Is there such a good thing to adopt a kitten from a pet store for free? Ms. Huang, a citizen, saw such an advertisement at the entrance of the mall. After some consultation, she did not spend any money to adopt a kitten, but she carried a 5,400 yuan installment loan for pet supplies. But now the cat is dead, and the debt is still there. Ms. Huang talked about her experience on the Wuhan city message board, believing that she was "routine" by the merchant.
The automatic payment adoption plan opened on Ms. Huang on Alipay.
Photo source: Photo provided by the interviewee
Ms. Huang told the reporter of the Yangtze River Daily's "Photo" that on October 14, 2023, she took her child to the "Star Pet Meow House" located at No. 296 Luoshi Road, Hongshan District and selected a ragdoll cat. The merchant told her that she could adopt it for free, but she would have to pay one year's cat food and litter fee (450 yuan per month), totaling 5,400 yuan.
Ms. Huang thought to herself that these are necessities for raising cats. Without thinking too much, she signed an adoption agreement with the merchant and paid 3 months of cat food (1,350 yuan). The merchant activated the subsequent automatic payment service for Ms. Huang on the spot on Alipay. In February this year, the kitten died of illness. Ms. Huang found that the monthly deductions were still being deducted on her mobile phone. When she tried to cancel the automatic deduction, she was told that the agreement had been signed and could not be cancelled.
At around 14:00 on April 23, Ms. Huang and the merchant negotiated and mediated at the Luonan Office of the Hongshan District Market Supervision Administration. Ms. Huang believes that the many terms in the signed agreement are unfavorable to consumers and are "overlord clauses". If the agreement is to be terminated, the adopter must pay a liquidated damages (10,000 yuan) far exceeding the market price of the cat (3,000 yuan). Even if the cat dies from illness, the adopter must buy enough pet supplies for 12 months. The agreement signed by Ms. Huang. Source: Photo provided by the interviewee
Ms. Huang also said that although the agreement shows that the cat has been vaccinated, she has never seen the vaccine book; cat food priced at 450 yuan can be purchased online for more than 100 yuan. The reporter found that many adopters had the same experience as Ms. Huang. Some consumers gave low scores and bad reviews online: "Sell cat food at a high price in the name of adoption, deceiving consumers." Some netizens also named "lightning protection" this store: "Cats have poor immunity, and they spent more than 2,000 yuan when they first arrived at home for medical treatment."
The relevant person in charge of Luonan Office of the Hongshan District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau said that in response to the questions raised by Ms. Huang, the company will be required to provide information such as cat vaccine book and purchase channel certificate, cat food ledger and price list; the legal team will further evaluate whether there are "unfair terms" in this agreement. Staff remind consumers to increase their vigilance when signing a contract and see clearly the above contract terms.
Lawyer Li Junlong from Guangdong Zhiheng (Wuhan) Law Firm said that this agreement is called adoption, but is actually a sales contract, which is obviously biased towards Party A. If one party provides the standard terms unreasonably exempts or reduces its liability, increases the other party's liability, or restricts the other party's main rights, or the party provides the standard terms and conditions that exclude the other party's main rights, the terms are invalid.
"Everything has a fair market price. If the price is low or the temptation is relatively high, be careful. Most of them will not be a 'free lunch' falling from the sky." Lawyer Li reminds that when the contract has many unfavorable clauses, the adopter should give up decisively; when there are gaps in the contract that need to be filled in, both parties must make a clear agreement. If you are suspected of criminal crimes such as contract fraud, you can report it to the public security organs in accordance with the law.
The reporter from the Yangtze River Daily "Photo" learned that after mediation, the merchant stopped the subsequent deduction of the adoption agreement, and Ms. Huang received a refund of more than 400 yuan after deducting the cat market price. Ms. Huang told reporters: "There are too many tricks of 'free adoption'. I hope everyone will not be deceived by disguised transactions under the guise of 'adoption'."