“Rent your boyfriend/girlfriend home to help you get rid of the worries of getting married” “You can take wedding photos, hold a formal wedding, and see your parents and friends” “Rent yourself as a bridesmaid for 300 yuan, and add 100 yuan for rehearsal one day in advance”… approaching At the end of the year, the “rent yourself” business became more popular on some online platforms, claiming that they could provide services such as chatting, playing with, and role-playing, and listed prices, advantages and other information on the details page.

A reporter from the “Rule of Law Daily” recently searched on the Internet platform and found that there are various services such as “bridesmaid rental”, “girlfriend rental” and “pretending to be a parent, parent or teacher”. However, when dealing with these unfamiliar “intimate people” from online platforms, you must always pay attention to your own safety. After all, in the face of these temporary relationships formed through online transactions, if you are not careful, you will fall into a “pit”. Many interviewees who “rent” themselves said that they often receive harassing messages that are not for rental purposes, and there are even many scams.

In this regard, the interviewed experts pointed out that natural persons cannot be used as the subject matter of leasing. The so-called “renter” on the Internet is actually a labor-employment relationship, which should be regulated by civil laws. However, unlike ordinary labor employment, it is very possible to play legal circles during the leasing process. At the same time, the behavior of “renting” can easily put the lessor into an unfamiliar environment that is completely uncontrollable, thereby causing a series of unforeseen harm to itself. We should refine the service attributes, clarify the service terms, and strengthen review and supervision. be regulated.

Renting a girlfriend to go home for the New Year

The rented girlfriend can not only accompany her when shopping, eating, and watching movies, but she can also take her home to meet her parents and act out a sweet drama with the buyer. According to the reporter’s observation, the price of this type of rental is relatively high. In addition to the basic deposit and balance payment, the price also needs to be adjusted based on difficulty, risk factor, and holidays.

Liu Nana (pseudonym) is a part-time girlfriend actor located in Jiangsu. Her post on the online platform read like this – “I have had two experiences pretending to be my girlfriend. From now until the Chinese New Year, and from the second to the tenth day of the first lunar month, I can accept them.” “I don’t ask for compensation, your family will give it to me.” “The lucky money is the reward, I don’t have to pay for my car fare and New Year’s goods.” “You can specify my age, personality, university and major, job, marital status, and family members.”

“As a rented girlfriend, mainly help clients solve some face problems, or family problems in promoting love. According to the charging standards in the industry, if you go to meet the parents, then the red envelopes given by the client’s parents and relatives are the reward, and the price is Between 500 yuan and 800 yuan, the excess will be refunded to the lessor; if you are meeting a friend, in most cases the reward is a gift from the friend, usually the price is between 100 yuan and 600 yuan.” Liu Nana told reporters that she would Communicate the family situation and basic information with the other party in advance, “For example, how did you meet? How long have you been together? Your graduation school and workplace, etc.”

When asked whether she would use physical contact to show her relationship, she told reporters that she would just interact more with customers. “When I meet my parents, I usually don’t have physical contact. Parents and elders like well-behaved children, but when the elders ask some inappropriate questions, When I have a question that is easy to answer, I will first look to the customer for help; if I am meeting a friend or colleague, I will discuss in advance details such as when the other person will pick up my bag for me and help me pick up food when eating.”

Liu Nana said that as the New Year is approaching, many young people are facing the pressure and anxiety of parents and relatives urging them to get married when they return home for the New Year. “So everyone can only find another way. I have received several expressions of interest this year and am currently arranging the time.” “.

Compared with renting girlfriends, the business of renting boyfriends is bleak.

On various platforms, the price of renting a boyfriend is not only much lower than that of renting a girlfriend, some of which are less than a hundred yuan; the introduction of their own services is also much less, and most only indicate personal information such as height and weight. .

At the same time, there are services that can help pretend to be parents. Some sellers said that “actors” of all ages are available here, and they can play parents or relatives at home. These professional “actors” can also follow the buyer’s arrangements and discuss various plans with the buyer to solve the current crisis.

Rent bridesmaids to liven up the atmosphere

Some people are looking for fake intimate relationships such as male and female friends, parents and relatives online, while others are searching for “tool people” for weddings and weddings. For many young people, a unique wedding is essential, including the best man and bridesmaid.

