Bike-rental firms confirm in-app balance refundable, but still not easy

Five bike-rental firms made it clear that users can get back their in-app balance, following their statement weeks ago that bike-rental deposits are secure and are totally refundable, local media is reporting.

Bike-rental firms including Mobike, ofo, Bluegogo, and UniBike made the statement at a conference hosted in Beijing yesterday by the China Consumers Association (CCA). Growing problems emerging with the bike-rental boom has caught the attention of the consumer rights watchdog, such as failures in contacting customer service and slow deposit refunds.

Currently, however, users cannot apply for the refund directly through the app. Instead, they must contact customer service either over the phone or through the feedback interface inside the app.

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