In early January 2025 Xunlei's official store on an e-commerce platform sold two-year 'super member' cards, and a promotion gave six extra months per order. The bonus stacked, so one buyer who spent ¥300 on ten orders received 25 years of membership, valid to June 2050; another who spent ¥30 received two and a half years.
Days later the store told customers the price had been 'set by mistake' and asked for the benefits back, offering a full refund. When buyers refused, Xunlei unilaterally cut their memberships anyway — one customer's 25 years shrank to one month, another's two and a half years to about four weeks.
Xunlei offered two choices: keep the card with one month plus a gift of three months, or take a full refund plus one month. The deadline was 23 January 2025, and orders not handled by then defaulted to the no-refund plan. Customers rejected both, saying a paid order is a contract that cannot be changed unilaterally.
The backlash reached more than 300 complaints across three collective cases on the platform, almost none resolved. A lawyer told the press Xunlei's unilateral change had no effect on consumers and likely breached consumer-protection law. Asked how many people were affected, customer service said it was 'internal information we cannot provide'. The episode did not dent the business: membership revenue rose to about $134 million in 2024, up 12%.
Xunlei recalled the memberships unilaterally, offering refunds or shorter terms, which drew 300+ complaints and legal exposure over a few hundred yuan.
Honoring a paid order cost less than what followed — the recall drew hundreds of complaints and legal exposure over a few hundred yuan in refunds
Unilaterally changing a paid membership instead of negotiating turned a pricing slip into a trust and legal failure
Refusing to say how many customers were affected made the recall look arbitrary and deepened the consumer-rights anger
Don't claw back a membership you already charged for — Xunlei cut 25-year cards to 1 month over a 'pricing error', drew 300+ complaints, and declined to say how many it affected.
Xunlei offered two options — keep one month plus a three-month gift, or take a full refund plus one month — with a 23 January deadline and a no-refund default. The episode drew 300+ complaints across three collective cases, almost none resolved; a lawyer said the unilateral cut had no effect on consumers and likely breached consumer-protection law. One customer received a full ¥300 refund. Customer service refused to say how many were affected, calling it 'internal information'. The misfire did not dent the business: membership revenue rose to about $134 million in 2024, up 12%.
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