunar Travel" and "Tongcheng Travel" provide "free verification channels". Not only are they charged extra fees, but they also have "magical operations" - they can successfully purchase tickets without identity verification. Some platforms even induce consumers to purchase the service.
When the reporter used the "verification-free channel" of an online travel platform, he was told that "the passenger did not pass the identity verification." The transaction should have been terminated, but an "verification-free" order automatically appeared on the page. The platform increased the service fee and guided the reporter to continue to pay. In the end, the reporter successfully used his virtual identity and spent 11 yuan to buy a train ticket with an original price of 2 yuan. When clicking on "Refund", it is prompted that "the ticket is issued by manual channels and online refunds are not supported. Passengers can go to the railway station window with valid documents."
In order to verify the relevant situation, the reporter called China Railway 12306 customer service and learned that if personal information such as name and ID number are incorrect, the station will not issue tickets, and the ticket buyer needs to contact the third-party platform to resolve the issue. 12306 is not responsible for accepting disputes caused by exchanges on the third-party platform. However, when the reporter contacted the third-party platform, its customer service suggested that the reporter handle the follow-up processing through 12306. At this point, the reporter also completely entered. The "vicious circle" that Ms. Huang fell into.
Zhong Wenke and other legal professionals said that third-party ticket purchase platforms provide "free verification channels" and even use incorrect identity information to complete "ticket issuance", which obviously violates the provisions of "track real-name management Measures for the Real-Name System of Railway Passenger Tickets" that "ticket buyers should provide real and accurate information on valid ID documents for passengers".
third-party ticket purchase platforms have many "pits"
"train' The train tickets were suspended for some reason, but the acceleration package of dozens of yuan was refunded for no refund." "The platform does not allow online refunds, but provides errand refund services of 15 yuan per ticket." "I spent money to buy a membership, but found that none of the privileges could be used." "The refund was almost 20 days and it was less than the account, and hundreds of people lined up online"...
The reason why consumers are willing to buy tickets at a high price is more because they are willing to pay for the "success rate of ticket purchase" or "convenience of ticket purchase". However, During the investigation, the person found that complaints against third-party ticket purchase platforms are emerging one after another, and consumers often "spend more money" and "not worry-free": by default, they bundled value-added services; difficulty in refunding tickets, slow refunds, false publicity and sales of members; when consumers enjoy the convenient ticket purchase services of third-party platforms on the surface, they also face the risks and traps of information leakage and additional charges...
"After purchasing tickets on third-party platforms, they encountered after-sales problems, the most common solution given by customer service is to let me log in to 12306 to operate. Since it needs to be handled through the official platform, why not choose the official website when purchasing tickets at the beginning? "Netizen Xiao Li said.
. Shu Anqi, a lawyer at Hunan Xiangda Law Firm, said that the essence of the third-party ticket purchase platform is actually a "purchase agent", that is, the user entrusts the platform to purchase train tickets with specific identity information. However, due to the hidden "tricks", she suggested that consumers choose safer official channels. At the same time, the market supervision department should strengthen supervision of third-party online ticket booking platforms in accordance with the law to safeguard and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
reporter learned that after the relevant rights protection videos and articles were published online, "Tongcheng Travel" has apologized and refunded to Ms. Huang. Relevant legal experts said that the "ticket sales loophole" cannot stop at apologizing, and all third-party ticketing platforms should check it as soon as possible and actively repair and improve the "system problems" that are unfavorable to consumers. (Reporters Zhang Ge, Shi Weiyan)
Author: Zhang Ge Shi Weiyan
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph
