It is said that the result of free installation took 810 yuan reporters to investigate the chaos in the after-sales installation and maintenance market of home appliances.

　　□ Our reporter Zhang Shoukun

　　"When I bought it, I didn’t say that I would charge for the TV stand, but I was charged for it when I installed it, 900 yuan. If it is necessary for installation, why not sell it directly with TV, or make it clear before on-site installation? " Recently, Mr. Jiang of Baoding, Hebei Province, was angry because he installed a TV set.

　　It is understood that Mr. Jiang placed an order for an LCD TV in the official flagship store of an electrical appliance brand online. The customer service told him that it could be installed free of charge, but did not tell him to charge extra for accessories when installing. As a result, after the installer came to the door, he said that if he wanted to hang the TV on the wall, he had to install the original retractable TV stand, and he had to pay 900 yuan separately. After installation, Mr. Jiang found that the same TV stand could be bought online in 300 yuan.

　　In fact, not only is the installation of home appliances tricky, but home appliance maintenance is also the hardest hit area. Selling unnecessary accessories at high prices during installation; "Minor illness overhaul" during maintenance, false maintenance; It is not uncommon to collect fees at different levels, such as door-to-door fees, startup fees, and inspection fees. Various fancy routines for after-sales maintenance of home appliances have caused many consumers a headache: they can only spend money or simply do it themselves. The "Analysis of Complaints Accepted by the National Consumers Association in 2022" issued by China Consumers Association once mentioned that the installation and maintenance fees of household appliances are chaotic.

　　Why do I have to pay more for free installation? Why are paid maintenance materials more expensive than some electrical appliances? The chaos in the home appliance installation and maintenance market continues. How should consumers avoid the pit? In this regard, the "Rule of Law Daily" reporter launched an investigation.

　　Pre-sales claim free installation

　　After coming to the door, charge layer by layer.

　　On the evening of August 18th, Mr. Wen from Xicheng District, Beijing bought a Skyworth range hood with a price of 598 yuan in the flagship store of a brand of kitchen appliances on the e-commerce platform. After receiving the goods, he agreed that the master would come to the door to install it.

　　After home measurement, the installation master found that the specifications of the range hood purchased by Mr. Wen were not the same as the reserved size, so it could not be installed. Because the other party said that the installation was free when consulting the customer service, Mr. Wen didn’t think much about it. After saying sorry to the master, he was ready to wait for the replacement range hood to arrive and then let it be installed at home. Unexpectedly, the master did not want to leave: "You have to give me 40 yuan air running fee."

　　In this regard, Mr. Wen is quite puzzled: "Isn’t it free to install? I didn’t install it here. Why do I have to charge?" The installation master said impatiently, "Who told you to buy the wrong one? It’s your responsibility. You must give me the empty running fee" and asked Mr. Wen to contact the customer service himself.

　　Mr. Wen then asked the customer service, but the other party has been vague and even answered irrelevant questions; Mr. Wen checked the product page online again, and it did not show that if the installation was unsuccessful, the buyer needed to pay the empty running fee. It is clearly written in the product details that the first installation of the range hood is free. If the buyer’s installation environment problems lead to a second visit, the buyer will bear the installation costs. Therefore, Mr. Wen refused to pay the "empty running fee", and finally the master spoke to his leader in front of him. The leader said that he would ask the seller for money, and the master left.

　　In the evening, a person who claimed to be the manager of the flagship store of a certain brand of kitchen appliances called Mr. Wen and expressed his willingness to bear the empty running fee and bear part of the courier fee caused by the refund. After negotiation, the person in charge finally said that he could bear the express delivery fee in 150 yuan, and the buyer would bear the excess. But when Mr. Wen sent the courier back, the other party didn’t answer the phone. Online customer service means that the above-mentioned person in charge has no such person, and the courier fee needs to be paid by the buyer.

　　Mr. Yue from Hefei, Anhui Province has also encountered a similar situation.

　　"The washing machine I bought at home four years ago suddenly tripped when I was using it a few days ago, and then I couldn’t turn it on. The after-sales master came to the door to check and said that the motherboard was burned, and it was necessary to replace the motherboard in 800 yuan. " Mr. Yue said that considering that he just bought a new washing machine two days ago, this washing machine is only used to wash some dirty clothes, so the maintenance cost is so expensive that it is better to eliminate it, so he told the master not to repair it. As a result, the master said that 50 yuan needed to pay the door-to-door fee, and if he didn’t want to, he could take the washing machine away to offset the door-to-door fee.

　　"I don’t understand what logic this is at all. Come home and take a look at the washing machine and it will become someone else’s? Later, the master called me and said that 200 yuan could be given a discount to repair it for me, but I didn’t agree. Finally, I spent 60 yuan on the Internet to buy a motherboard and install it myself. It can be used as soon as it is plugged in. There is no technical content at all, and I almost spent money. " Mr. Yue said.

　　In August this year, Mr. Zhang from Hedong District, Tianjin bought a special washing machine for infants. When consulting customer service, the other party said that it can be installed free of charge, but some parts need to be charged. "I looked at the price list, a faucet to 99 yuan, a two-meter long water pipe to 50 yuan. On the Internet, these two things add up to only fifty or sixty yuan, so I bought the materials first. " Mr. Zhang said.

　　But what he didn’t expect was that the master told him when he came to the door for installation that if he bought the materials himself, he wouldn’t install them for free, and he needed to pay another installation fee. If you buy their materials, you don’t need to install them for free.

　　In the investigation, the reporter found that most household appliances that need to be installed in life will encounter the phenomenon of "free installation" but charging.

　　Ms. Wang, a resident of Dongcheng District, Beijing, who just finished the renovation in June, counted the money spent after the "free installation" of her various household appliances: "The electric clothes rack is installed free of charge, because it is installed on the aluminum buckle plate, so 80 yuan is charged; Gas range and range hood are installed free of charge. If the gas pipe is short, 110 yuan is needed to add a root pipe. The range hood should open the aluminum gusset and install a smoke pipe to collect 80 yuan. The installation of the water heater is subject to the master’s instructions. He said that it was 420 yuan who installed all the pipes except the gas pipe first, and then debugged the interface gas pipe for the second time, and paid 120 yuan … … Apart from the refrigerator, there are hardly any home appliances installed for free. The key is that when online shopping, the customer service said that it is free to install, but when the installer comes to the scene, he can always find your special situation and various places that are not free. "

　　Is it reasonable to claim free installation but charge various fees?

　　According to Li Jie, a lawyer of Beijing Guantao Zhongmao (Qingdao) Law Firm, according to the provisions of the Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the real situation of the goods they buy and use or the services they receive, and the goods or services provided by merchants should be clearly marked. Therefore, in order to charge other installation materials or other service fees beyond the agreement, merchants should clearly prompt and inform consumers during the sales process or before providing services, otherwise consumers can refuse to accept goods or services.

　　Ren Chao, a professor at the School of Economics and Law of East China University of Political Science and Law, believes that if the "empty running fee" can be informed in advance, then the consumer’s consent belongs to the autonomy of both parties, and the contract is valid at the legal level. Collecting door-to-door fees is a market-regulated price, not a government intervention to guide pricing. If the empty running fee is not informed in advance, but the consumer accepts and pays the fee, the "empty running fee" also belongs to the content of the autonomy of both parties with effective contract terms.

　　Make arbitrary charges under various pretexts.

　　Maintenance costs are more expensive than buying.

　　At the end of July this year, Mr. Wu of Hefei, Anhui bought an air conditioner with a price of 2899 yuan online. After contacting the installation, the worker said that the installation was free and the material cost was calculated separately.

　　"The master didn’t say what exactly was needed, and I didn’t ask. I thought about how much the materials could cost because I bought the air conditioner. I didn’t expect ‘ Free ’ Things are so expensive. " Mr. Wu said that the master set up a shelf to collect 120 yuan, installed an air-conditioning water tray to collect 130 yuan, installed an anti-power-off socket 120 yuan, extended the air-conditioning copper tube by 3 meters 300 yuan, extended the drainage pipe by 4 meters 40 yuan, and paid for aerial work in 100 yuan.

　　"Everything in the master’s mouth is a necessity, and I don’t quite understand it. I thought about spending so much money on air conditioners. Finally, I don’t want to use it because of a little decoration fee. As a result, I spent a total of 810 yuan, which is worth one-third of the price of air conditioners." Mr. Wu said.

　　The reporter’s investigation found that many netizens reported on social platforms that the professional level of some home appliance installation and maintenance platforms is uneven, and there are even cases where there are no relevant qualifications.

　　Mr. Li, a consumer in Beijing, spit out that his home is being renovated and he has made an appointment with the installation master on an installation service platform many times. I once made an appointment with an electrician to install the socket, only to find that the other party didn’t have an electrician’s qualification certificate, and if it wasn’t well installed, it would also cost 30 yuan an empty running fee. "If the master can’t install it and only pay the empty running fee, consumers can’t evaluate the service; After the installation is completed, the masters will almost always ask for praise in person. Because the other party knows his home address and other information, he can only give praise. " Mr. Li said.

　　According to industry insiders, the level of platform maintenance personnel is uneven, and there are many part-time personnel. Taking orders in their spare time, whether they can be repaired or not, they can get certain benefits.

　　The reporter also noticed that when encountering contradictions and disputes in installation and maintenance, customer service often plays the role of "muddling along", but it is only delaying and the problem can never be solved.

