When it comes to video products that have been loved by audiences recently, short dramas are definitely the “top one”. Compared with previous video products, short dramas are mostly played on various mini programs, short drama apps and other social media video platforms. Each episode lasts 1 to 2 minutes. The plot is fast-paced and mixed with a lot of twists and turns, which has attracted many netizens. I can't stop crying.
However, with the popularity of short dramas, its payment model has also been controversial. Generally speaking, viewers can watch the first few episodes for free, but at a certain turning point in the plot, they need to pay to watch. The paid recharge is through virtual currency transactions. Viewers need to recharge to purchase virtual coins such as diamonds and k-coins before unlocking the relevant episodes. The cost of each episode ranges from tens to hundreds of coins. Some netizens complained on social platforms that at first glance, the price per episode was not high, but due to the large number of short episodes, the cost unknowingly exceeded 100 yuan. Recently, the Liberation Daily and Shangguan News "People's Voice Express" has received feedback from citizens, saying that when watching short dramas, they encountered consumption routines such as "automatic renewal without reminders", "false propaganda" and "difficulty in refunds".
automatic payment lacks reminder?
Not long ago, Mr. Xu opened his mobile Alipay bill and found that there were two orders of 89.7 yuan automatically deducted from his account for no reason, one on March 2 and the other on January 31. He was confused about this and had no memory of what product he had purchased. The product description on the payment interface did not have any prompts, only "If you need help, please contact QQ". Mr. Xu continued to scroll forward and found that there was an order for three cents with the same note. Then he remembered that he had purchased a short drama membership for a certain mini program.
There were three orders, the first was 0.03 yuan, and the last two were both 89.7 yuan.
It turned out that at the end of January, when Mr. Xu was browsing videos on the short video platform, he clicked into a small program to watch a short play. At that time, the page jumped. When the option of "three-cent early adopter membership" appeared, "I thought it would only cost three cents, so I clicked to watch." But he remembered that the relevant interface did not prompt that the fee would continue to be deducted later. "If I knew that the subsequent deduction would be so It’s too much, I definitely won’t pay it, and I haven’t watched it again since.” He immediately contacted the customer service through his QQ account and asked for a refund, but the customer service praised him for having paid a membership trial of 0.03 yuan in the short drama, and opened the There are reminders of automatic renewal service from time to time. Later, at Mr. Xu's strong request, the other party refunded one month's membership fee, but he was not satisfied with this. "I clearly haven't enjoyed the service, why do you want me to pay?"
Customer service said it was "3 cents" When the membership trial is activated, there is a prompt for automatic renewal service.
Ms. Wang was also "behind the scenes" about the deduction of membership fees for the short drama. She had previously opened a small password-free payment through a certain video platform and WeChat. She saw the short drama while browsing videos on the homepage and started watching it continuously. I watched a few episodes, but I didn’t expect to unlock the paid episodes directly “without password” when paying. Only a few hours later I found a deduction reminder on WeChat. "It doesn't matter if it's only a few yuan, but some short dramas directly deducted dozens of yuan from me." She showed an order to reporters at that time. The details showed that the expenditure of 49.9 yuan was for a three-day membership of a short drama platform. . Ms. Wang said that she had tried to get a refund, but the other party said that there was already a viewing record and no refund could be made.
is a three-day membership without password payment. Cases like
are not uncommon. The reporter noticed that many mini programs automatically checked the option of "automatically unlocking the next episode by default" on the payment page. Some short drama mini programs claimed that they could "trial membership for a few cents", but after a few The queen quietly deducted the money again. Some netizens argued with customer service, but customer service said that the automatic renewal service had been checked during the membership trial, and by default consumers knew and chose automatic renewal. Some automatically renew or even renew on a weekly basis. When Ms. Chen returned home, she found that nearly 100 yuan in short drama membership fees were deducted from her father's Alipay every other week.
There are many tricks to induce recharge.
In addition to the old routine of automatic renewal, short dramas have the characteristics of multi-channel streaming, recharging first and then watching, and relying on third-party mini-programs, which have also produced various consumption traps.