Searching for “bridesmaids for rent” on online platforms will yield a wealth of relevant information. The price of a single rental of a bridesmaid or groomsman varies depending on the geographical area and length of time. The price of a bridesmaid is generally slightly higher than that of a groomsman, ranging from 200 yuan to more than a thousand yuan, and the transaction is basically a deposit plus a balance payment. If it is a different place, You will need to reimburse the round trip fare.

In the details page of the rental bridesmaid, you can find that the bridesmaid will provide detailed information such as her own photo, age, height, weight and other information, and she will “assist the bride, not steal the spotlight from the bride, and cooperate with the wedding arrangements.” “Not beautiful, not ugly, ordinary, not stealing the limelight” has become the “selling point” emphasized by many bridesmaid rentals.

In the bridesmaids and groomsmen rental interface, these temporary bridesmaids and groomsmen will also specifically indicate that they do not accept wedding troubles, excessive drinking, etc.

The reporter contacted Qiqi (pseudonym), a “bridesmaid” located in Taiyuan, Shanxi. Her daily rental fee is 300 yuan. Qiqi labels herself on the platform as “highly cooperative”, “confidential to the outside world”, “careful in doing things”, “enlivening the atmosphere”, etc. She also said that she can pick up jokes to warm up the scene, be attentive and quick-witted, moderate and not embarrassing.

“This business also depends on experience.” Qiqi said that when renting a bridesmaid, you must have a “discerning eye” so that no one can see any flaws. She must be able to liven up the atmosphere of the wedding, but must not overwhelm the guest; she must keep in mind the bride’s “fabricated” identity and be When asked, cover yourself well; act based on the wink, and cooperate well with the bride; if you have talent, it will be even more “hot cakes”.

Shanshan (pseudonym), a full-time bridesmaid in a small studio in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, told reporters that she is currently responsible for the bridesmaid business in Inner Mongolia. For new “bridesmaids”, they must first undergo training and on-site learning procedures, and only after passing the inspection I will arrange for them to take orders individually, and I will also track the wedding process online. “If we assign a job, we will contact them when there is an order, and we will share it according to the ratio of 90% for the bridesmaid and 10% for me.”

Some happy events require the rental of groomsmen and bridesmaids to liven up the atmosphere; some funerals also require professional mourners to guide the mood.

The reporter noticed that the prices of mourners on second-hand trading platforms ranged from a few hundred yuan to thousands of yuan. These professional mourners are known to shed tears in a second, express their emotions with great emotion, and can well guide people’s emotions. In order to enhance the guidance of the atmosphere, these mourners can also form a team to double the crying and shouting and make the funeral atmosphere more solemn.

It can be done even if “the money is available”

The reporter noticed that in addition to individuals, there are also rental advertisements posted by specialized business teams on second-hand trading platforms and social platforms. The contents are similar, for example, “Professional temporary actors have strong on-site adaptability. They can play parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, relatives and friends, go on blind dates, meet parents, and help solve problems in life. All details can be provided as required.”

The reporter randomly clicked on a product advertisement and chatted privately with the seller. When asked whether the actors were part-time or full-time, the other party said, “All the people in our film and television company are professional actors.” The reporter further asked about the price, and the seller said that the cost needs to be determined according to personal plans and character difficulty, ranging from 1,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan a day.

The reporter contacted a number of such so-called actor teams and found that in addition to asking about the qualifications and prices of the “actors” on the platform, when more details were involved, most sellers would reply “You can communicate with the customer service for detailed procedures and prices” and Let reporters leave their contact information.

Through communication, the reporter contacted the person in charge of a certain person named “××Green Travel”. In his online social circle, the reporter found that the team’s business scope is very wide, including “formal marriage (formal marriage) rental of boyfriend and girlfriend” , hold wedding banquets to meet parents, relatives and friends, fake marriages to obtain certificates”, etc., and also the business of pretending to be parents, such as “At the end of February in Anhui, I need to pretend to be parents and have dinner with my girlfriend” “1,500 yuan per person per day, time on the road also counts, food, accommodation and transportation It’s up to you, if you want to see the photos, I’ll give you a 20 yuan red envelope.”

