Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan) pursues class action lawsuit for victims of accommodation platform

■ Consumers are angry at the ‘refund only if cancellation within 10 minutes’ rule… Multiple additional victims confirmed
■ A victim in the process of filing a claim for refund of lodging expenses received a decision to temporarily seize the bond.

Recently, as the number of cases of refunds being denied in the process of booking and canceling accommodations through online accommodation platforms is increasing, Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan) announced on the 17th that it has decided to recruit affected consumers and file a class action lawsuit.

In particular, as the holiday season approaches, posts complaining about the refund policy of accommodation platforms are appearing one after another in online communities and social media. Even though the intention to cancel the reservation was expressed within the legal period, the damage was severe due to the lodging platforms' unilateral no-refund policy.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency, the number of consumer consultations received during August last year, the peak summer vacation season, was 46,084, with consultations related to ‘hotels and pensions’ increasing the most at 96.4% compared to the previous month. The consultation was mainly about complaints about excessive cancellation penalties.

According to Article 17 of the Electronic Commerce Act, consumers who have entered into a contract for the purchase of goods, etc. with a mail order seller may express their intention to withdraw their subscription within 7 days from the date of receiving a written document regarding the contents of the contract.

If a consumer has legally exercised the right to cancel a subscription, the seller must return the payment regardless of the reason, but many lodging platforms operate a reservation system with separate terms and conditions such that refunds are only possible if a cancellation request is made within 10 minutes.

The lodging platform claims that it is only in charge of brokerage and is not a party to the contract, so it is not subject to the law on regulation of terms and conditions. The lodging company also claims that it is not a party to the contract.

Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan) recognizes that there are many damages caused by the lodging platform's non-refundable policy and is taking the position of providing legal representation for the victims.

Previously, Daeryun filed a lawsuit for refund of unfair profits against the lodging platform on behalf of employee A. Mr. A made a hotel reservation through an accommodation platform, but immediately requested cancellation of the reservation. However, the lodging platform rejected Mr. A's request, saying it would be difficult to issue a refund because the reservation was not canceled within 10 minutes.

Accordingly, Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan) filed a lawsuit against the lodging platform Yanolja on behalf of Mr. A, and applied for provisional seizure of the bond as a preservation measure for the lawsuit and received a decision from the court to provisionally seize the bond.

Daeryun Law Firm (Lihan) explained, “While proceeding with Mr. A’s lawsuit, we realized that there were many other victims, so we decided to start a class action lawsuit. We are currently receiving a lot of inquiries from consumers who have been harmed in similar cases.”

He added, “The refund policy created by the accommodation platform violates several laws, including the Electronic Commerce Act and the Terms and Conditions Act, and is unfair because it excessively limits consumers’ right to cancel without reasonable grounds.” He added, “We will help consumers exercise their reasonable rights.”

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