Guideline introduces cooling-off period for marriage seekers

A guideline for matchmaking services released by the city's civil affairs authorities on Tuesday introduces a seven-day cooling-off period and full refund mechanism for the first time.

The guideline, the first of its kind in China, gives marriage seekers the rights to a refund of all fees paid to matchmaking agencies within a cooling-off period ranging between three and seven days if they have regrets.

The aim is to regulate the market and eliminate disputes if agencies trick people by playing on their anxieties or where clients have been too impulsive, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.

During the cooling-off period, agencies should not conduct any service and clients are entitled to terminate the contract and be exempt from liability for breach of contract, it said.

The guideline was jointly released by the bureau, and market watchdog, police and cybersecurity authorities in Shanghai.

It also bans fake or misleading promotions, nontransparent and unreasonable payments, and exposure of personal information.

It requires agencies to check the information of marriage seekers such as their ID number, marriage status and education background and clearly mark their service items, content, number, and duration.

Online dating agency Jiayuan.com was fined 200,000 yuan (US$27,601) by market regulators in Yangpu District for swindling customers based on an administrative penalty notice delivered in April.

The agency was found to have failed to inform two customers about the service content and quality after they had paid more than 100,000 yuan in membership fees.

The administrative penalty was made based on China's Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, according to the Yangpu District Administration for Market Regulation.

The company came under fire following exposure on this year's annual "315" consumer rights day TV show on CCTV. It claimed that the company's matchmakers lured people with fake information and virtual dating figures and also imposed random charges.

It was also found to have tricked consumers into paying high membership fees above 10,000 yuan each, taking advantage of their anxieties over age, birth and the feelings of their children after divorce.