In addition, during the communication process, although the other party repeatedly emphasized that it was a green service and a legal operation, when it came to consultation on specific behaviors such as physical contact, the other party’s reply was somewhat ambiguous. For example, a reporter asked, “My family is pressing for marriage. Let me ask you how far you can go to rent a girlfriend.” The other party replied, “It depends on your requirements. It can be anything from meeting your parents in a relationship to getting married in person. The price is 4,000 yuan a day.” . Regarding the reporter’s request that “the acting needs to be realistic and there may be physical contact”, the other party responded that “the acting process, such as holding hands, is OK, but normal kissing is not allowed”, but the other party immediately added, “it doesn’t matter if the money is available.”

Lawyer Zhang Yuxia, senior partner of Shanghai Shenhao Law Firm, believes that the emergence of rental services such as bridesmaids, groomsmen, boyfriends and girlfriends, and elder relatives is due to the existence of certain market demand. It is actually a service transaction between supply and demand parties. understood as an employment relationship. A series of problems derived from this employment relationship can be solved through civil laws and so on.

close contact with strangers

Although the various role plays and rentals on the platform have greatly facilitated the lives of young people. But close contact with strangers may be dangerous.

For buyers, these rental services on various platforms will cost them a lot of money if they are not careful. Some netizens told reporters that they rented a bridesmaid on a second-hand trading platform, but after paying the deposit, the bridesmaid disappeared immediately.

For sellers, renting out to others is inherently a risky journey.

“Ten people ask, and maybe only one is normal.” This is the feeling of Wang Xiaoke (pseudonym), a Hunan girl, after working in the business of acting as a girlfriend for several months. “I usually add contact information after communicating with the customer on the platform. The communication content includes clothing, acting plans, etc., but more attention is paid to safety issues, such as whether to stay overnight, etc.”

She told reporters that some people will describe it relatively simply on the platform, but after adding their contact information, they will directly ask “How much does it cost for a night?” “This kind of person is not just looking for a girlfriend to play, but wants more.” Intimate contact”.

Wang Xiaoke said that although he can basically detect whether the other party has bad intentions during the initial communication, and if he finds out that the other party has evil intentions at the beginning, he will immediately reject it, he is still “unpreventable”.

“Nothing unusual was found during that online communication. We went out to eat and go shopping together. When we were tired, the other party said that we should go to a movie, and he took me to a private cinema.” Wang Xiaoke recalled, “I feel that two people are needed for a private movie. I felt very insecure when I was alone, so I said at that time that I wouldn’t do this, and deleted the other person when I got back.”

Wang Xiaoke’s experience is not unique. Liu Nana told reporters, “Once a client wanted to have a fake show with me, but I clearly rejected him and reminded me again of the bottom line of being a rental girlfriend. He asked me to return the gifts he gave me, and also attacked me personally, in various ways. abuse”.

Safety issues are also the biggest concern for rental service providers. Qiqi talked about a friend who also worked as a bridesmaid. Once she received an order to be a bridesmaid, but when she arrived at the scene, she found out that it was a fake wedding. The person asked to give her mobile phone and ID card to the organizer, “My friend excused herself to go to the toilet and got there in time. Escape and escape.”

In addition, many interviewees who are engaged in the rental business of bridesmaids told reporters that fraud on the grounds of renting bridesmaids also occurs from time to time.

“As more and more people begin to try to be rental bridesmaids, some intermediaries are recruiting bridesmaids under the pretense of having a good time and having a lot of orders. But such intermediaries are generally very unreliable and even a bit like pyramid schemes. Because intermediaries not only do Ask the bridesmaids to pay a deposit in advance, and they will also make profits through high commissions. Only when Dora people enter the leasing platform can part of the deposit be refunded,” Zhang Meng said.

Establish a formal intermediary platform

Due to the online transaction and offline service model, many renters, especially female renters, said that it is indeed more likely to bring hidden dangers to personal safety. Wang Xiaoke told reporters that for the sake of personal safety, she only accepts orders during the day and will try to choose public places.

A renter who has acted as a girlfriend many times told reporters that currently it is not easy to provide services such as pretending to be a girlfriend. If you want to be more professional, you still need to sign an agreement. Girls, especially, must protect themselves.

