A woman in Shanghai originally purchased a pet cat for 800 yuan, but upon returning home, she discovered a total installment bill of 7152 yuan on her back. She stated that she signed an agreement and bound a payment method as directed by the store clerk, only to later realize that the related costs needed to be paid over two years.
According to a report by “JiMu News” on May 31, at the end of February this year, Ms. Zhou bought a cat at a pet store in Wanda, Jiading, Shanghai. At that time, the clerk said the market price of this cat was about 3000 yuan, but the promotional price in the store was only 800 yuan. She immediately paid the purchase amount and, at the suggestion of the clerk, linked her bank card to make purchases of pet food and supplies through a designated mini-program.
Soon after, Ms. Zhou received payment deduction notices on her phone. It was then that she realized she needed to make 24 “installment payments,” totaling 7152 yuan. She then contacted the store, and they presented her with a so-called pet adoption agreement, with Ms. Zhou’s name printed in the signature box.
Another woman, Ms. Yuan, who bought a cat at the same store, had a similar experience.
Following these incidents, reporters from mainland China visited the store as consumers and found that the price tags on the pet cats in the store showed two prices: one for “care service fees,” mostly around a thousand yuan, and the other for the “market price,” mostly exceeding five thousand yuan. If a consumer chooses to purchase a cat at the lower price, they need to recharge a certain amount on a designated platform each month and continue for two years.
Similar phenomena have occurred in many places before. In March this year, “JiMu News” reported that in recent years, some pet businesses have attracted consumers into their stores with offers such as “free cat adoption” or “adopt instead of purchase,” and then binding them to follow-up consumption through pet supplies recharge, package consumption, installment payments, and other forms.
Some consumers, after so-called “free adoption” or buying a cat at a low price, only found out later that they need to pay monthly fees, with some contracts lasting one or two years. If they cancel midway, consumers may still have to bear breach-of-contract penalties, make up for the original price of the pet, or continue to pay the remaining bills.
Previous investigations by mainland Chinese media have found that some “free adoption” installment agreements hide high breach-of-contract penalties, bundled consumption requirements, and even clauses that require consumers to continue making payments even if the pet dies accidentally.
The report by “JiMu News” also mentioned that on platforms like HeiMa Complaints, several consumers have encountered similar issues. Some mentioned that even after their cats became sick or died, they were still required to continue paying installment or recharge fees; others noted that due to not fully understanding the contents of the agreement at the time of signing, they realized afterwards that the final amount to be paid was far higher than the initial adoption or purchase price.