IC Picture
Ms. Chen (pseudonym) from Guangzhou participated in the "marriage insurance service" of Century Jiayuan , and spent 68,800 yuan. Later, under the introduction of the matchmaker of Jiayuan, Ms. Chen met 13 men in succession, but none of them followed up. Soon, Century Jiayuan ended her contract service and she no longer introduced her blind date to Ms. Chen.
The chat history provided by Ms. Chen shows that in the early communication with Ms. Chen, the staff of Century Jiayuan once said, "If you can't get married, you can't pass the interview. We require 100% of your marriage to get married." On October 30, 2022, Ms. Chen told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that in the early stage, the staff of Century Jiayuan promised to "find it" and concealed that "if you don't get married, you can't get a refund", which she believed was a fraud. After
was rejected for a refund, Ms. Chen sued the Guangzhou branch of Beijing Huaqianshu Information Technology Co., Ltd., that is, the company of Century Jiayuan in Guangzhou. She requested the court to cancel the contract involved in the case and file a claim for triple service fee.
The Paper noticed that in the first instance, Century Jiayuan said that what his staff member Zhang Moumou said, "If you can't get married, you can't pass the interview. We require 100% to get married." It just said that they are all for the purpose of getting married and they must have the sincerity of getting married; Zhang Moumou said that "it will definitely be found", which is not a fraud, and at most there is exaggerated publicity.
Guangzhou Tianhe District Court held that, based on Ms. Chen's evidence and recording, there was a certain inducing language in the consultation process with Ms. Chen before signing the contract. However, as a person with full civil capacity for , Ms. Chen should have a rational understanding and judgment of the required matchmaking services and it should be clear that it is not necessary to achieve the result of marriage through services. In late October 2022, the Guangzhou Tianhe District Court made a first-instance judgment on the case: Century Jiayuan returned Ms. Chen 10,000 yuan and rejected Ms. Chen's other lawsuits. Ms. Chen said that she was dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and had decided to appeal.
Spend 68,800 yuan to participate in the "marriage insurance service"
Ms. Chen is a post-80s generation with a decent job. She said that as she grew older, she had some "marriage anxiety." In 2015, she registered a membership on Century Jiayuan.com. In September 2019, Century Jiayuan’s matchmaker took the initiative to call her and added her WeChat.
WeChat chat history shows that after both parties add WeChat, the matchmaker will send Ms. Chen member activities, dating partners and other information through WeChat. Although Ms. Chen did not reply much, the matchmaker insisted on sending a WeChat message to Ms. Chen.
"The interview with the marriage insurance service is in full swing. The whole city collects singles who have a marriage plan within one or two years, and the marriage fee will be refunded within two years." After seeing the information, in September 2020, Ms. Chen asked the matchmaker on WeChat, "How do you become a marriage insurance member?" The matchmaker replied, "Pay a deposit and get married within one year." "The quota is almost full, and the requirements are quite strict. The person in charge can only be interviewed." At the same time, the matchmaker also sent Ms. Chen two screenshots of rebate transfers.
The matchmaker recommends "marriage insurance service" to Ms. Chen (pseudonym). All pictures in this article are provided by the interviewees
Ms. Chen asked, "Where can't get married in that year?" The matchmaker replied through a voice, "Those who can't get married cannot pass the interview. We require 100% of the time to get married... We must have plans to get married within one year, and those who don't want to get married within one year will also pass the interview."
Ms. Chen told The Paper that at that time, she actually wanted to ask, "What should I do if I can't get married, can I get a refund?" She believes that the matchmaker's answer "cleverly" bypassed this question.
Ms. Chen said that at the invitation of the matchmaker, she went to the Century Jiayuan store in Tianhe District, Guangzhou. The matchmaker first recommended a man with very good conditions to her on WeChat. When she arrived at the store, she didn't see the man, but several staff members surrounded her to recommend products, "I charged 5,000 yuan when I saw 4 people." She felt that the charge was too expensive and she didn't accept it. Later, she went to the store to learn about the specific situation of the "marriage insurance service" and found that the so-called "interview" was passed quickly, and the charging standard was "to meet 12 people and charge 68,800 yuan."
The service contract signed by Ms. Chen and Century Jiayuan and the supplementary agreement of .
The service contract and supplementary agreement signed by the two parties showed that within one year, the number of appointments provided by Century Jiayuan to Ms. Chen was 12, with a total fee of 68,800 yuan. If Ms. Chen gets married under the service of Century Jiayuan during the contract period, Century Jiayuan will return 70% of the service fee to the same value of gold, jewelry, etc., and Ms. Chen needs to cooperate with Century Jiayuan's promotion.