The interviewee who served as a rental bridesmaid told reporters that due to the bad habit of “making trouble with bridesmaids” in some places, it may cause disputes about sexual harassment, and there may also be customs such as requiring groomsmen and bridesmaids to hold back alcohol, which may cause physical harm or infringement. dispute.

The reporter’s investigation revealed that some of these rental services have countersigned agreements, while others are only verbal agreements.

In this regard, Zhang Yuxia pointed out that since many of these types of leasing services do not sign written agreements, it is difficult to determine the legal relationship and rights and obligations. Therefore, when a dispute arises between the leasing parties, the judgment needs to be based on evidence such as chat records of both parties. “On the one hand, we cannot exclude some employers with ulterior motives. There is a certain risk to employees’ personal safety. For example, some services require employees to go to unfamiliar places alone and may have to stay overnight. Obviously, there are great safety risks. Eliminate the possibility of harm, threats, or sexual assault.”

“On the other hand, there are also criminals who use this method to commit illegal and criminal acts, because some employers themselves may want to use this to find prostitution services, which provides criminals with an opportunity to introduce prostitution services under the guise of leasing services, and through the Internet The platform solicits customers to deceive others and commit illegal and criminal acts,” Zhang Yuxia said.

At the same time, many interviewees who are engaged in this type of business expressed the hope that the relevant industry system will be improved and there will be a well-established platform for registration. Zhang Meng told reporters that because most of the current rental bridesmaids and groomsmen are individuals or temporary studios, which lack restraint, the effectiveness of serving as bridesmaids and groomsmen depends entirely on personal responsibility, so various situations may occur. For example, individuals or studios may falsely provide personal information in order to cater to the needs of bridesmaids and groomsmen; bridesmaids may not be professional enough and have a perfunctory attitude, which affects the wedding experience; they may temporarily add money to the wedding venue, etc. At the same time, it is not only the rental of bridesmaids and groomsmen that may cause problems. Due to the lack of regulations, the newlyweds in need may also temporarily break the contract, deliberately make false invitations, and refuse to pay remuneration.

“It should be recognized that some ‘renter’ businesses, such as bridegrooms and brides hiring others to serve as bridesmaids and groomsmen, are in the nature of providing labor services and meet market demand, and should be allowed to exist.” Chang Sha, a lawyer at Kyoto Law Firm, believes that “renter “Market chaos is mainly manifested in the fact that both supply and demand parties have no formal channel platform as an intermediary, resulting in problems such as chaotic information exchange and ambiguous qualifications of the demand side. For “renter” advertisements published on some second-hand trading platforms and social platforms, the platform does not play a role in regulating and supervising this, and cannot provide a relatively centralized information channel between the people who publish the advertisements and the demanders. “That is to say, Information errors occur on both sides of supply and demand, and the needs of both parties cannot be accurately known.”

Ren Chao, a professor at the School of Economics and Law at East China University of Political Science and Law, said that due to the limitation of advertising through online platforms, this type of service is more casual and cannot guarantee the quality of the service provider. Most of these transactions are one-time transactions, and the service provider’s price/performance ratio is likely to be poor. In addition, under the transaction mode of random “order-matching” transactions on the Internet, due to information asymmetry, the service provider cannot fully know the identity of the demander through the Internet, which creates security risks for this type of transaction.

Zhang Yuxia suggested that in terms of clarifying the terms of service, for legal services arising from market demand, corresponding model terms should be formulated based on the service content and combined with industry practices for public use. For example, leasing groomsmen and bridesmaids, how to deal with situations such as blocking wine during a wedding, ownership of red envelopes received, liability for injuries, rights and obligations of both parties, liability for breach of contract, etc.

“After both parties reach an agreement, they should agree on the service content, remuneration standards, and the ownership of gifts and red envelopes received from others during the service process to avoid disputes afterwards,” Chang Sha said.

“Online service platforms should also bear certain responsibilities. Internet service platforms should strengthen the supervision of such services, review the identities and services of both parties and other related materials, and remind both parties to review each other. At the same time, they should ensure that the channels for complaints are open. For those who engage in illegal activities in this way, Those who commit crimes will have their accounts banned and reported to the public security organs for handling,” Zhang Yuxia said.