A few days ago, a car blogger posted that his friend bought an AITO Wenjie M5, and due to the epidemic prevention and control, licensing in special areas and the continuous high temperature, he informed the store to pick up the car later. But not long after, AITO issued her an order invalidation notice, saying that the order was invalid and the deposit would not be refunded.
This notification letter pointed out that it has been more than 10 working days since the consumer was notified to pick up the car, and the remaining car purchase money has not been received so far. According to the AITO Car Subscription Agreement, it is regarded as having given up buying a car.
In this regard, the consumer believes that he has not signed this agreement and has not agreed on the time of car purchase. Interface News tried to contact the consumer and got no response.
The relevant person in charge of Huawei’s automobile brand told the interface news that after discovering the complaint, the user center tried to communicate with the consumer, but it was not able to contact him yet.
"Our new delivery specialist didn’t hand over the work well and didn’t understand the previous communication situation. He directly sent an order invalidation notice, which was not in accordance with the standard process." The person in charge said that the consumer’s order was not cancelled and the deposit was not confiscated.
As a high-end new energy brand jointly built by Cyrus and Huawei, AITO currently sells models of Wujie M5 and Wujie M7, among which the first pure electric model, Wujie M5 EV, was released on September 6th, and the reservation was started. On the first day of listing, the order volume of M5 EV has exceeded 30,000.
However, with the increase of orders, the disputes between AITO and consumers began to increase. The interface news noticed that in the relevant complaint platform, most of AITO’s complaints were linked to the deposit, and focused on the non-refundable deposit and the sales concealment to induce the order.
A consumer complained that when he paid the deposit, the sales did not clearly tell whether the deposit could be refunded and the time limit for withdrawal; Another consumer told the interface news that he applied for a refund during the hesitation period of the deposit, but the refund process took a long time and waited for nearly three months. On the complaint platform, many consumers have been waiting for a refund for more than two months.
Interface News called a Huawei experience store as a consumer, and the car sales consultant of the store told Interface News that you can pay a deposit through online channels such as Huawei Mall to buy a brand car. The sales reminder, within 72 hours without confirming the lock order, the deposit can be refunded.
"Now, the M5 pure electric version has just been listed, and there is still a small order stage. You can pay 1000 yuan’s intention to reserve the rights and interests first, and the small deposit can be refunded at any time."
When asked about the deposit contract, the seller said that an electronic version of the contract would be issued when the deposit was paid. However, it was not until the final payment that the reporter noticed a line of small-print reminders, asking for the approval of the AITO Automobile Subscription Agreement and the AITO Automobile Privacy Policy. These two agreements will not pop up automatically, and consumers need to read and understand them themselves.
According to "AITO Automobile Subscription Agreement", 72 hours after the subscription deposit is paid belongs to the hesitation period. During the hesitation period, the subscription agreement can be terminated by unilateral notice. When the notice is delivered, all the subscription deposit paid will be refunded. Beyond the hesitation period, it is deemed that the unilateral termination right has not been exercised or waived, and the subscription deposit will not be refunded.
The above agreement also emphasizes the terms of the offline car purchase contract. The agreement requires consumers to go to the designated user center to sign the car purchase contract and pay the remaining car purchase price within 10 working days after receiving the notice. If it is not signed within the time limit, AITO has the right to decide to cancel the order and deduct the deposit paid.
Lawyer Gu Pan of Beijing Dacheng (Xi ‘an) Law Firm said in an interview with Interface News that the signed subscription agreement is a formal sales contract and is binding on both parties.
During the period of repentance agreed in the contract, the consumer notifies the merchant to return the deposit without a lock, and the merchant shall return the deposit according to the contract, otherwise the merchant will constitute a breach of contract; On the other hand, if the consumer fails to pay the final payment within the time limit stipulated in the contract, he will also be liable for breach of contract. Therefore, when buying bulk consumer goods such as automobiles, consumers should carefully browse the contract and understand the specific terms.
"If the seller makes false propaganda and misleading, causing misunderstanding among consumers, then the misled party can demand to terminate the contract and return the paid fees through litigation."
Gu Pan stressed that in practice, it will be more difficult for consumers to prove that they have not been informed or misled in advance, so it is necessary to pay attention to fixed evidence. When returning the deposit within the prescribed time limit, you should also remember to keep the written notice evidence to safeguard your rights and interests.
Zhang Xiang, a special expert of China Bolian think tank, told the interface news that the current car reservation system started from Tesla, and new forces have started booking processes such as small booking and big booking. Car owners who order in advance can enjoy more rights and pick up the car first.
"Most of the new car-making forces have a policy of free refund of the deposit. Only when they are about to go bankrupt or have no cash on their accounts will they not get the deposit back."
Zhang Xiang believes that it takes a long time for the brand to refund the deposit. On the one hand, the process cycle of refunding the deposit is really long, on the other hand, it also reflects Huawei’s lack of attention to consumer rights. "The contract does not clearly state the time requirement for refund, and the seller will naturally delay."
