Shared economy is an economic phenomenon in which the public shares idle resources with others through social platforms, thus gaining income.The core idea of the sharing economy emphasizes the right to use goods rather than ownership.As a result, the significance of the ‘deposit’ in which has become the most important fund about avoiding risk and cutting loss in shared products.Recently, according to media reports, since the implementation of ofo's ‘new policy’ about deposit refund , the number of online user which have standing on line for applying has exceeded 10 million (excluding offline users) . A Netizens make a joked of which after two years will be his turn pursuant the rate of progress that is per 10,000 user for a day.

In our daily life, we encounter various kinds of expenses, such as deposit, earnest, down payment, deposit in security, liquidated damage, Membership fee，Pre-deposit fee, Pass-commitment fee etc. Today, the editor popularizes the distinction, risk, and legitimacy of these costs herein .

1.Deposit

First, the definition of deposit which is in order to guarantee the performance of the debt as well as the debtor or a third party transfers a certain amount of money  equivalent to the creditors possession in order to the priority from the deposit as the debtor tails to bear the debt deriving from the contract.

Take ofo as an example, Beijing Baiklock Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Baike Company) has developed its own shared bicycle from Peking University campus trial to global promotion in only two years. This kind of semi-public welfare enterprise can develop rapidly relying on the mutual rotation between corporate financing and user deposits to act as business capital.

At the legal level, does the ownership of the deposit belong to the consumer or the enterprise ? Who will be the owner of the interests provided that the enterprise will take the deposit to invest? At present, the law of our country is not clear.However, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Electronic Commerce, which will soon be implemented, stipulates the relevant contents of the deposit.

Article 21 of the E-Commerce Law of the people's Republic of China, if an e-commerce operator collects a deposit from a consumer in accordance with the agreement, he shall express the manner and procedure of the refund of the deposit, and shall not set unreasonable conditions for the refund of the deposit. If the consumer applies for refund of the deposit, e-commerce operator shall refund it in time.

Article 78 where an e-commerce operator, in violation of the provisions of Article 21 of this Law, fails to expressly return the deposit to the consumer, the procedure, setting unreasonable conditions for the refund of the deposit, or failing to return the deposit in a timely manner, The competent authorities concerned shall order them to make corrections within a time limit and may be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200000 yuan; If the circumstances are serious, a fine ranging from 200000 yuan to 500000 yuan shall be imposed.

2.Earnest、 Down payment

Earnest,the definition of which is the parties may agree to pay the deposit to the other party as a guarantee of the creditor's rights, and the agreed deposit shall not exceed 20% of the amount of the subject matter of the main contract.

Down payment,the definition of which does not bear an obvious guarantee nature and is unilateral act , the delivering of the down payment is regarded as an advance payment.If the party who delivers or receives the down payment fails to perform the obligations of the contract, the down payment may be regarded as damages.The common of down payment such like purchase deposit.

When signing a house purchase agreement, the buyer should pay attention to the difference between the deposit and the down payment.The "deposit" belongs to a kind of legal guarantee means, if the party paying the deposit fails to perform the agreed debt, he shall not have the right to ask for the return of the deposit; if the party receiving the deposit fails to perform the agreed debt, the deposit shall be returned doubly. After the debtor performs the debt, the deposit shall be offset or recovered in accordance with the agreement.At present, There is not clearly stipulated in Chinese law about down payment, and it does not have the compensation of double return of down payment.

3. Deposit in security

Deposit in security the definition which is money retained by one or both parties to the contract or deposited with a third party in order to guarantee the performance of the contract. There are two main forms of the deposit in security: one is that the contract deposit in security is deposited by the relative party of the contract, the other is the deposit to the third party (usually the notary authority). Common deposit in security include: overseas travel deposit in security, bid performance deposit in security, futures trading deposit in security, bail pending trial, etc.