Ms. Chen said before signing the contract, she asked, "What should I do if I can't get married?" A staff member surnamed Li replied, "I will definitely get married." Considering that 70% of the fee can be refunded if she gets married, she signed the service contract and paid the fee.
After meeting 13 people, he asked for a refund but was rejected.
At the recommendation of the matchmaker of Century Jiayuan, Ms. Chen met 12 men, but there was no follow-up.
Ms. Chen said that she had only met these 12 people once. "I chatted well when I met, but I didn't have much contact after adding WeChat." Two of them were contacted and chatted, but the other party responded coldly and did not reply to WeChat. The feedback from the matchmaker to her was that she was not good-looking enough and the man had no idea of further development.
She said that at her request, the matchmaker introduced the 13th man, but there was no further information after meeting. Afterwards, Jiayuan said that the contract service content had ended and no longer introduced the blind date partner. Ms. Chen believed that she had been cheated by Jiayuan, so she asked for a refund, but was rejected.
Ms. Chen told The Paper that in the early communication between the two parties, the staff of Century Jiayuan said that "can be found" many times and never clearly stated that "if you don't have a refund, you cannot get a refund without marriage", which constitutes fraud. After receiving the service, she gradually lost confidence in Jiayuan and no longer believed in the other party.
After multiple negotiations failed, Ms. Chen sued Century Jiayuan, requesting the court to cancel the contract involved in the case and file a claim of triple the contract service fee of 206,400 yuan.
According to Ms. Chen, during the negotiation process, a staff member named Wang from Century Jiayuan was responsible for communicating with him. On October 31, The Paper contacted the staff member named Wang, but the other party declined the interview. The first-instance judgment of
shows that Century Jiayuan said that what his staff member Zhang Moumou said, "If you can't get married, you can't pass the interview. We require 100% of your marriage." It is just that you can get married, and it is all for the purpose of getting married. After all, the contract amount is very high, and you need to provide a lot of personal information and documents, so you must have the sincerity to get married; Zhang Moumou said that "it will definitely be found", which is not a fraud, and at most there is exaggerated publicity. As an adult, Ms. Chen’s reply from Century Jiayuan staff cannot lead to Ms. Chen making a mistake in signing a combination of intentions. The contract signed by Ms. Chen is a paper contract, and Ms. Chen should have a clear understanding of the service content, nature of the service and purpose of this service contract.
st Century Jiayuan said that it has fulfilled the service content as agreed in the overall agreement. The gift project is to provide online guidance according to Ms. Chen's request after the service period expires. However, after the contract is fulfilled, Ms. Chen is no longer willing to accept free meetings and other services including one year of gift, so there is no breach of contract in Century Jiayuan.
First instance: There is inducing language in Century Jiayuan, and the refund of 10,000
Tianhe District Court held that, based on Ms. Chen's evidence and recording, during Century Jiayuan's one-year service period, Ms. Chen's failure to find a suitable partner can refund the service fee after she gets married is an important factor affecting Ms. Chen's contract.Relevant facts reflect that the staff of Century Jiayuan had certain inducing language during the consultation process with Ms. Chen before signing the contract. However, as a person with full civil capacity, Ms. Chen should have a rational understanding and judgment of the required matchmaking services. It should be clear that the result of marriage cannot be achieved through matchmaking services. What's more, the contract has made clear agreements on the service content, term, payment and return of fees. In this case, Ms. Chen used the inducing language of Century Jiayuan staff in the consultation stage to constitute fraud and caused Ms. Chen to make a wrong expression of intention, claiming that she has the right to revoke the contract and ask Century Jiayuan to compensate three times the service fee. The reason is insufficient and will not be supported.
Chat history between Ms. Chen and the staff of Century Jiayuan.
Tianhe District Court stated that the relevant service contract and supplementary agreement are the true intentions of both parties. The content does not violate the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and should be legal and valid. Both parties should perform it in accordance with the agreement. According to the contract agreement between the two parties, the service fee that Ms. Chen has paid 68,800 yuan can obtain includes service items and gift items. Given that Century Jiayuan has completed its service items and Ms. Chen has clearly stated that she no longer trusts Century Jiayuan to provide subsequent services. Century Jiayuan also stated that the gift item needs to be carried out at the request of Ms. Chen, and the service period of the gift item has expired. Therefore, the court based on the principle of fairness and combined with the fact that Century Jiayuan had certain induce dishonesty behavior in consultation with Ms. Chen before the contract, it is determined that Century Jiayuan will return Ms. Chen’s service fee of 10,000 yuan as per the case.
In late October 2022, the Tianhe District Court of Guangzhou made a first-instance judgment on the case: Century Jiayuan returned Ms. Chen 10,000 yuan and rejected Ms. Chen's other lawsuits.
Ms. Chen said that she was dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and had decided to appeal. She hopes her experience can serve as a wake-up case.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-