Sign a written contract before paying a deposit; if a business faces risks, it must stop taking payments, and you have the right to get back any unused balance if it shuts down.

Any business that accepts a prepayment from you must sign a written contract with you that clearly outlines how refunds will be handled. If a business runs into serious operational problems, it must stop collecting prepayments. Even if it plans to close or relocate, it must give you advance notice. At that point, you can either demand that it continue providing services or request a refund for any unused balance. Violating these rules results in fines for the business.

No cost involved. The real challenge is insisting on a written contract on the spot — refusing any “pay first, talk later” offers.

The regulations require businesses accepting prepayments to sign written contracts that specify refund procedures. If a business faces major operational risks, it must cease taking prepayments. When a business decides to close or move locations, it must inform consumers ahead of time. Consumers have the right to demand continued service delivery or a refund for any unspent balance. Breaching these rules can lead to fines ranging from 1 to 10 times the illegal earnings; if no illegal earnings exist, fines up to 500,000 yuan may apply.

These regulations mainly serve as a basis for legal action after the fact — they cannot prevent issues beforehand. If a business actually shuts down, its funds are often no longer accessible. Therefore, it is advisable to follow the advice in this section to limit prepayments to small amounts via “pay-per-use” or short-term plans. In case of problems, you can then rely on these regulations to protect your rights. Article 27 of the same regulations also requires businesses collecting deposits to agree in advance on refund methods, procedures, and timeframes, and they cannot impose unreasonable conditions on refunds.

国务院 (2024). 中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法实施条例（国务院令第 778 号，2024 年 7 月 1 日施行）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202403/content_6940159.htm 第二十二条：「经营者以收取预付款方式提供商品或者服务的，应当与消费者订立书面合同，约定商品或者服务的具体内容、价款或者费用、预付款退还方式、违约责任等事项。」「经营者未按照约定提供商品或者服务的，应当按照消费者的要求履行约定或者退还预付款。」「经营者出现重大经营风险，有可能影响经营者按照合同约定或者交易习惯正常提供商品或者服务的，应当停止收取预付款。经营者决定停业或者迁移服务场所的，应当提前告知消费者……消费者……有权要求经营者继续履行提供商品或者服务的义务，或者要求退还未消费的预付款余额。」；第五十条第二款：「经营者违反本条例第二十二条规定的，由有关行政部门责令改正，可以根据情节单处或者并处警告、没收违法所得、处以违法所得1倍以上10倍以下的罚款，没有违法所得的，处以50万元以下的罚款」