广州居然之家一卖场以“国补”诱导消费 200余名消费者预付全款却遭遇商家无法履约

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights a significant issue in Guangzhou's furniture and home decoration market, where multiple consumers have reported that businesses, specifically the Ouponi and Gujia brands, failed to fulfill their contractual obligations after receiving substantial prepayments, leading to a total of approximately 896 million yuan in unfulfilled contracts involving 232 consumers [1][10]. Group 1: Consumer Complaints and Contract Issues - Consumers reported signing contracts for full-home customization and renovation services, only to find that the businesses could not deliver on their promises, resulting in financial losses [1][3]. - The Ouponi store offered a promotional package that included government subsidies, which consumers believed to be legitimate, prompting them to make large upfront payments [2][5]. - Many consumers experienced similar issues, with reports indicating that the Ouponi store began failing to deliver on orders around October 2024, and by March 2025, the store was reportedly empty [3][4]. Group 2: Business Practices and Accountability - The involved businesses, including Gujia and Ouponi, have been accused of misleading consumers into signing contracts without the ability to fulfill them, potentially constituting contract fraud under Chinese law [8][11]. - The local government has formed a special task force to address the situation, involving multiple departments to ensure consumer rights are protected and to investigate the businesses' financial practices [10][12]. - As of now, some consumers have received partial compensation, with brands covering about 20% of the contract obligations, while others are pursuing legal action to recover their losses [4][10]. Group 3: Regulatory Response and Future Actions - The local authorities are actively investigating the financial operations of the involved businesses, which reportedly used 13 different accounts to manage consumer payments, indicating a complex and potentially fraudulent financial structure [10][11]. - The government has encouraged affected consumers to pursue collective legal action, with 119 individuals already opting for this route, while also ensuring that the brands fulfill their commitments to consumers [10][12]. - Authorities are focusing on identifying and addressing the vulnerabilities in the business model that allowed such widespread consumer exploitation to occur [12].