How to charge more reasonably for takeaway packaging? (Focus on the rule of law)

With the rapid development of the take away industry, take away ordering has become an indispensable part of people's life. Recently, there have been more and more complaints about the high cost of takeout packaging on major online platforms and social media.

After logging into a well-known online complaint platform, the reporter found that the relevant complaints focused on "the takeaway merchants repeatedly collect packaging fees", "the consumers did not receive clear rules and instructions on packaging fees and packaging standards when ordering", "the packaging fees are hidden in the order to bind with the food, forcing consumers to consume" and other situations.

Mr. Zhang, a citizen of Hefei, Anhui, once encountered high packing fees when ordering meals. Recently, Mr. Zhang was on a business trip in Anhui Province and ordered a delivery order. On the take out order, the reporter saw that Mr. Zhang ordered a bowl of fried rice, a box of peanuts and several kebabs, with a total price of 119 yuan, but the packing fee was up to 11 yuan, and the actual payment was 9.8 yuan. "Usually, when ordering takeout, the packing fee is only one or two yuan, which is as high as this one, and I have never seen it before." Mr. Zhang said that he thought that the merchants might pack the barbecue separately to avoid smell, and at the same time, take heat preservation measures.

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When receiving the takeout, he found that all the food items were packed in a large plastic bag, especially the kebabs were all packed in a tin foil bag. "The packaging is very ordinary, and the cost is at most two yuan," Mr. Zhang said with a wry smile.

When the reporter clicked the "packing fee" option of the order and wanted to view the details, the page showed a description of "according to the relevant national policy requirements... collect the corresponding packing fee", but the specific packing fee was not visible.

So, how to determine the cost of takeout packaging? What are the standards? How to supervise daily? The reporter contacted a delivery platform. The platform staff told the reporter that when the merchants entered the takeaway platform, they would sign an agreement, which clearly stipulated that the takeaway packaging fee was at most 4.8 yuan, and it would be illegal if the amount exceeded that amount. As for how to collect the packaging fee, it is up to the merchant to decide, and the platform will conduct daily supervision.

How is the platform supervised? How to deal with problems found? After being questioned by the reporter, the staff said that the so-called "daily supervision" actually depends more on customer complaints, and the platform will intervene in subsequent processing. The reporter described Mr. Zhang's situation, and the staff member said that such a high packing fee was definitely not allowed. If the merchant refuses to refund, the platform will compensate Mr. Zhang for the corresponding amount of threshold free red packet.

In the interview, some consumers reported that some beverage stores do not charge packaging fees for offline purchase orders, but charge this fee for purchase on the takeaway platform. Another part of consumers said that the packaging fee should belong to the necessary operating costs of businesses, as long as it is not special packaging, it should not be charged additionally.

Why are the takeaway packing fees charged at random? A noodle shop operator told the reporter, "Now the takeout platform costs are relatively high, usually around 20%. If the store rent, water and electricity costs are included, it is common to lose money to do takeout. In this case, businesses are helpless to collect packaging fees."

When searching the relevant prices of plastic bags and plastic boxes for takeaway on an online shopping platform, the reporter found that, taking a common 480ml plastic box for takeaway as an example, 50 sets of plastic boxes cost 11.5 yuan in total, with an average of 0.23 yuan each. If the one-time purchase volume is large and the cost is lower, most businesses can control it at around 1 jiao.

How should consumers safeguard their rights in such situations? Liu Min, a lawyer from Shanghai Central Law (Bengbu) Law Firm, pointed out that it is reasonable for takeout merchants or takeout platforms to charge appropriate packaging fees for takeout, but if they charge "packaging fees" and "packaging fees" randomly, it is suspected of infringing the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Article 8 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests stipulates that consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods they have purchased or used or the services they have received; Article 10 stipulates that consumers have the right to fair dealing. A consumer shall have the right to fair terms of trade and conditions such as quality guarantee, reasonable price, accurate measures, etc, when purchasing a commodity or receiving a service, and shall have the right to reject coercive transactions by business operators.

Lawyer Liu Min believes that without informing consumers of the charging standards, charging rules and specific packaging standards of packaging fees, takeaway merchants have violated consumers' right to know and their right to fair trade by repeatedly charging packaging fees for individual goods or still charging packaging fees for goods with their own packaging. In addition, Article 9 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests stipulates that consumers have the right to choose their own goods or services... Businesses "hide" the packaging fees and meal fees by bundling them for sale, forcing consumers to consume, which infringes on consumers' right to know and their right to choose, and consumers have the right to say "no".

So how should the take away platform take the responsibility of supervision? The relevant person in charge of Hefei Consumer Protection Commission said that the takeaway platform should introduce corresponding standards for packaging fee pricing for different price levels of food. When reviewing the business information, the packaging fee module should be reviewed to avoid high price packaging, repeated packaging charges, etc. In case of similar situations, consumers can directly contact the takeaway merchants for settlement, or complain to the takeaway platform, consumer associations, and market supervision and management departments. (Reporter Tian Xianjin)

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