HK Families Lose Money As Music Tutoring Site Shuts

The closure of a mainland music tutoring platform has left 33 families in Hong Kong out of pocket, the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said on Friday.

VIP Peilian was one of the largest online music tutoring platforms on the mainland and was endorsed by well-known pianist Lang Lang.

The FTU said it had received complaints from 33 people in Hong Kong who reported losing around HK$900,000 between them after pre-paying for lessons. One person alone was said to have lost HK$250,000.

A woman surnamed Tsui said she turned to the online platform for piano lessons for her son because it was cheaper than face-to-face classes. She said she has lost HK$15,000.

Lawmaker Bill Tang said the FTU asked for assistance regarding the closure from the SAR government and Beijing's liaison office, but it will be difficult to get people their money back.

"I observed that prepaid services were of high risk. If such a service or company is a cross-border one, the risk is relatively higher," he said.