'Merge Point' Halts Refunds Using 11th Street Excuse... Frustrated Consumers

Merge Plus "Additional Confusion Including Duplicate Refunds May Occur"

Amid concerns over significant losses for many affiliated individual business owners, excluding large retail corporations prepared for compensation due to the massive refund crisis of the payment platform Merge Point, the headquarters of "Merge Point" in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 18th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Regarding the large-scale refund controversy caused by the Merge Point incident, 11st became the first e-commerce company in the industry to unconditionally refund sales made on the 10th. However, concerns are growing that innocent consumers are suffering damages as Merge Plus, the operator of Merge Point, has temporarily suspended its own refunds citing reasons such as duplicate refunds.

According to industry sources on the 28th, 11st recently decided to refund the full payment amount to customers who purchased Merge Point through its platform. However, this applies only to Merge Points sold on August 10. Among e-commerce companies, 11st is the first to decide to refund Merge Points sold to consumers.

11st stated, "We have taken a proactive interpretation of the Electronic Commerce Act, which allows withdrawal of subscription within 30 days from the day the defect in the product is recognized." Although some usage is still possible and there is no basis to judge the product as defective, and in principle refunds are only possible for unregistered products, they decided on a full refund because purchasers on the 10th faced usage restrictions due to the immediate reduction of affiliated stores the next day (11th), even if they registered the points on the day of purchase.

In the past 30 days, Merge Point sales on 11st occurred only on August 10. Consumers who purchased Merge Point on that day can receive refunds immediately by contacting the company.

This decision by 11st is interpreted as a response to criticism that "e-commerce companies competitively sold Merge Points without proper verification and are now avoiding responsibility when problems arise." Victims of Merge Point have demanded refunds, arguing that many e-commerce companies including 11st, TMON, WEMAKEPRICE, Gmarket, and Lotte ON bear responsibility for selling large quantities of points without even verifying whether Merge Plus was officially registered as an electronic financial business.

However, after 11st announced its refund measures, Merge Plus suspended its own refunds of Merge Points. On the 26th, Merge Plus issued a notice stating, "If detailed refund information through specific sales channels is not agreed upon with Merge Point in advance, additional confusion including duplicate refunds may occur," and announced the suspension of refunds.

Merge Plus said, "We plan to continue refunds after accurately confirming details with sales channels to avoid causing greater confusion," but consumers criticize Merge Point for using 11st as an excuse to delay refunds through trickery. On communities such as the Merge Point victims' group, concerns and complaints are expressed like "It seems they are indefinitely postponing Merge Point refunds using 11st as an excuse," and "Why are other e-commerce companies ignoring consumer relief?"

Meanwhile, regarding this incident, 11st stated that "we are not conducting separate negotiations with Merge Point." A company official said, "We judged that relief for purchasers and Merge Point affiliated stores is a priority," and added, "Procedures after consumer refunds will be discussed with Merge Plus."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.