Membership Card Risks

Legal Daily June 21

Membership cards for gyms, restaurants and beauty salons have become increasingly common in China. Consumers are often required to pay for a whole or half a year’s service in advance in return for a discount. Although the practice brings consumers convenience and lower prices, it also includes several risks.

Some stores may close down before the membership expires, leaving consumers unable to get their money back.

The practice of paying for services in advance is not wrong in itself. Through such a model, business operators can enlarge their consumer base and win the market, while consumers can enjoy better prices. However, the precondition is that business operators should be honest and obey the law while conducting business. Otherwise, consumers’ rights and interests will be harmed.

Already, some operators have used prepaid services for illegal fundraising or even fraud. They attract consumers to buy a card with huge discounts and shut down their businesses once they accumulate a large sum of money.

In order to avoid being cheated, consumers should think about the scale and quality of a business and wisely choose chain store brands that are more trustworthy.

They should also abandon the mindset of gaining petty advantages since it often leads to fraud. The government should strengthen law enforcement and supervision of business operators. Shanghai published a regulation on membership cards last year, which is worth examining for other cities.