I Signed Up to Be a Summer Delivery Rider. Then I Saw the Contract.

Xiao Gao sent the “300 yuan daily pay” screenshot to his roommate. The roommate replied with one word: “Go.” It was July 21. Hangzhou was so hot the asphalt had gone soft. Xiao Gao had not gone home for summer break. He wanted to earn living expenses. On the recruitment app, the recruiter’s profile picture was a blue electric scooter. The name was “Delivery Service Center.” The reply came fast: no experience needed, vehicle provided, pay later, just 20 orders a day.

He went. The address was behind an office building in the north of the city. A sheet-metal shed. A dozen old electric scooters parked at the entrance. A man in a black T-shirt handed him a bottle of ice water. Xiao Gao was not thirsty, but he took it. The man said, sign a scooter rental contract, and you can ride one away. The contract had three pages. Small print. The man pointed to the signature lines: here, here, and here. Xiao Gao wanted to turn to the back. The man said, they are all standard clauses, everyone signs the same. Two more students came in, backpacks on. Xiao Gao signed.

After signing, the man told him to open Alipay. Xiao Gao saw a page for an installment service: 699 yuan per month, 3 months. He looked up. The man had already turned to greet someone else. He saw another line of small text: rider service fee 499 yuan per month. He did the math. Three months, 3,594 yuan. He had not run a single order.

Xiao Wang too. On July 5, he came from Bozhou to Hangzhou to find his parents. The recruitment app said 20 orders a day, monthly income over 10,000. At the designated place, he was rushed into signing an electric scooter rental contract. After signing, no one told him where the station was. He asked. The other person said, just start riding. He opened Alipay. 699 yuan monthly rental. 499 yuan service fee. Signed for three months. The contract said he must work 26 days a month and complete 1,680 orders. Otherwise, no base pay and a penalty. He once ran 12 orders, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 1,680 orders. He could not even reach the tail end.

Xiao Zhang in Jiujiang. He also saw “free vehicle.” He asked, is it not free? The rental company person said, complete 600 orders, we reward you 799 yuan, which equals free rent. Xiao Zhang said, is 600 orders a lot? The other person flipped through his phone. Look at this guy, also a newbie, ran 1,000 orders in a month. Xiao Zhang signed. He ran for more than five hours. He completed 10 orders. He was late on 3. Back in his rented room at night, he stared at the rental contract. The paper edge was soft with sweat.

The same recruitment pattern shows up in all three cases. On recruitment apps, job titles read “delivery rider,” “courier,” “urgent daily pay.” Profile pictures are mostly electric scooters, helmets, blue uniforms. The pitch is similar: low threshold, high pay, vehicle provided, pay later. The students are taken to rental shops. They sign contracts. They open installments. They pay service fees. When they find the tasks impossible and want out, the other side says the contract is signed.

A Meituan delivery safety manager said four scam methods are most common recently. One: high-pay bait. Applicants are lured into buying or renting electric scooters at high prices in installments. The vehicle value is far below the loan amount. Two: impersonating Meituan insiders. The scammer claims an “account opening fee” or “account activation fee” can get delivery privileges. Three: demanding money under the names of “equipment fee” or “electric scooter insurance.” Four: false promises, such as “complete 1,000 orders and get the first month’s rent free.” New riders can hardly achieve that. Meituan Delivery has continued to warn the public through various channels.

Ele.me also issued a reminder. Platform recruitment will not recommend any loan or financial products to riders. All official registration channels do not charge any fees. Any behavior requiring “paid onboarding,” or requiring applicants to go to designated merchants to rent or buy vehicles at high prices, is a “black intermediary” scam.

But the scams continue. Xiao Gao later went to complain. The rental company person added him on WeChat and said, complaining is useless, you signed the contract. Complain again, and we will mark you on the recruitment platform so you cannot find part-time work anymore. Xiao Gao screenshotted the chat. His hand shook a little. He saved it. He deleted it. Then he went to the recycle bin and got it back.

