Photo/Shetuwang

May 5 (NBD) -- Thirteen working days have passed since Huang Weijian applied for a refund of his 1,500-yuan (222.9 U.S. dolllars) deposit from Happiness, a Guangdong-based car-sharing firm, but no progress has been made. 

The junior student started contacting the company via the customer service hotline for a refund, nine days after he used the service for the first time. But he hadn't received any concrete solution but a verbal promise of premium processing. 

Zhou Deqin from Jiangbei District, Chongqing had a similar experience. After two months of efforts, Zhou still couldn't get her deposit back from Pand-Auto, which centers on car-sharing operations in big cities. According to her, the company has kept refusing her request for deposit refund on the grounds of system upgrading. 

Both Huang and Zhou's experience epitomizes users' huge difficulties in retrieving deposit refund from car-sharing companies. 

A search on SINA's consumer service platform tousu.sina.com.cn shows that 1,036 complaints about shared cars have been lodged on the platform to date, 80 percent of which were related to deposit refund. 

Behind the difficulties in getting deposits back lies the fact that the car-sharing industry is losing its glory and facing a tough situation, industry insiders pointed out. 

Since 2017, the sector has witnessed the operations discontinuation of a number of platforms, including Youyou, EZZY, Muggle and even top player Togo. 

On the surface, the car-sharing industry doesn't lack money. Data from research and consulting firm Iyiou reveals that as of June 2018, more than 500 registered car-sharing firms in China had attracted investment of around 80 billion yuan in total. 

But in fact, due to the asset-heavy business model, these companies need a huge influx of capital to continue operations. Embezzling user deposits gradually became a norm amid the mounting operating pressure. 

One industry source told tech blog Beefix that car-sharing platforms mostly tried to earn profits through making investments using deposits, rather than charging rentals. 

With the exposure of deposit issues, many worry that car-sharing companies might suffer the same fate as bike-sharing platforms like Ofo. 

"Malicious embezzlement of user deposits constitutes a criminal offence, while embezzlement for the purpose of staying afloat in trying times would be deemed as an economic dispute and breach of contract," said Qiu Baochang, a legal consultant for the China Consumers Association.

"Car-sharing firms should bear civil responsibilities if they were unable to restitute deposits after misappropriation," Qiu added.

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn