(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 -- Jqzhu Internet Technology, the Chinese firm behind a popular low-cost driving school called Jqzhu, seems to have made away with registrants' deposits, falling down the same rabbit hole as bike-sharer Ofo did last December. 

A group of Shenzhen-based consumers who had signed up for training via JD.Com or Jqzhu's platforms complained that they have not been offered service nor refunds, the National Business Daily reported yesterday. Meanwhile, Jqzhu's offices have become empty, teachers' salaries are overdue, and some of the firm's products have been removed from online retail platforms. 

Jqzhu will compensate the fees within 30 working days after approving the refund application, the Guangzhou-based company told the same source. The firm, founded in 2014, raised CNY240 million (USD34.2 million) in funds from 2016 to 2017. It claims to have served more than 200,000 students in southern China.

Jqzhu's situation is similar to that of Ofo's and only time will tell whether the firm can pay back the deposits, said Liu Kai, a lawyer from Wensheng Law Firm in Hunan province. Beijing-based Ofo, which garnered billions of US dollars in funding, has failed to refund its CNY199 (USD28.20) deposits to millions of users while on another front, the firm is facing lawsuits against bike manufacturers over unpaid bills.

Editor: Emmi Laine