China Consumers Association asked about mutual bike companies such as Mobi and Ofo due to deposits and other issues

The picture shows a shared bicycle parking spot in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. (Data graph) Photo taken by China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun

The picture shows a shared bicycle parking spot in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. (Data graph) Photo taken by China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun

China News Service, Beijing, December 5 (Chuang Qing) Today, China Consumers Association interviewed relevant companies regarding issues such as deposits and prepayments, vehicle placement, and operation and maintenance of shared bicycle consumers. The interviewed companies include seven shared bicycle companies including Mobai, Ofo, Yongan Bank, Ubay, Harlow, Bypass, and Xiao Lan. This is the second time in this year that China Consumers Association has interviewed shared bicycle companies on the deposit issue.

After the cool riding bicycles and the small blue bicycles had successive problems with deposits, recently the media also revealed that Mobai and ofo Xiao Huang’s “misappropriation of user deposits to fill the gap” was reported by the two companies’ rapid announcements. However, the issue of deposit has disturbed the consumers of shared bicycles.

According to the briefing of some corporate representatives, at present, shared bicycle companies are divided into two methods: deposit deposit riding and free deposit riding. Free-ride riders generally need to examine the third-party credit score of the consumer. If a certain score is exceeded, the deposit can be waived. Bicycle companies that collect deposits generally deposit their deposits in banks for special management.

Corporate representatives also stated that the deposits and prepaid balances of consumers can be refunded, but the timeliness and specific amount of refunds for various companies are related to the payment methods and balance of consumers.

China Consumers Association said that for sharing bike companies to collect consumer deposits and prepaid funds, we must adopt a safe and transparent supervision of funds to ensure the safety of consumer deposits and prepaid funds. (Finish)