The Berlin Court of Appeal passed the verdict against the Superfit sports studios of the “East Bank Club – the fitness factory GmbH” on Monday. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) filed a lawsuit in November 2021 with the support of the Berlin Consumer Organization. The reason: The fitness studio continued to charge membership fees during the closure in the corona pandemic.
The company is now bowing to the pressure of the model declaratory action brought by vzbv. “No training – no posts. The court also shares this view, as it made clear, according to the consumer advice center yesterday. “It’s worth fighting to prevent illegal behavior,” said the federal association. Around 1,200 Berliners had registered for the model declaratory action.
“This means hard cash for affected consumers,” said Sebastian Reiling, a consultant in the vzbv team for model declaratory judgments. “This consumer-friendly assessment corresponds to the current case law of the Federal Court of Justice, which other companies must also adhere to.”
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The court also ruled that the gym could not simply extend contracts by adding the length of the closure to the contract term. Since the fitness chain has its studios in Berlin and Potsdam, the vzbv filed the model declaratory action with the support of the Berlin consumer center.
“We were contacted by a large number of consumers who were pressured by Superfit gyms to pay for the months in which they could not use the studios. Those affected who took part in the model declaratory action would now have their rights and can assert their claims. “You should also reclaim any dunning costs and collection costs you may have paid,” says Josephine Frindte, a lawyer at the Berlin consumer advice center.
So far, according to vzbv, 1165 consumers have joined the lawsuit. According to the vzbv, registration is still possible here until the end of August 29th. “The results of this procedure only apply to members of the Superfit sports studios who have effectively registered in the register with the Federal Office of Justice.” However, the vzbv calls on the Superfit sports studios to compensate all those affected.