Take the Wechat Public Number called the Early Rise Challenge Team as an example. Each user can divide up the deposits of unsigned people by handing in a little deposit in security and checking in on their mobile phones every morning in which deposit in security threshold is not high, starting at 10 yuan . Recently, the police initially found out that the game's developers through the modification of background data and check-in rules, take the advantages from the deposit in security fraud, involving more than 30 million yuan.

This reminds netizens that when agreeing on deposit in security, they should try to choose the way to deposit the deposit in security to a third person (usually a notary organ) who is commonly recognized, so as to avoid the counterpart of the contract stealthily carrying the deposit in security to abscond.

4.liquidated damage

The penalty for liquidated damage refers to the payment made by the parties in advance after the default occurs independently of the act of performance through consultation. The agreement of liquidated damages is restrained by law as well as the agreement of earnest, but there are still differences. If the agreed liquidated damages are excessively higher than the losses caused (more than 30% of the losses caused), the parties may apply the court or arbitration institution to reduce them appropriately, but if the earnest exceeds 20% of the amount of the subject matter of the main contract that the court will not support it; and the agreed liquidated damages are less than 30%.vice versa.

The liquidated damages in bilateral agreement in private lending contracts. The most common phenomenon is that both parties agree to default metals. Here, the lender should be reminded that the purpose of the loan should be clearly stipulated when agreeing to the loan contract, because the law clearly stipulates that if the lender knows in advance or should know that the borrower's loan is and still used to provide loans for illegal or criminal activities and still provide the people's court should determine that the private lending contract is invalid.

Although the above these five cost agreements are common but also difficult to distinguish in daily life, they are obviously different in content and legal consequences. When signing a contract, the parties should have a full understanding of them and act prudently according to their actual situation. At the same time, the following these two fees shall be more cautious mentioned hereinafter.

5.Prepaid fee、Membership fee

Prepaid fee is that the user must pay the fee in advance before using their product or service. This fee is deducted after the user using successfully . Membership fee belongs to the type of prepaid fee, which can be divided into two kinds. One is consumer membership fee, that is, members can get various services or commodities without paying during the membership period, or sold or provide services at a price lower than that of non-members. The common ones are gymnasium annual fee, salon membership card, shopping card, petrol recharge card, etc. The other is association membership fee, which for gaining the membership . The membership fee will be charged to the association while all other services or commodities will be charged separately. The usual membership fee is charged by the lawyer association.

In daily life, the risk of honesty and credit faced by prepayment is relatively large, and it is easy to cause mass criminal and financial crimes of victims. Often encounter shop did not change, but the operator changed; or shop changed, or provide the same services; or shop closed, the original operators do not know where to go.

It is also more difficult to safeguard our rights. It is suggested that consumers should consider the credibility of businesses and the necessity of running cards when choosing prepaid cards, and try to avoid large amounts of prepaid cards. If you really need to buy, please keep the transaction vouchers and written contracts. In case of disputes, immediately seek help from the Consumer Rights Protection Association, the industrial and commercial organs and other regulatory authorities.

6. Pass-commitment fee

Pass-commitment fee, he definition is that the consumer have to pay for the commitment from the merchant which help them pass all kinds of test. Such like a public test to guaranteed classes, driving schools to guaranteed classes, and so on. Although the advertising law explicitly prohibits education and training advertisements from making explicit or implied guaranteed promises about the effect of education and training , such commercial propaganda is still prohibited repeatedly.

Recently, Chaoyang Court through a typical case to remind consumers not to believe in ‘pass-commitment class’ temptation. Before signing a training agreement similar to ‘pass-commitment class’, we should focus on examining whether the relevant commitments of the training institution are included in the contract, and pay attention to collecting, preserving enrollment brochures, publicity materials and other evidences.

Consumers can take the action against the different from the confirmed sample of the merchant not only apply for administrative intervention, but also claim compensation through civil action.

Various fees are really painstaking. If consumers want to free from worry of themselves, they must pay more attention to them.