EZZY car-sharing company disbanded 70 days ago: deposit cannot be recovered, wages cannot be paid

After EZZY, which once became famous for investing nearly 500 BMW i3s, announced its dissolution, the deposit issue of its users has not yet been resolved.

"Before EZZY went bankrupt, I applied for a refund of my deposit, but it has not been returned to me yet. I have already filed a lawsuit." A user registered with EZZY told reporters recently.

In addition to user deposits, a former EZZY employee recently told reporters that "up to now, EZZY has not paid out the employee wages owed and the economic compensation promised when it was disbanded." "The user deposits and employee wages added up to an estimated 5 million yuan," the former EZZY employee said.

At noon on January 2, the reporter came to the office location of EZZY before its disbandment - Ucommune in Fangyuan Building, Haidian District, Beijing. This is also the office location of the liquidation team after the disbandment of EZZY. At the scene, the reporter saw that the door of the liquidation reception room was closed and the lights were not on. According to the front desk staff of Ucommune, "They are still renting the office. The liquidation team was working normally before the New Year's Day holiday, but no one has come today."

A lawyer told reporters that if a bankrupt company does not have a liquidation team designated by the court, but instead sets up its own liquidation team, creditors can only declare their claims through the liquidation team formed by the bankrupt company, but it cannot be ruled out that some companies may deliberately conceal the liquidation process from the outside world.

Some users apply for compulsory deposit refund

EZZY has always had a close connection with the automotive industry. WM Motor once invested 20 million yuan in it. The shared car platform was once regarded by automobile companies as an important opportunity to achieve "identity" transformation, but the development of new things always coexists with risks.

On October 25, 2017, EZZY officially issued a statement saying that it is actively handling subsequent matters, has established a liquidation team in accordance with national laws and regulations, and is strictly carrying out liquidation and repayment work in accordance with the law.

"The first batch of users who sued the court for the return of their deposits are currently waiting for compulsory execution. I am going to get the certificate of effectiveness of the judgment today, and then apply for (compulsory) execution." On January 2, 2018, an EZZY registered user told reporters that after obtaining the certificate of effectiveness of the judgment, it is said that the refund will take about a month.

It is understood that in November 2017, the registered user of EZZY received a judgment issued by the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing. The court required Daming Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Daming Technology), as the owner of EZZY, to return the user's deposit of 2,000 yuan within 3 days after the judgment came into effect. If the payment obligation is not fulfilled, it shall pay double the debt interest during the delayed performance period.

At the same time, in a WeChat group called "EZZY Refund Rights Protection" formed by some EZZY registered users and former employees, the reporter learned that some EZZY users have sued Daming Technology Co., Ltd. in court.

According to previous estimates by EZZY founder Fu Qiang, before EZZY was disbanded, there were about 1,800 users who had deposited money. If each user deposited 2,000 yuan, the total deposit amount would be about 3.6 million yuan.

Employees wait for wages and compensation

While EZZY registered users are struggling to pay their deposits, former EZZY employees are also anxiously awaiting their wages and compensation.

The aforementioned former EZZY employee revealed to the reporter, "When EZZY was disbanded, there were more than 30 employees. Most of them were owed one month's salary plus compensation, and a small number were owed two months' salary plus compensation. Up to now, all employees' salaries have not been settled and paid."

Another former EZZY employee also told reporters that "my salary and compensation have not been paid yet, and I am still waiting for the liquidation results of the liquidation team."

The reporter learned that before announcing its dissolution, EZZY signed an "Agreement on Termination of Labor Relations" with its employees on October 23, 2017, promising to pay employees' wages until October 23, 2017, as well as a certain amount of financial compensation.

So, can EZZY come up with the salary and compensation? According to an EZZY staff member, "Dameng Technology has external debts, and if they are all recovered, the deposit can be returned and the salary can be paid." However, as of press time, the reporter has not called Dameng Technology and the liquidation team, so the above statement has not been confirmed by the company.

However, a third-party staff member in charge of the audit of Dameng Technology told reporters that the client was Dameng Technology and the audit report had been handed over to Dameng Technology. "Generally, after a company goes bankrupt and dissolves, the audit report can be regarded as a liquidation report. According to legal procedures, Dameng Technology can return user deposits and pay employees' wages based on the liquidation report." The above-mentioned lawyer told reporters, "Even if the funds are in place, in order to protect the rights of workers, employees' wages will be paid first, followed by deposits."

It is difficult to waive deposit for shared cars

From Coolqi Bike, Xiaoming Bike to EZZY, the difficulty in refunding deposits for shared travel has become a focus of social attention.

An analysis of consumer complaints released by Beijing in November 2017 showed that shared cars have become a major target of consumer complaints, including delays or refusal to return rental deposits, overcharges and other issues. In particular, how to reasonably regulate the "deposit pool" of the sharing economy has attracted attention in the industry.

"In the field of sharing economy, shared cars are no longer one deposit for one leased item, but one deposit for one account, which turns the traditional one-to-one lease into a one-to-many deposit sharing." The above-mentioned lawyer said that if the shared car platform does not have enough vehicles for counter-guarantee, there will be financial risks if it is poorly managed, and it may also cause consumer disputes.

In August 2017, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Small and Micro Passenger Car Rentals", which mentioned that time-sharing rental operators are encouraged to adopt a credit model instead of deposit management. The reporter learned that at present, in the field of shared cars, some operating companies have begun to try to use credit instead of deposits.

"We are cooperating with third-party payment platforms. As long as the credit score is above 720, there is no deposit exemption. Currently on our platform, there are tens of thousands of users who are exempt from deposit." Gofun Travel President and Chief Operating Officer Tan Yi said in an interview with reporters recently.

However, this does not mean that the shared car platform will completely adopt a deposit-free mode. "We have tried not to collect deposits, but found that there were many cases of vehicle damage and hundreds of tickets for one vehicle. Therefore, deposits are still a very necessary control method for shared cars at present," said Tan Yi.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.