Parking service originally provided humanized service for car owners. However, the valet car service that Mr. Luo enjoyed at the airport recently made him very depressed. When he picked up the car two days later, he found that the mileage of the vehicle had increased by 400 kilometers for no reason. Moreover, because he didn’t know what the vehicle was used for, he didn’t know what consequences he would face, and even criminal responsibility was involved in serious cases. From this typical case, it reflects the regulatory loopholes and security risks faced by the Internet "parking service" industry.
- Case playback
- Parking for two days increased by 400 kilometers, and it happened that the camera was broken.
In late May, Mr. Luo, the owner of Foshan, drove to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. Considering that parking at the airport is relatively expensive and inconvenient, he tried to choose the online dating method in parking service. After placing an order online, when he arrived at the airport, he handed over the car to the staff of an "e-parking" company, and the other party chose the surrounding parking lot for himself until he returned to the airport, and then the other party returned the car. Two days later, Mr. Luo came back from a business trip and made an appointment to pick up the car at 20: 25. The other party’s system sent him a text message saying that he would call him 15 minutes in advance, but after he arrived at Gate 6 of the departure hall of the airport agreed by both parties, no one contacted him. So he called the other party again and waited for 20 minutes before the other party drove the car back to him. Due to the heavy rain at Baiyun Airport that night, Mr. Luo took the car and drove away in a hurry. After driving at high speed for about ten minutes at the airport, Mr. Luo noticed that there was something wrong with the mileage on the dashboard, so he stopped to check the documents left when he delivered the vehicle to the other party two days ago. The mileage on it was obviously 27,905 kilometers, while the mileage displayed on the dashboard in front of him was 28,322 kilometers, which was more than 400 kilometers even after deducting more than ten kilometers of high-speed walking at the airport.
Mr. Luo telephoned the e-parking company about this matter, and the company said that it would investigate. Two days later, the e-parking company contacted Mr. Luo and expressed its willingness to pay compensation for this matter: the parking fee and parking fee were refunded to Mr. Luo in 150 yuan. At the same time, he was asked to go to the 4S shop to get a certificate that the computer mileage of the vehicle had not been modified. This solution made Mr. Luo feel unacceptable. He pointed out that his vehicle ran 400 kilometers more in two days. What he valued was not the amount of compensation, but where the other party privately drove his vehicle and what he did. If it involves using vehicles to do some illegal activities, you will face serious consequences. At least, the process of clarifying the facts for yourself will be quite troublesome. However, when E Daibo communicated with itself on this matter, it did not respond positively to the question of increasing the 400 kilometers. According to Mr. Luo, the e-parking company explained to him that they parked the car in the designated parking lot, and it happened that the camera was broken, so the monitoring could not be found. At present, Mr. Luo is considering taking legal measures to solve the problem.
Miss Xia, a customer service person in charge of E-Parking Company, told Southern Reporter that they also wanted to know how Mr. Luo’s vehicle increased during parking, but they learned from Guangzhou Branch that it happened that the parking lot camera was broken, so they could not know the truth. She said that customers will hand over their vehicles to their pick-up personnel, and after parking, they will lock the car keys in the safe and will not be easily misappropriated.
- Case analysis
- The complaint channel of online parking platform is limited.
Nandu reporter noticed that if the owner intends to make a complaint on this matter, he will also face certain difficulties.
In terms of nature, if it involves automobile rights protection, complaints can generally be made through industry organizations such as automobile service industry association or automobile circulation association. If there is a consumer dispute with the parking lot side, it can also be mediated by the parking lot industry association. However, this case of rights protection that Mr. Luo encountered involved parking and car use, but this parking service company is neither under the jurisdiction of the parking lot nor a member of the automobile service industry association. Therefore, the responsible persons of these two associations all said that under normal circumstances, such companies with unclear management subjects do not belong to their own associations. Guo Junrong, Secretary-General of Guangzhou Automobile Service Industry Association, pointed out that the "parking service" service based on the Internet platform is an innovative model, which solves the convenience of car owners in the last mile, and has its positive significance. However, due to its Internet characteristics, there is a lack of management norms and standards, so there are many things to be improved. When there is a problem, as a platform company, it should bear greater responsibility. He personally suggested that mediation should be the mainstay, and it would be more energy-consuming if legal channels were used.
If car owners directly turn to the Consumer Council for help, there are certain restrictions. A person in charge of Guangzhou Consumer Council pointed out that since this parking service company belongs to the nature of Internet platform, if consumers need to complain, it depends on where the other party is registered. If it is Guangzhou, consumers can complain directly to the local Consumer Council. However, if the other party’s registered place is in a foreign country, it can only be handled through the Consumer Council where the company is registered. Southern Reporter noticed that the registered place of this "E-Daibo" company is in Shanghai, so consumers can only make complaints through the Shanghai Consumer Council.
- Lawyer’s opinion
- Find an authoritative organization for car condition appraisal and report to the police.
A legal person pointed out that in the case of Mr. Luo, car owners need to be prepared for the following aspects of rights protection. First, find relevant professional organizations to identify that the mileage displayed on the instrument panel of the vehicle has not been artificially changed, so as to prove that the increase in mileage is not caused by the owner himself. Nandu reporter learned that 4S shops do not provide this kind of appraisal service, so car owners can only use third-party automobile appraisal and testing institutions for appraisal. Second, it is suggested that the owner should go to a professional automobile testing institution to identify whether the relevant parts of the vehicle have been replaced, which mainly takes into account the traffic safety issues involved. Third, report the case to the public security department as soon as possible (for the record). Once the vehicle is parked in the parking company for two days, it involves illegal and criminal acts, which can prove that the owner does not know.
- Reporter’s notes
- Regulatory constraints still have to be questioned
From this complaint case about parking service, it is not difficult to see that the car service originated from the Internet platform, although an innovative model, provides convenience for car owners, still has many regulatory loopholes, which easily damages the interests of consumers. After the owner entrusted parking service Company to park the vehicle for two days, it appeared that the vehicle was driven away privately and its destination became suspicious, which also cast a shadow over the parking service industry under the background of the Internet. It is out of trust that the owner delivered the car to the parking company, but how to protect the owner’s rights and interests has become a question. After the vehicle is entrusted to the parking agency, how to ensure that the property safety and interests of the owner are not harmed, at least under the existing rules and regulations, lacks transparency and binding force. Similarly, once the Internet platform is combined with the automobile service industry, how to supervise it will cause social security problems, which is also an aspect that needs to be addressed by the industry that needs online parking.
Written by Southern Reporter Liang Luozhen