Yanolja “No refund after 10 minutes”… Angry consumer class action lawsuit

Even if you request a refund within the deadline, the refund is refused due to ‘internal regulations’
Daeryun Law Firm gathers consumers and prepares for class action lawsuit
Yanolja “Refund within 10 minutes is rather a ‘consumer protection policy’”

The tyranny of accommodation platform Yanolja is rising to the surface. This is because even if consumers request a refund within a legal period after making a reservation, the refund is refused due to reasons such as internal regulations of the accommodation platform. Accordingly, consumers are preparing class action lawsuits based on violations of the Electronic Commerce Act and the Terms and Conditions Act.

According to Daeryun Law Firm on the 19th, consumers who have been harmed by lodging platforms will be recruited to file a class action lawsuit.

Although consumers expressed their intention to withdraw their subscription within a legal period, the problem was that the accommodation platform refused to refund due to internal regulations.

There are two legal issues raised by Daeryun: ▲violation of the Electronic Commerce Act, and ▲violation of the Terms and Conditions Act.

First of all, according to Article 17 of the Electronic Commerce Act, the regulations related to withdrawal of subscription, consumers who purchased goods from a mail order seller can withdraw their subscription within a certain period of time. Most products traded under the Electronic Commerce Act can be withdrawn within a week. However, currently at Yanolja, you cannot get your money back unless you cancel within 10 minutes for products sold at special prices.

According to Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Terms and Conditions Act, clauses that are unfairly disadvantageous to the customer, clauses that are difficult to predict, and clauses that limit fundamental rights are presumed to have lost fairness and are therefore invalid. Daeryun believed that Yanolja's refund policy was unfairly disadvantageous to customers. It is pointed out that fairness has been lost because the refund policy is advantageous to Yanolja and disadvantageous to customers.

A Daeryun official explained, "I understand that if a refund is made while the reservation date is close, Yanolja will have no time to resell the product, but 10 minutes is too short. Being able to cancel only within 10 minutes is extremely advantageous to the seller and unfavorable to the consumer."

In response to this, Yanolja said, "Under the Electronic Commerce Act, we have the status of a 'mail order intermediary' and do not fall under either party when concluding an accommodation contract between a customer and an affiliated store. Due to the nature of the accommodation product, resale opportunities are lost over time, so the provisions of the Electronic Commerce Act specify that cancellation of subscription is not applicable." Rather, the position is that refunds within 10 minutes are a 'consumer protection device' that allows cancellation even if the customer is negligent or simply changes their mind.

Regarding the Terms and Conditions Act, he drew a line by saying, "The applicable subject is clearly defined in the law and there is no fact that our terms and conditions were applied in the case, so it is not a case to discuss violation of the Terms and Conditions Act in the first place."

Previously, Daeryun received a decision to temporarily seize the bond in a lawsuit against lodging platform Yanolja for refund of lodging fees. Currently, a lawsuit for refund of accommodation fees is in progress due to the policy of not being able to cancel same-day reservations.

In 2016, there was a court ruling that if you cancel an airline ticket purchased from an online shopping mall within a week, you can receive a full refund regardless of airline regulations. The purpose is to apply the Electronic Commerce Act, which stipulates that contracts unfavorable to consumers are invalid.
 

[View full article] - Yanolja “No refund after 10 minutes”… Angry consumer class action lawsuit (link)