Lawyer Guo Boyu said the rental company’s behavior generally constitutes fraud. The infringed party can protect their lawful rights under the Civil Code provisions on revocable contracts. If many people are involved and the amount is large, police will impose public security penalties under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law. If the circumstances are serious, the unit and responsible persons will be held criminally responsible. Researcher Wang Tianyu said that inducing people to sign contracts with promises that are hard to fulfill, such as “complete high tasks and get free rent,” is suspected of violating Article 28 of the Advertising Law on false advertising. Rental companies requiring students to handle installment loan business must have financial qualifications. Otherwise, they are suspected of violating the provisions on illegal business in the Measures for Banning Illegal Financial Institutions and Illegal Financial Business Activities.

Old rider Li Wei said, before doing this job, ask an on-the-job delivery rider. You can also go to a regular delivery service center, where a master will lead you. Take Meituan as an example. Regular delivery stations have the Meituan logo and hold morning meetings every day. Newbies can judge whether the recruiter is legitimate from these details.

Xiao Wang later went to a regular station. The station manager told him to follow a master for three days first. The master gave him an old helmet. The lining smelled of sweat. He put it on. In the mirror, he looked a little ridiculous. The master said, do not rush, learn the roads first. That day he ran 8 orders. None were late. At night, he called his mother and said, Mom, I found work. His mother asked, are you tired. He said, it is okay. He did not mention the rental contract. He folded the contract and put it at the bottom of the drawer. In the drawer was also an unopened pack of stomach medicine his mother had left last time she came to Hangzhou.

Xiao Zhang called the police. The police told him to print the contract, chat records, and payment receipts. He went to a print shop. Fifty cents a page. He spent seventeen yuan. He handed in the materials and went back to his rented room. On the way he bought a watermelon. He cut it open. It was white inside. He ate two bites and put it down. His phone lit up. The recruitment app pushed: urgent rider recruitment, daily pay, vehicle provided. He swiped it away. Another: summer part-time, 300 a day, no experience needed. He long-pressed and uninstalled the app. A blank space appeared on the screen.

Xiao Gao did not uninstall it. He switched to another platform and found a convenience store night shift. 22 yuan an hour. After his first shift, at two in the morning, he walked back to his rented room. A row of delivery electric scooters was parked by the road. Dew on the seats. He glanced at them and kept walking. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out. It was a message from the recruitment app: Dear, still looking for work? Direct rider recruitment, vehicle provided, daily pay. He put the phone back in his pocket. Downstairs, he bought two steamed buns. The plastic bag in his hand was a little hot. He went upstairs and opened the door. A leaf of the pothos had turned yellow. He poured a cup of water and watered it. Water seeped from the bottom of the pot onto the table. He wiped it dry with a rag. Then he sat down, turned on the computer, and began writing a complaint letter about summer part-time work. First line: My name is Xiao Gao, a student at a university in Hangzhou. Second line: In July 2025, I saw a rider recruitment post on a recruitment app. He did not write “I hope relevant departments” or “I believe things will get better.” He wrote time, place, amount, contract number. At the end, he paused. He took the contract out of the drawer and turned to the back. The back was blank. He put the contract back and kept typing. Outside, it was almost dawn. An electric scooter passed downstairs. The brake sound was very loud. He saved the document and turned off the computer. The steamed buns were still on the table, already cold. He picked one up and took a bite.

