False advertising, inducing loans... People's Daily pays attention to online training chaos training institutions | training | loans
Some original online training institutions have problems with false advertising, induced consumption, and low training quality. Readers are calling for——
Standardize online training to provide high-quality services
Editor's note: Recently, this newspaper has received multiple letters from readers, reflecting that some online training institutions have problems of false advertising, inducing consumption, and low training quality that infringe on consumer interests, making it difficult for consumers to protect their rights. In response, the reporter conducted a survey on the online training industry and interviewed readers, netizens, consumers, experts and scholars to jointly explore how to promote the healthy development of the online training industry. Please stay tuned.
With the continuous iteration and upgrading of "Internet plus" technology, the online training industry has also ushered in a period of rapid development. However, online training breaks through the limitations of time and space, providing people with convenient educational resources, while also creating some urgent problems that need to be solved.
The quality of online training courses urgently needs to be improved
With the rise of short videos and social platforms, many online training institutions use Internet platforms to recruit students. However, the characteristics of the internet, such as not meeting in person and being anonymous, provide opportunities for online training institutions to carry out illegal activities.
Mr. Zhang, a reader from Suzhou, Jiangsu, saw an advertisement about the fire engineer exam while browsing a certain short video platform, so he left a message for consultation. Soon, a customer service representative contacted Mr. Zhang and claimed that some of his clients only had a vocational school education. After passing the training, they successfully passed the exam and obtained the certificate. For the sake of self-improvement, Mr. Zhang added a recruitment teacher recommended by customer service personnel and signed up for a 7000 yuan Diamond VIP course under their guidance.
"After a period of training, I was unable to pass the relevant exam. The other party promised to get a refund if they failed, but I couldn't contact the company teacher and couldn't even log in to the designated learning software." Mr. Zhang said, "I looked at the transfer information and found that the customer service and enrollment teacher were likely the same person, playing multiple roles and inducing me to sign up for the course."
The investigation by reporters found that some institutions provide courses and training that are seriously disconnected from practical operations, and cannot achieve the goal of mastering basic skills through simple online training courses. Some advertisements may suggest employment or part-time jobs, but in reality, they are just empty promises.
In 2022, Tang Yangsheng, a student in Jilin Province, wanted to learn video and image processing techniques during winter vacation, so he found a training institution online for consultation. "The other party asked me to pay a deposit of 100 yuan first, and then asked me to pay the tuition fee of 4800 yuan in 12 installments. The customer service also told me that after completing my studies, the institution can recommend part-time jobs and pay the tuition fee with the manuscript fee, so I don't have to spend a penny." Tang Yangsheng said, after paying the money, the other party sent me a video package containing 24 lessons, which is all the teaching content.
According to Tang Yangsheng, these teaching videos are seriously disconnected from practice. "I watched those teaching videos repeatedly, but still didn't learn how to handle pictures. I contacted the institution, hoping they could find a teacher to provide online guidance, but they repeatedly asked me to watch the videos, and then I couldn't contact them anymore." Moreover, the institution's original promise of recommending part-time jobs was not followed.
On the "People's Complaints" platform of People's Daily Online, there are many complaints about the quality of online training courses. Online training courses mostly adopt a prepaid form, and consumers can only see the training courses after paying. If they are not satisfied with the quality of the courses, it is also difficult to request the training institution to refund the corresponding fees. In addition, there is a certain regulatory gap, which makes it relatively difficult for consumers to protect their rights, and some illegal training institutions are even more fearless.
"Passing the exam" and "recommending part-time jobs" are just false promises to attract applicants
The reporter found through the recruitment advertisements of some online training institutions that slogans such as "pass the exam", "recommend part-time jobs", and "quickly obtain certification" are high-frequency words, and most advertisements have similar promotional language. But according to consumer feedback, these so-called promises are just a facade used by online training institutions to attract students to register and pay fees, and cannot be fulfilled, nor will they be refunded or compensated.
Mr. Li reported on the "People's Complaints" platform of People's Daily that in October last year, he registered to participate in relevant courses at a training institution in order to take the onboarding recruitment exam. "The customer service told me that the pass rate after the training reached 93%. If it did not pass, a full refund would be issued. The customer service also showed me some of the students' chat records, which clearly showed that there was a refund operation. Therefore, I trusted this institution and signed up to purchase an online course for 7990 yuan." Mr. Li said.
However, when Mr. Li started learning, he found that the courses provided by the training institutions were all recorded and the content was outdated. During several live lectures, the teacher only lowered his head and read the script, "not even showing his face."."The other party said that a refund is impossible and they can allow me to study online courses for another year. However, I feel that the quality of the courses provided by the institution does not meet my requirements, and studying for another year will not be helpful to me. However, the institution does not refund the fee, and I am also very helpless," Mr. Li said.
