Bell Education, a well-known robot programming education institution, "ran away"?
Reporter’s on-site visit: Chengdu headquarters moved and stores closed
The empty classroom of Bell Education.
On May 11, Sichuan Bell Education Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Bell Education"), a well-known robot programming education institution, issued an announcement stating that due to high financial pressure, Bell Education's Sichuan stores have suspended operations.
Bell Education is a well-known robot programming education institution in Sichuan, with dozens of branches and stores. On May 12, many parents of students reported to West China Metropolis Daily and cover news reporters that Bell Education had notified them of the suspension of classes, but the company did not say when classes would resume or how to resolve the issue of remaining class fees. On the afternoon of that day, reporters visited Bell Education’s Chengdu headquarters, Evergrande teaching stores and other places and found that its headquarters had moved out before March and all teaching stores had been closed.
Parents complain: They are still charging a lot of money before and after May Day
"It's mainly too irritating." A parent who paid at Bell Education Wuhou Wanda store told reporters: "Not long ago, Bell's teacher was telling me about the study plan for the next year, telling me about the children's After finishing the course package, I was asked to renew, but yesterday I was suddenly notified that classes were suspended."
After this incident, some parents recalled that there were originally trainings on April 29th and 30th, but the other party said there was a circuit problem, and then there was no training.
"On April 21st and May 4th, we were required to purchase later teaching aids and transfer 6,398 yuan (2,000 yuan to 4,398 yuan) in two installments. It was said that relevant courses would be opened at the end of May." Some parents showed proof of payment. "It was all hard-earned money, and it was just cheated away." Ms. Zhang, who registered her children at the Bell Education Global Center store, told reporters that she suspected that Bell Education launched various discounts before the "May Day" just to take away the last money. .
It is understood that before and after the May Day holiday, Bell Education used "discounts", "new courses" and "buying new teaching aids" as excuses to make parents pay on a large scale. As of May 7, there were still parents who paid cost. Course fees range from NT$1,000 to NT$40,000.
Some parents said that the main demands now are to refund the course fees or arrange for other institutions to continue to complete the course teaching. Some parents also believe that the relevant responsible persons need to be held accountable, "They have been deliberately asking teachers to sell lesson packs and then run away overnight. How can there be any truth in this? This is a crime."
Institutional teacher: I haven’t received my salary for a long time
"We received a notice that we have no money now and cannot continue to operate, and then we will suspend operations." The reporter contacted a teacher from Bell Education, and he said: "The salaries of our teachers have not been paid for probably several months. , I have no record of paying social security and provident fund for a year, and they are still deducted from my salary every month."
"We can't contact the higher authorities, and we are also defending our rights." The teacher said.
Regarding the May Day large-scale request for parents to renew their subscriptions, the above-mentioned teacher said: “For teachers, our job is to help children grow, but this industry basically requires teachers themselves to negotiate renewals and reward them. It's not as exaggerated as the rumors, it's only 2% at most."
Regarding the above-mentioned teacher’s statement, the reporter found a person close to the management of Bell Education, who said: “The company’s operations have been kept hidden from teachers, and teachers are only allowed to do their performance. Since March, Bell has begun to merge campuses. Each campus now has an average of 800-1,000 students. According to parent statistics, the amount involved in the Bell Education case may exceed 10 million yuan.
On-site visit: The residents of the Chengdu headquarters were left empty
"It has been moved. This place was the former Bell's territory." When the reporter came to No. 726, 7th Floor, Unit 1, Building 1, No. 100, West Section of Second Ring Road, Chengdu City, where Bell Education Headquarters is located, they found that the original The signboard has been replaced by the name of another company.
The police came to investigate yesterday and it was said that he had escaped. Many parents came to consult. Employees of other companies at this address told reporters that they moved into the site on March 8 this year. In other words, Bell Education had already moved away from this place before this.
The reporter noticed that on February 28 this year, Bell Education had been included in the list of abnormal operations by the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Wuhou District, Chengdu City, on the grounds that the registered residence or business premises could not be contacted. It should be noted that Bell Education changed its legal representative in June last year. The former legal representative Wang Zuobing left and Nao Shengpeng became the new legal representative. Sichuan Bell currently has 27 legal disputes, 70% of which are education and training contract disputes, but its latest dispute is a house rental contract dispute.
Lawyer’s statement
Using deceptive means to charge
will constitute a crime of fraud
The crime of fraud refers to using deception as a means to defraud a relatively large amount of property through illegal possession of public and private property. "Lawyer Guo Pengjian from Beijing Lianggao Law Firm said that in this case, if the educational institution knew that it did not have the teaching ability and still asked parents to pay fees on the grounds of teaching, causing parents to suffer losses, then it would constitute a crime of fraud and should be investigated for criminal liability. In practice In practice, most cases will be resolved through civil litigation, but only civil judgments can be obtained, and the judgment payments are difficult to fully enforce.
Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, believes that if educational institutions make false promises and mislead consumers, it may involve fraud, and consumers can claim a refund of one and three indemnity. When an educational institution's capital chain is broken and operations are suspended, resulting in the inability to provide services and refund money, parents can file a lawsuit in court to request a refund from the educational institution. ”
West China Metropolis Daily-Cover News Reporter Zhu Ning
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