Phone recharge card expired invalid suspected "overlord clause"

Beijing Consumer Association 23rd on the mobile phone prepaid business related contract provisions of the review, pointed out that the "service due balance" is a typical unfair form of the contract terms, both in violation of the contract law stipulated in the fair principle, but also on the legitimate rights of consumers, should be found to be invalid contract terms. The terms of the contract for mobile phone prepaid service stipulate that the prepaid card with different face value has different validity period, and the validity period starts from the date of recharge. After the first recharge, the account status into the account life cycle, mainly including the validity, recharge and lockout period of three time period. Lock period (30 days), regardless of the account whether there is a balance, users can not exhale and receive any calls, and can not use recharge card recharge their own, must carry the user card to the mobile company's own business hall for unlocking after the recharge. If the user does not recharge the account during the lockout period, after the lockout valid period, its number will automatically log off, the number is cancelled, the balance in the account is no longer returned to the user.　　The recharge card does not provide the application PIN number and the return balance service. Beijing City Association comments that the phone account balance ownership should belong to consumers. Consumers charge prepaid cards to the mobile account, and actually form a kind of de facto service contract relationship with the telecom operators. Telecom operators set a service period for the recharge card, which is actually a period for the fulfillment of the contract. The expiration of validity, the relationship between the rights and obligations terminated, the operator can no longer provide services to consumers. However, the termination of service and the ownership of the mobile account balance are two different concepts. Consumers through the purchase of Recharge card recharge, access to the mobile phone account of the ownership. Telecommunications operators provide communications services, should be deducted from the consumption of mobile phone account prepaid, when the operator to provide communication services terminated, if the account also has the balance of charges, according to article 23rd of property law, the establishment and transfer of movable property rights, since the delivery of the effect. At this time, the balance is not deducted by the operator to provide services, and there is no legal provisions of the transfer, the balance of ownership remains for consumers.　　If the consumer requests to refund the balance, the operator has the obligation to return the balance, should be returned to consumers, can not arbitrarily encroach. Beijing Consumer Association pointed out that the telecommunications operators unilaterally set the "service Expired balance" clause, and to impose their own views on each other, aggravating the consumer's responsibility, and the contract law of the legislative principle, not only violates the contract law of the fair principle, but also the infringement of the legitimate rights of consumers, should be identified as "exempt from their own responsibility, The clause which increases the liability of the other party and excludes the main rights of the other Party shall be void. Moreover, the telecommunications operators have no legal basis for the balance of the charges, according to the general rules of civil law 92nd: "without lawful grounds, to obtain improper benefits, causing loss of others, should be to obtain undue benefits to the loss of the person." Operators should return the balance to consumers. Refusal to return constitutes a violation of consumer rights (Xinhua)