　　Ren Chao said that, generally speaking, customer service is the employee in the maintenance company who is responsible for connecting the company and consumers, and has the obligation to solve the disputes between consumers and installation masters and maintenance masters. The delay of customer service in solving problems may be due to the customer service staff’s laziness, or lack of experience or ability in solving related matters, or it may be due to the customer service department or the maintenance company’s instructions. In the long run, maintenance companies that fail to provide good service will eventually be eliminated by market competition. Therefore, customer service is responsible not only for its own work, but also for the company, and it is also an important part of the long-term development of its affiliated companies.

　　Why is the installation and maintenance of home appliances always chaotic?

　　Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the china law society Consumer Protection Law Research Association, believes that the first reason is that the industry management is not standardized, the quality of personnel is uneven, and the service awareness is not strong; Secondly, the nature of home appliance maintenance problem is not well defined. It is difficult for ordinary consumers to determine whether the product really has a problem, or it is difficult to determine the severity of the problem. It is often the maintenance personnel who have the final say. In addition, the maintenance of home appliances generally involves a small amount, it is too difficult to prove rights, and the cost of rights protection is too high. Therefore, many consumers often admit that they are unlucky when they encounter problems, thus conniving at the violations of some maintenance agencies and maintenance personnel.

　　In Ren Chao’s view, this is because there is an information barrier between consumers and maintenance workers. "Consumers usually call to make a maintenance request, the intermediary registers and contacts the maintenance company, and the maintenance company then sends staff to the door for service. In the whole process, consumers have a passive position in receiving information for most of the content." Ren Chao said.

　　Improve the service complaint mechanism

　　Guide the standardized development of the industry

　　How to solve the problem of chaotic charges for after-sales installation of household appliances?

　　The reporter noted that in response to the chaos of home appliance repair, many consumer associations have already taken action. The Hubei Consumer Council and others recently jointly announced the list of 180 assured outlets for home appliance repair and after-sales service in the province in 2023; Last year, Jiangsu Consumer Protection Committee announced the launch of the after-sales protection plan of "less troubles in home appliance maintenance".

　　Recently, Zhejiang Consumer Protection Committee focused on nine enterprises including 58 cities, woodpeckers, swans arriving at home, in place, Baidu and UC on the problems found in the investigation. At the interview, Zhejiang Consumer Protection Committee reported the chaos of online domestic service discovered by observation and put forward suggestions for rectification. As of the prescribed time limit, all nine enterprises involved in the inspection submitted rectification reports. According to the relevant person in charge of Zhejiang Consumer Protection Committee, all the rectification plans submitted by enterprises have rectified the problems according to the requirements, and made significant progress in such aspects as minor illness overhaul, opaque charging rules, false propaganda and irregular service.

　　In Chen Yinjiang’s view, in order to standardize the home appliance installation and maintenance market, brands should attach importance to their own brand image, establish and improve after-sales service mechanisms and channels, constantly improve service capabilities and service standards, guarantee the funds of maintenance personnel or after-sales agencies, and ensure that consumers can be assured of after-sales service; Secondly, the relevant industry organizations should establish and improve the industry service standard system, guide the industry to be honest and self-disciplined and standardize development.

　　"The regulatory authorities should step up investigation and crackdown on home appliance maintenance behaviors that violate laws and regulations or harm the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. For some enterprises that provide search advertising platforms or provide business support for illegal maintenance institutions for a long time, they should also be included in the scope of legal supervision, and truly strengthen supervision from the source." Chen Yinjiang said.

　　"If consumers do encounter unreasonable charges, they should collect evidence in time, such as charging vouchers and officially announced charging standards, and negotiate with maintenance agencies or brands. If negotiation fails, you can complain to the consumer association or the administrative department and ask for mediation; If mediation cannot be resolved, you can also defend your rights according to law by applying for arbitration or bringing a lawsuit in court. " Chen Yinjiang said, at the same time, I hope that home appliance brands can cherish their own brands, inform the charging situation of accessories when selling home appliances, and publicly mark the charging price of accessories in official website or service manuals. The official or designated after-sales service must be charged in strict accordance with the published price, otherwise it should be treated as arbitrary charges.

　　Ren Chao believes that the most important means to solve the chaos of maintenance charges is to enhance transparency, specifically, the workflow and charging prices are all open and transparent. Before maintenance, the workflow and charging price shall be informed in advance to solicit the consent of consumers.

　　"With the development of digital industrialization, relevant departments have guided and the public have spontaneously established a platform for home appliance maintenance, and home appliance maintenance workers have registered their real names. The platform can use scoring system and anonymous comments from consumers to promote maintenance companies and their employees to provide consumers with relatively high quality and low price maintenance services. " Ren Chao said.