Fitness studios were closed during the corona lockdown.
Was your contribution still withdrawn?
Wrongly, as the Hamburg district court ruled.
If contractually agreed services are not provided, you do not have to pay any fees for them. As the Consumer Center Hamburg further informs, this also applies to memberships in fitness studios if they have to remain closed due to officially ordered conditions in the corona pandemic.
Was your monthly gym fee * debited from your account anyway? You can take action against this retrospectively
.
As a first step, you should ask the provider to reimburse the contributions that have already been paid, recommends the consumer center in Hamburg. It is important that you state a specific amount. If the fitness studio does not react and the money is not transferred back to you, you can - if you pay monthly or by direct debit - have the amount booked back through your bank without giving a reason.
The issue was set in motion by a Hamburg consumer who had not paid his gym fees during the Corona lockdown.
When he received a debt collection letter as a result, he went to court.
The Hamburg District Court ruled in his favor on June 11th:
"It is determined that the alleged claim of 514.40 euros from the contract dated February 20th, 2018 between the plaintiff and the defendant does not exist",
according to the court judgment.
Fitness studios are not allowed to charge fees for times in corona lockdown
The German Press Agency (dpa) also reported that, according to the Hamburg consumer center, fitness studios are not allowed to charge any contributions for times in corona lockdown.
This also applies to dance, music or art schools and theater clubs.
Remaining persistent and not being intimidated by debt collection letters
pays off, as the district court ruling shows.
(jg) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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