While working the night shift at the convenience store, Xiao Gao met a delivery rider who often came to buy water. He asked, is your station still hiring? The rider said, yes, but do not go to those online ones. Go directly to the station. Find the station manager. Xiao Gao asked, how do I tell? The rider said, if they ask for money, do not go. Xiao Gao wrote this sentence in his phone notes. The next day, he went to the station. The station manager had him fill out a form. He did not mention money. He finished. The station manager said, wait for notice. He came out. The sun was strong. He bought a cup of iced soy milk. He inserted the straw. The plastic film split. He took a sip. His phone rang. It was the number from the rental company. He answered. The other side said, about your complaint, we can discuss. Xiao Gao said, my contract number is... The other side hung up. Xiao Gao blocked the number. He stood by the road and finished the iced soy milk. He threw the cup into the trash can. The trash can was full. The cup fell on the ground. He bent down, picked it up, and stuffed it into the next one. Then he left.

While running orders, Xiao Wang met a newbie also looking for a station. The newbie asked, did you pay when you started? Xiao Wang said, I paid. The newbie asked, did you get it back? Xiao Wang said, no. The newbie said, then what? Xiao Wang said, call the police. The newbie said, does it work? Xiao Wang said, I do not know. But he showed the newbie the police receipt. The newbie took a photo. Xiao Wang continued running orders. That day he ran 15 orders. At night, he called his mother. His mother said, your dad’s back hurts. He put on a patch. Xiao Wang said, I will send you some money when I get paid. His mother said, no, keep it. Xiao Wang said, it is fine. After hanging up, he sat on the electric scooter and looked at the moon for a while. The moon was very white. He turned the key. The scooter was out of battery. He pushed it back to the station. On the way he passed a pharmacy. He went in and bought a box of patches. When he came out, his phone pushed: urgent rider recruitment, daily pay. He swiped it away.

Wang Tianyu suggested that in response to the recruitment traps in the current summer part-time market, a prevention system with multi-party coordination must be built. Regulatory departments, platforms, police, and cyberspace authorities should start from information collection and clue verification. They should collaborate on special governance of the summer labor market. For prominent issues involving illegal crimes, they should take strong governance measures, sort out typical cases, and clean up the chaos in the summer part-time market. Schools can establish a “part-time blacklist.” They can include enterprises, platforms, and public accounts with bad records. They can issue risk warnings to students quickly.

On July 2, the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued an announcement. It openly solicits clues from the public about suspected illegal and irregular behavior in the human resources service field. Wang Tianyu believes the student summer part-time market can be included.

A Meituan spokesperson said the company will continue to increase anti-fraud outreach. It will cooperate with police to crack down on illegal and criminal acts. It wants to create a safer part-time environment for students and other summer workers. It also calls on all sectors of society to pay attention to part-time safety. Once scam clues are found, they can be reported to the platform or police.

Xiao Gao later summarized a few rules and wrote them in his notes: no deposits, no blank contracts, no installments, no transfers to individuals. He pinned the note to the top. In his second week of night shifts at the convenience store, a student came to buy instant noodles. The student asked, is there any rider recruitment nearby? Xiao Gao said, yes, but do not go to those online ones. The student asked, how do I tell? Xiao Gao said, if they ask for money, do not go. The student said, thanks. Xiao Gao said, no problem. The student left. Xiao Gao continued stocking shelves. On the top shelf was a row of helmets, blue, plastic film still on. He glanced at them and straightened the labels. At three in the morning, there were few people in the store. He sat down, took out his phone, and searched “regular delivery station.” Many pages popped up. He opened them one by one, looking at addresses, phone numbers, whether there was a Meituan logo. He copied three addresses onto a sticky note. He stuck the note next to the cash register. The wind blew. The corner of the note lifted. He pressed it down and continued watching the store. Outside, a delivery electric scooter passed. Its taillight flashed red. It turned into an alley. Xiao Gao peeled off the sticky note, folded it, and put it in his pocket. Then he picked up a rag and wiped the cash register. There was a water ring on the counter from the iced soy milk. He wiped it twice. The ring was still there. He stopped and looked at the ring. His phone lit up. It was a message from the recruitment app: Dear, still looking for work? Direct rider recruitment, vehicle provided, daily pay. He turned the phone over, screen down on the counter. The water ring reflected the light and flashed. He kept wiping.