Case Description

Ms. Zhang ordered a takeout lunch through the takeout platform and consumed a total of 800 yuan. However, during the meal, she found foreign objects in the food. Therefore, Ms. Zhang filed a lawsuit against the takeout platform, demanding a refund of the meal fee and paying 10 times the compensation. However, the takeout platform believes that the product was sold to Ms. Zhang by the merchant and has nothing to do with the platform. The platform has strictly reviewed the merchant's information and business qualifications, and has fulfilled reasonable review obligations. It has provided Ms. Zhang with the merchant's real name information, so it should not be held responsible.

Lawyer Analysis

Article 44 of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests" stipulates that consumers who purchase goods or receive services through online trading platforms and their legitimate rights and interests are damaged can claim compensation from the seller or service provider. "If the provider of the online trading platform cannot provide the true name, address, and effective contact information of the seller or service provider, the consumer may also claim compensation from the provider of the online trading platform;"; "If a provider of an online trading platform makes a commitment that is more beneficial to consumers, it shall fulfill the commitment.". The provider of an online trading platform has the right to recover compensation from the seller or service provider after compensation. "If a provider of an online trading platform knows or should know that a seller or service provider has used its platform to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and has not taken necessary measures, it shall bear joint and several liability with the seller or service provider according to law.". Article 3 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Food Safety Disputes (I) stipulates that the operators of e-commerce platforms have failed to register their real names, review their licenses, or fulfill their obligations to report or stop providing services to online trading platforms, thereby harming the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, If consumers claim that e-commerce platform operators and food operators on the platform bear joint and several liabilities, the people's court should support them.

According to the foregoing provisions and from the perspective of contract relativity, a merchant on an online trading platform is the counterparty to a transaction contract with a consumer, so the merchant should be the defendant. However, under special circumstances, online trading platforms may also become defendants and assume responsibility. Due to the information advantages of online trading platforms compared to consumers, they have a certain degree of control over which merchants can enter the platform to operate. Therefore, in order to better protect consumers of online shopping, the law stipulates many obligations of online trading platforms. For example, online trading platforms have the obligation to provide consumers with the true name, address, and effective contact information of the seller or service provider on the platform. In particular, online trading platforms involving food operations have legal obligations for food operators to register under their real names, review licenses, report, and stop providing platform services to merchants that do not meet the requirements. "Once the online trading platform fails to fulfill this obligation, or knowingly fails to take any measures to harm the rights and interests of consumers, the online trading platform can also become a defendant and bear corresponding legal liabilities.". In this case, the court ultimately held that the takeout platform had performed reasonable and necessary review obligations on the business qualifications of the involved merchant before the merchant entered the platform, and that it could disclose the true identity of the food seller involved. Finally, the court rejected all of Ms. Zhang's litigation claims.

If there is a dispute over purchasing goods or receiving services through an online trading platform, it should first be resolved through consultation with the merchant. If a consumer does not know the merchant's contact information, they have the right to require the online trading platform to disclose it. If the online trading platform cannot provide merchant information, then the consumer can request the online trading platform to compensate. At the same time, in the process of safeguarding rights, attention should be paid to preserving relevant evidence. If foreign matters are found in takeaway food, attention should be paid to preserving relevant videos, photos, and foreign matter originals. At the same time, pay attention to retaining chat records of communication with online trading platforms and merchants as evidence.