The reporter consulted with an online training institution regarding claims such as "package registration", "package passing", and "package affiliation". When asked by reporters if it is possible to apply for a first-class registered fire engineer with a vocational school degree, the other party stated that "although they do not meet the application requirements, they can apply through the qualifications of the enterprise.". The other party also stated that the value of the "One Consumer" certificate is very high, with an annual registration income of 80000 to 100000 yuan. "We not only guarantee to obtain the certificate through exams, but also provide students with registration, review, registration, and later registration services.".
When the reporter questioned why there were no clear commitments such as "assistance in registration" and "package registration" in the agreement, the other party bluntly said, "This is a private operation. Before registration, you will be asked to submit your identity information, and we will directly register for you. Registration cannot be reflected in the contract, but we have chat records, and the company will definitely admit it." When the reporter expressed doubts about "registration", the other party said, "The company will recommend several companies to choose from, and the registration fee will also be directly transferred to your account."
Some institutions are called "training", but in reality, they are "selling certificates". The reporter saw a shop on a shopping platform directly hanging a course of "Vocational Skill Grade Certificate of the Human Resources and Social Security Department", asked the customer service what certificate it had, and the customer service reported dozens of certificates, such as human resources appraiser, Internet marketer, health manager, and public nutritionist. But when the reporter checked the National Vocational Qualification Catalog, it was found that some certificates have been adjusted out of this catalog, and the so-called certificates are not the "national certification" promoted by the merchants.
Strengthen the standardization of online training and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers
In April 2022, Wang Xiaoyue, who was preparing to apply for an adult undergraduate program, signed an electronic contract with a training institution and paid a fee of 5280 yuan. The contract shows that 528 yuan is for registration fees, tutoring fees, etc., and the remaining 4752 yuan is for tuition fees collected by the institution. However, after Wang Xiaoyue passed the exam, the college she registered for in Hubei stated that she did not receive a tuition fee of 4752 yuan.
"After passing the exam in December last year, I found out that the training institution did not pay the tuition fees to the school, and the institution has been unable to contact me. In March of this year, I finally contacted the other party and they asked me to fill out the refund application form, but there has been no news since then," said Wang Xiaoyue.
On the "Leadership Message Board" and "People's Complaints" platforms of People's Daily Online, there are many reports of being deceived by online training institutions, "unable to contact the other party", and "money not knowing where to end".
Mr. Wang from Jinan, Shandong Province, left a message on the "Leadership Message Board" of People's Daily, stating that he registered for online training as a safety engineer at a training institution in Jinan in September 2020. However, due to the company's promise not matching the actual situation, Mr. Wang applied for a refund in 2022. The other party stated that it would take at least 3 years to receive the refund.
"I only found out when I arrived at their office location that the Jinan branch had already moved out. At that time, the Tangshan branch had issued an invoice to me, but now it has also been deregistered." Mr. Wang said, with the assistance of relevant departments in Jinan, it was found that the headquarters of this institution is still there. "The registered name of this company has changed, and the registered address has also changed repeatedly. Finally, with the help of relevant departments, we finally managed to obtain a refund of half."
During the investigation, the reporter found that some online training institutions have unstable operating conditions. Consumers who complain to relevant departments often receive responses such as "the company no longer operates at its registered address", "the company has been listed in the list of abnormal operations", or "unable to contact the company".
In addition, some online training institutions also have the phenomenon of inducing consumers to take out installment loans. Especially for some institutions called installment payments, they actually use consumer personal information to apply for loans. Consumers think that regular payments have turned into timely repayment, which not only affects personal credit records but also puts heavy debts on some students who are unable to repay.
On the "People's Complaints" platform of People's Daily Online, some netizens have reported being urged by loan companies to pay tuition fees. The reporter contacted a complaint netizen - Xiao Cao, a student in Kunming, Yunnan. Xiao Cao wanted to find a suitable part-time job by learning e-commerce knowledge, so he signed up for an e-commerce training course at an online training institution. However, the tuition fee of 5800 yuan exceeded Xiao Cao's financial capacity. At this point, customer service indicated that payment can be made in installments.
"The other party used my information to apply for a loan of 6800 yuan on the loan platform, which was repaid in 9 installments. The additional amount was service fees and interest. I only took four or five online classes and found that the training institution had closed down, and the so-called homeroom teachers and teaching teachers had also lost contact." Xiao Cao said that although the training institution had closed down, the loan platform was still urging repayment. Xiao Cao went through a lot of trouble before contacting the person in charge of the training institution. The person promised to terminate the contract, but stated that they were in a lawsuit with another company and it would take a long time for a refund.
Online training institutions often do not have fixed physical office locations due to their network characteristics, or because the students are widely distributed, once problems arise, it is difficult for consumers to protect their rights and the cost is high. Strengthening the rectification and standardization of online training, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, has become a common expectation of consumers and should also become a practical action of relevant functional departments.