Ms. Jiang likes to watch "sweet dramas" in her daily life.At the end of last year, she accidentally came across a short drama called "Oops!" "The Empress Comes to Work", after clicking to watch, it jumps to a mini program called "Doujin Theater", where you can watch selected episodes in the mini program. "The female lead's acting is very natural, and the plot is also time-travelling. It's very interesting to watch. At that time, the short drama mini-program showed that this drama has 245 episodes. I wanted to watch it slowly, so I impulsively recharged my membership for three months and paid 99.9 Yuan." As a result, when Ms. Jiang watched episode 80, she found that the show had ended. She turned to watch other short dramas on the platform, only to find that the quality was "completely off the mark." The
page shows that this short drama has 245 episodes, but Ms. Jiang found that it has been completed when she saw the 80th episode. The
page shows that this short drama has 245 episodes, but Ms. Jiang found that it has been completed when she saw the 80th episode.
While young people are going crazy, older people who are not familiar with mobile phones are also becoming the main victims of short dramas. The same short play will be put on different short play mini programs, and then displayed and attracted traffic through social media and short video platforms. Some elderly people come across these videos through social media recommendations, and then click to enter the short drama mini program to watch subsequent episodes. When switching between programs on different platforms, elderly people who are not good at operating mobile phones may have to pay repeatedly for the same drama in multiple short drama mini-programs.
Mr. Zhang encountered this situation. He purchased a seven-day membership of a short drama mini program. After watching his favorite short drama that day, he closed the mini program. The next day, he could not find the entrance. Repeat the previous process to "swipe" the same short drama and click on it, only to find that you need to pay and recharge again. Later I discovered that although it was the same show, it was not on the same mini program, so membership was not universal.
Even if you purchase episodes of the same mini program, you will encounter a situation where the original mini program entrance disappears after a period of time. Merchants "shoot and change places", consumers either can't search, or click on the mini program and it shows that the service is abnormal, is being upgraded, and will try again later. After Ms. Chen discovered that her father had been deducted multiple fees in a row, she tried to communicate with customer service through a mini program. However, the relevant mini program had been removed from the shelves. In the end, it was only with the intervention of Alipay customer service that she was able to successfully refund the money.
The chaos needs to be rectified urgently.
In addition, at the Shanghai 12345 citizen service hotline, the difficulty in recharging and refunding minors has also become the focus of complaints in the short drama. The reporter noticed that the payment pages of these short dramas are often interspersed with various welfare recharge advertisements. The details of some mini program recharge pages only have two or three sentences, such as "Virtual goods cannot be returned or exchanged", "Minors require guardian's consent", etc. There is neither a recharge rule nor a specific service agreement, and screenshots of these drama watching pages and payment pages are not allowed, which raises concerns: Can consumers’ right to know and freedom of choice be guaranteed?
The recharge interface is simple to introduce, and screenshots are not allowed.
From occupying the sinking market to going overseas to make gold, short dramas are becoming more and more popular. In order to standardize the development of the industry, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will continue to carry out the governance of online micro-short dramas starting in 2022, and organized a three-month special rectification work on "mini programs" online micro-short dramas; in November 2023, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will It was announced that multiple measures will be taken to continue to carry out the management of online micro-short dramas, with the focus including accelerating the formulation of the "Detailed Rules for the Creation, Production and Content Review of Online Micro-Short Dramas", studying and promoting the inclusion of online micro-short drama apps and "mini programs" into daily organizational management. For the rapid development of micro-short dramas, current governance is mainly focused on content and other aspects. The lack of
regulatory rules and the imperfect complaint mechanism still lead to the endless occurrence of arbitrary charges. If there is no supervision, how long can this boom of cutting leeks last? In this regard, the platform needs to further strengthen the review of third-party user qualifications and payment mechanisms. The platform cannot shirk its own responsibilities just because the transaction occurs in a third-party mini-program. A quick-response complaint channel and disciplinary mechanism should be established. , to assist consumers in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.
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