Due to the impact of the new variant of COVID-19, Shanghai recently pressed the "pause button". During the period of epidemic control, the majority of residents actively responded to the call to cooperate with the policy, and made their own contributions to the goal of "dynamic zeroing" in Shanghai. I believe that under the leadership of the Party and the government, the people of Shanghai will unite as one, and the goal of victory will eventually be achieved, and Shanghai, a great city, will also bloom again.
Due to the highly transmissible nature of Omixon, logistics and distribution in Shanghai, the last mile of livelihood material support during the control period, has been greatly impacted. In addition to government provided support materials, community owners have also utilized various social resources and adopted community group purchase methods to improve logistics and distribution efficiency to some extent, while also meeting the basic material procurement needs of community owners in the context of the epidemic.

This type of activity is also unfolding in full swing in the community where the author is located, and network posts such as "My Team Leader My Team" often appear in the circle of friends. Based on the latest situation and policy release of community group buying in the latest society, the author hopes to provide a reminder of the relevant legal risks of community group buying through text, in order to hope that all parties firmly abide by the legal bottom line and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests when conducting community group buying.

3、 Legal Risks of "Team Leader"

In practice, "group leaders" may consist of two types of people. One type of "group leader" refers to the merchant, and the legal liability of the "group leader" is applicable to the relevant legal liability of the merchant. The other type of "group leader" refers to the currently common community owners with enthusiasm, ability, and social resources. For the latter, "group leaders" should also pay attention to their own behavior to avoid unnecessary legal liability due to improper behavior.
Community owner type "leaders" may also be divided into non-profit "leaders" and profit-making "leaders" for various reasons. As for the non-profit "group leader" itself, it may simply be because it has group purchasing resources and the willingness to initiate and organize community group purchasing. At the same time, it is also a community owner with a demand for material procurement, which only occurs under specific circumstances of epidemic control. At the same time, organizing and conducting community group purchasing is not its main business. Therefore, whether from a legal or emotional perspective, None of them should have strict requirements for the behavior of non-profit "group leaders", but in cases where non-profit "group leaders" intentionally engage in activities, such as knowing that there are problems with community group purchase products, exaggerating or misrepresenting the promotion of products, intentionally causing a situation of material shortage, they will still bear certain legal responsibilities due to the intentional nature of their actions. In order to avoid situations where good intentions can lead to bad behavior or take responsibility for good intentions, the author suggests that non-profit "team leaders" must objectively and truthfully report product introductions, requirements, and other matters to "team members", and should clearly inform "team members" in a prominent position that they are not the product merchants, and their actions are non-profit or gratuitous, and will not charge "team members" additional fees or any benefit fees, intermediary fees, Please "team members" carefully review the product introduction and requirements, and also pay attention to the risks caused by unexpected factors such as logistics. They should carefully select the products they need to avoid and mitigate unnecessary legal liability as much as possible.

For profit-making "group leaders", such as accepting "group members", "commissions", or other forms of fees in community group purchases, in general judicial practice, profit-making "group leaders" are generally recognized as sellers (i.e., merchants). If the above problems occur, compensation should be made to consumers, i.e. residents, based on the degree of fault and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. In the event of a dispute, "team members" can choose to claim compensation from the merchant, or they can claim compensation from the profitable "team leader", or they can claim their rights and interests together. The profitable "team leader" should pay particular attention to the legal responsibilities that the merchant needs to bear.

In order to alert related risks, the author noted that the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration issued the Prompt Letter on Regulating the Price Behavior of "Community Group Buying" during the Epidemic Prevention and Control Period in a timely manner on April 10, 2022. The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration fully explained the relevant organizers and operators of community group buying from the perspectives of price self-discipline, operating according to regulations, clearly marking prices, truthfully explaining, and safeguarding consumer rights and interests, The corresponding responsibilities and obligations of "group leaders" have been explained and risk tips have been provided. The author also hopes that "group leaders" should also pay timely attention to such information and grasp the compliance standards in carrying out community group buying activities, so that when providing convenience for "group members", they can also protect their own rights and interests in accordance with the law and avoid legal risks.

4、 Protection of the rights and interests of "League members"

China's laws and regulations provide protection systems and mechanisms for "group members" (i.e., consumers) at all levels, including civil, administrative, and criminal levels. Considering that most products purchased in community groups are not worth much, most "group members" will choose to voluntarily give up consumer rights and interests in the event of disputes. From a legal perspective, the law does not protect people who sleep on their rights. Therefore, for example, "group members" should keep a mind and make preparations when conducting group purchases, In the event of disputes in the future, "League members" can also claim rights from relevant competent authorities in accordance with the law to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. The author suggests that "League members" can make the following preparations in case of emergency:

1. Try to participate in community group buying through official website channels or reliable channels. The author notes that the official official account of Shanghai urban government and streets will publish a batch of community group buying information from time to time;

2. Retain product introduction information, chat records, transfer records, product logistics and distribution records, and other relevant transaction status certificates generated during the community group purchase process, and check the product status as soon as receiving the product, confirm whether the product is missing, whether the product has surface defects, and make records;

3. Keep records of problematic products, using photos, videos, and other methods to prove the existence of related issues with fixed evidence;

4. Timely contact with merchants and "team leaders" to reflect issues, negotiate solutions and communication costs are low, and try to resolve issues as early as possible.
After completing the above work, in accordance with the laws and regulations of China, "League members" have the right to file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission, report a complaint to the competent department of market supervision and management, and file a lawsuit with a competent people's court. If a criminal offence is involved, "League members" also have the right to report to the competent department of public security to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

5、 Be alert to criminal acts known as community group buying, which are actually fraud

The author has noticed that some consumers on the internet have reported cases of "fake social group buying" and "real fraud" during the epidemic control period. The fraudsters took advantage of everyone's urgent mood for materials during the special period to commit fraud by sneaking into the community WeChat group or by phone. Many victims also forwarded relevant information to the community WeChat group due to the messages of credulous criminals, causing more victims, Generally, in this situation, the fraudster will propose that they have resources and channels, pass off their identity, and require the victim to pay for the goods in advance. At the same time, they may deliberately create material constraints to entice the victim to be deceived. The author notes that this type of incident has attracted the attention of relevant departments in Shanghai, and the Shanghai People's Procuratorate has provided the following suggestions to consumers through open channels for readers' reference:

1. Prefer group purchase packages organized on official platforms;

2. Always pay attention to the updated information of the official account of the street town and region;

3. Carefully verify the subject information and build the first line of defense;

4. Pay attention to fixing relevant evidence and fully defend their own rights and interests.

The author suggests that once such problems are discovered, they should immediately report to the police and provide relevant evidence to the public security department, and register the losses to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

Postscript

The impact of COVID-19 has made Shanghai experience a "cold spell in the late spring". The epidemic virus is merciless, but Shanghai has feelings. Community group buying has eased the situation of community material tension to a certain extent. At the same time, it has also built a communication bridge for the originally distant neighborhood relations. However, any party involved in community group buying must abide by the legal bottom line. Heart has spring light, go towards spring, persist in the end, is victory.