Chinese Man Sues Supermarket After They Cheat Him Out of $0.008
By Carl Samson
April 25, 2019
A court in northwestern China ruled
The plaintiff, surnamed Xiao, claimed that he was not given enough change while checking out at a branch of Yonghui Superstores.
Xiao’s receipt shows that he had paid 55 yuan ($8.16) for items worth 54.76 yuan ($8.12) on the afternoon of Feb. 2.
However, instead of a 0.24 yuan ($0.036) in change, he only received 0.2 yuan ($0.030).
“I paid 55 yuan in cash, and they gave me 0.2 yuan in change,” Xiao told Pear Video, according to the South China Morning Post. “They illegally took 0.04 yuan.”
“By filing the lawsuit, I only wanted them to return the 0.04 yuan that should be mine.”
In response to Xiao’s claims, a lawyer for Yonghui Superstores reportedly admitted that, “the method of giving change by rounding up or down does not fully respect the consumer’s rights and causes them inconvenience.”
“In regard to this, we apologise again to Mr Xiao and the wider public,” the lawyer added.
As a result, the Yanqiao District People’s Court in Xian, Shaanxi province ordered the retailer chain to pay Xiao the overdue change, as well as legal costs of 50 yuan ($7.41).
According to Beijing News, Xiao only pursued the lawsuit to confirm that such “rounding off system” was illegal in business — and he was clearly successful.
“I just wanted to say no to the business’s unlawful practice and unreasonable rules. By pursuing a lawsuit, this matter was recognized at the legal level, and hopefully it attracts society’s attention,” Xiao said, according to Chengdu Business Daily.
“He helped spread awareness of consumer rights.”
“I think this gentleman was right to defend his rights. Many supermarkets practice this.”
“I support consumer rights protection. It may only be 0.4 yuan, but it is a right thing to do.”
“I feel like the case was a waste of judicial resources, but it has caused society to pay attention.”
“This is not a waste of judicial resources. This is the correct way of using judicial resources. The courts will be supportive, be it 4 yuan or 4,000 yuan, they are all the same. This is not just about [the amount of] money.”
Images via Pear Video
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