Group buyers win suit against driving school

A driving school has been ordered to pay 7,400 yuan ($1,208) in compensation to about 20 customers after it refused to honor their group purchasing deal, a district court said Monday.

The plaintiffs sued the driving school, Shanghai Huijia, in May after it asked them to pay an extra 1,900 yuan for a driving course that they each bought for 3,600 yuan via a group purchasing deal last year, according to a press release from Pudong New Area People's Court.

The school did not inform the plaintiffs about the price hike until it came time to schedule the classes, even though months had passed since they signed up for the deal.

One plaintiff, surnamed Xiao, said that the school told him it needed to raise the price of the course because it had to comply with new national regulations for driver's licenses that took effect at the beginning of 2013, according to the court press release. Xiao said the school gave him a choice. He could either pay extra for the course, or accept a refund for the 3,600 he had already paid.

Xiao refused to accept either option. He found 17 others with similar complaints about the broken deal and they all sued the school. Because of the similarity of the complaints, the court decided to hear them in a single case.

In their lawsuits, the plaintiffs each demanded 7,500 yuan in compensation, which was enough to pay for a driving course at another school at the going market rate, including a refund of the money they already paid to Shanghai Huijia.

The defendant argued that it currently charges 6,500 yuan for a driving course, primarily because of the added costs of complying with the new regulations. The regulations require students to take more difficult exams and limit the number of students allowed to be trained in one car at one time.

The school also made the case that it was unfair to force it to honor the deal because it offered the promotion well before the regulations took effect.

The court disagreed, pointing out that the regulatory changes were made public in September 2012, yet Shanghai Huijia continued to offer the group purchasing deal until November. The court ruled that the school had time to suspend the deal or adjust it to accommodate their higher costs.

The court sided with the plaintiffs, but only awarded them 7,400 yuan after determining it was the average price of a driving course in Shanghai.