Shared bicycles have been seriously saturated up to now, and even some shared bicycles have gone bankrupt due to the failure to return the deposit. Recently, Xiaoming bicycles will go bankrupt, so shared bicycles will no longer be a tool for people to travel, but become a major problem in the city. Can Xiaoming bike refund the deposit now?
This is the first public interest lawsuit in the bike sharing industry in China. The reporter learned that Guan bin, the current legal representative of Yueqi technology, was also required to appear in court. According to Guan bin in court, Xiaoming bicycle has stopped operation. Xiaoming bicycle has previously collected about 800 million yuan of user deposit, with a total number of more than 4 million users. Up to now, 80% of the user deposit has been refunded, and there are still 700000 users whose deposit has not been refunded. Yueqi technology is no longer able to pay off the deposit, 'our decision is to go bankrupt and liquidate. '
Court: the company shall return the deposit as promised
In December last year, Guangdong Provincial Consumer Committee announced to sue Xiaoming bicycle operator Yueqi technology, which became the first civil public welfare case of bicycle sharing in China and attracted much attention.
On March 22 this year, the case was heard in the Guangzhou intermediate court. The reporter learned that Guan bin, the current legal representative of Yueqi technology, was forced to appear in court.
Since August 2017, the plaintiff has received complaints from consumers that the defendant's deposit has not been returned after the deadline, the plaintiff's Guangdong Provincial Consumer Committee and its attorney have appealed in the court. As of December 8 of the same year, the plaintiff had received 2952 complaints (excluding visits) from consumers against the defendant.
From June 2016 to October 16, 2017, the number of users of Xiaoming bicycle who applied for refund of deposit in Guangdong Province was 321681, including 271806 users who had received refund of deposit, the Guangdong Provincial Commission of Consumer Affairs said in the court. 'the number of deposits returned or not returned by the defendant to consumers is large. In the case that many consumers complain that the return of deposits has become overdue and constitutes a serious breach of contract, the defendant still accepts unspecified consumers as new users to register and continues to collect deposits, which shows that the defendant is still suspected of holding a laissez faire attitude towards overdue withdrawal, and still suspected of violating the subsequent unspecified majority of new users The intention of power. '
After the trial lasted for more than two hours, the final court decided in court that Yueqi technology, the defendant, should return the deposit to the consumers as promised. If it fails to meet the promise of returning the deposit, it will suspend the collection of the deposit to the newly registered consumers. At the same time, within ten days from the effective date of this judgment, it will deposit the deposit collected but not returned to the notary organ in the place where Xiaoming bicycle operates according to law. In addition, Yueqi Technology Technology shall also, within ten days from the effective date of the judgment, disclose to consumers in a way that is sufficiently known to the public, such information as the relevant mechanisms and processes related to the safety of consumers' deposits as deposit revenue and expenditure, use and refund; within ten days from the effective date of the judgment, Yueqi technology shall also publish an apology statement recognized by the court in specific media.
It is reported that both parties did not appeal in court after the case was pronounced. Yueqi technology's lawyer said that he deeply regretted the impact of the deposit event on all sectors of the society, and the company would like to make a solemn apology.
Company: management has been paralyzed, operation has stopped
The reporter of "daily economic news" learned through live network broadcast that in the process of proof, the attorney of the defendant Yueqi technology disclosed that Yueqi technology has been applied for bankruptcy by Xiaoming bicycle users, and the bankruptcy case is now under trial in Guangzhou intermediate court, which also held a bankruptcy hearing on March 9. According to Yueqi's attorney, this proves that the defendant has no funds to pay off the user's deposit. According to the company, Xiaoming bicycle's app also ceased operation on March 7 this year.
The reporter noted that Guan bin was not very familiar with the questions about Xiaoming bicycle operation put forward by the judge and the presiding judge in the court, so he needed to consult the lawyer frequently. According to public information, in August last year, Guan bin entered Yueqi technology after Deng Yonghao, founder and former controller of Xiaoming bicycle, and became the new legal representative of Yueqi technology.
Guan bin disclosed that Xiaoming bicycle has invested 430000 shared bicycles in China, with a total number of users of more than 4 million, calculated by a deposit of 199 yuan / person, that is to say, Xiaoming bicycle has collected a deposit of about 800 million yuan. According to Guan Bin's statement in court, more than 3.6 million users' deposits have been refunded, and more than 700000 users' deposits have not been refunded. According to Yueqi technology's attorney, of the 700000 users, 500000 have explicitly applied for refunding the deposit on the app, and more than 200000 have not yet applied for refunding the deposit.
'we have done our best and have retired 80 per cent,' Mr. Guan said. For the filling of this funding gap, it was hoped to be filled through restructuring and shareholder borrowing. 'Guan bin has repeatedly said that he entered the company in August last year and did not know the operation of Xiaoming bicycle. He is mainly responsible for finding new strategic investment and enterprise restructuring.
At present, Yueqi technology's management has been paralyzed and its operation has stopped. "He said that at present, the deposit of more than 700000 Xiaoming bicycle users is not due to the defendant's subjective malice, but mainly due to the lack of funds.
Guan Bin said frankly that Yueqi technology's shareholders are not willing to continue to invest. Since August last year, he has also borrowed 5 million yuan from his personal account to Yueqi technology to pay employees' salaries. 'the reorganization is not successful and the shareholders are not willing to reinvest. Our decision is to go bankrupt and liquidate. '
'at first (Yueqi technology's) operation was very healthy. Later, the two major bike companies used free or even cash subsidies and other ways to make the number of our users' riding and registered users drop sharply. As soon as they squeezed, we couldn't help it. 'Guan bin summed up Xiaoming's bicycle failure.