Jianfa Classroom | Issue 24: Can I ask for a refund after breaking up with my online lover?
During the period of love, it is normal for me to send a red envelope and you to send a gift. When the spark of love goes out, many people look back on this past and have no heart, leaving only a chicken feather, which often leads to an idea: I spent so much money on Ta for nothing, can I get it back?
In judicial practice, there are not a few cases of resorting to law because of economic disputes during love, among which economic disputes arising from online dating account for a large proportion.
Case 1
A and B know each other by making friends online. A said that she brushed her fellow countryman B on Tik Tok, and the latter two added WeChat friends to each other. Since then, B has borrowed several times from A in various names. When A thought that love was coming, B began to refuse to answer the phone and did not repay the loan to A. A begged for no results and appealed to the court.
Although no debit note was issued in this case, there was a clear intention of borrowing between the two parties, indicating that they reached an agreement on the nature of the transfer, and the loan also reached the borrower’s account through WeChat transfer, forming a legal and effective private lending relationship, and the loan should be repaid. How the relationship between the two parties does not affect the nature of the loan between the two parties. It should be noted that "borrowing money for emergency" through WeChat often does not stipulate whether to pay interest and repayment period, nor does it issue a written loan. In this case, you can ask the other party to return it within a reasonable period of time, but the claim that the other party should pay interest cannot be supported.
Case 2
C and D were introduced, C was older and unmarried, D divorced and took care of the children. After the two sides exchanged WeChat, D borrowed 6,000 yuan from C. Since then, D has repeatedly asked C to transfer money to it on the grounds that it needs to repay the mortgage and pay the tuition for children. C said that he thought he was in love with D for the purpose of marriage, and he was willing to pay for his mortgage, credit card, living expenses and children’s tuition. While D asked for it, he also took the initiative to transfer money to C many times. C did not accept all of it, but only collected a small amount of money. C then thought D was a "reliable" person, and transferred tens of thousands of yuan to D who had never met before in just three months. Later, C heard some rumors related to D from his fellow villagers, and contacted D to ask for a meeting. D refused on the grounds that the two sides were incompatible, and then no longer contacted C. C thought that the purpose of marrying D could not be achieved, and asked D to return the money. After consultation, D did not repay it as scheduled, and C appealed to the court. During the court’s notice of responding to the lawsuit, D indicated that only 6,000 yuan was borrowed from C, and the rest was donated by C voluntarily.
It is normal that there are economic exchanges during the period of communication for the purpose of love. It is even more common to send special amounts of red envelopes such as "1314", "520" and "999" to each other in order to maintain the love relationship, or to transfer money to each other for expenses. In the absence of clear evidence to prove that the transfer is a loan, this type of transfer is really not suitable for lending.
So,
Is it not clearly defined as
Electronic platform transfer of loans,
Don’t even have to return it?
really not so
During the normal communication between men and women, sending a red envelope to each other, buying a gift, or transferring money for common living expenses during dating and cohabitation are all normal expenses to maintain the love relationship, which belongs to the general gift behavior and is also consistent with the concept of gift in the general concept of society. Naturally, it is impossible to ask the other party to return it. However, during the period of love, there is no marriage constraint between the two parties, and there is no legal obligation for the husband and wife to support each other. Naturally, there is no need to bear the other party’s loans, the living expenses of the dependents, etc. If they voluntarily bear it for the purpose of marriage, the husband and wife will be integrated after marriage. However, under the circumstances that the two parties have not successfully entered the marriage hall, whether they can accept such "gifts" with peace of mind remains to be discussed. During the period of love, a large sum of money transferred voluntarily to share the economic pressure of the other party in order to maintain the relationship and achieve the purpose of marriage is essentially a gift with conditions for dissolution, which is similar to a "bride price". When the purpose of marriage cannot be achieved, the conditional achievement will be dissolved and the gift will be invalid, and the party who receives the gift property should return the benefits obtained. It should be reminded that although this situation can require the other party to return it through legal means, in the end, the rights may not be honored due to the other party’s lack of repayment ability, and it is difficult to really recover the losses.
"A sincere heart is given to you, and I love you forever. I believe that one day, we will meet …" In modern society, people rely more and more on the Internet for social interaction, and it is also a fate to meet each other in the virtual world across Qian Shan. However, it should be noted that it is difficult to judge the true faces of "handsome guys" and "beautiful women" on the Internet. In the case that the two sides have never met, they only know each other from each other’s own words, blindly fall into "love", and rashly agree to each other’s requests for loans and property. In the end, people and money may be empty, and it may be time-consuming and laborious to mention them. At the same time, they may be unable to recover economic losses while suffering from lovelorn sorrow.
Law popularization link
Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private Lending Cases
Article 9
A loan contract between natural persons may be regarded as established in any of the following circumstances:
(a) paid in cash, since the borrower receives the loan;
(2) If payment is made in the form of bank transfer or online electronic remittance, from the time when the funds reach the borrower’s account;
(3) If it is delivered by bill, since the borrower obtains the bill right according to law;
(4) When the lender authorizes the borrower to control a specific capital account, the borrower obtains the actual control over the account;
(5) When the lender provides the loan in other ways agreed with the borrower and actually performs it.
Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Article 158
A civil juristic act may be attached with conditions, except those that cannot be attached according to its nature. A civil juristic act with effective conditions shall take effect when the conditions are fulfilled. A civil juristic act with conditions for dissolution shall be invalid when the conditions are fulfilled.
Article 675
The borrower shall repay the loan within the agreed time limit. If the loan term is not agreed or clearly agreed, and cannot be determined according to the provisions of Article 510 of this Law, the borrower may return it at any time; The lender may urge the borrower to return it within a reasonable period of time.
Article 566
After the termination of the contract, if it has not been performed, the performance shall be terminated; If it has been performed, according to the performance and the nature of the contract, the parties may request restitution or take other remedial measures, and have the right to claim compensation for losses.
If the contract is terminated due to breach of contract, the obligee may request the breaching party to bear the liability for breach of contract, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
After the termination of the main contract, the guarantor shall still bear the guarantee liability for the civil liability that the debtor should bear, unless otherwise agreed in the guarantee contract.
Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Marriage and Family in the Civil Code of People’s Republic of China (PRC) (I)
Article 5
If a party requests the return of the bride price paid according to the custom, the people’s court shall support it if it is found that it belongs to the following circumstances:
(1) Both parties have not gone through the marriage registration formalities;
(2) Both parties have gone through the marriage registration formalities but have not lived together;
(3) paying before marriage and causing difficulties for the payer.
The application of the provisions of items 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be conditional on the divorce of both parties.
Contributed by Chen Ying
Original title: "Jianfa Classroom | No.24: Can I ask for a refund after breaking up with my online lover?"
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