Five days free, then it will be expensive. Movie streaming services send dubious invoices.
As our cooperation partner checked4you reports, you are being ripped off on “Kinozeit.net”.
Why pay for movies when you can get them for free on the internet?!
If you start looking for relevant sites with such a plan, you might end up at kinozeit.net.
Except for the logo, the pages all look the same. They entice you with numerous movies that you can supposedly watch legally. But you have to register beforehand.
There is no mention of costs. Registration should only take 30 seconds and then you can watch straight away.
But now comes the crux of the matter: If you enter your name, an email address and a password and click on “Register”, according to the site operators, you will become a member. The first five days are free. If you do not delete your account within these five days, you should have taken out a paid membership for at least one year. At least that's what it says in the terms of use, which are only available in English.
Do I have to pay?
[vc_message message_box_color=“grey” icon_fontawesome=“fa fa-info”]Clear answer: No![/mk_info]
There are various videos on YouTube on several channels in which, for example, a certain Michael Pelmber claims to be from a Berlin media law firm that a client contacted him with an invoice from felixkino.com and after checking the website he determined that this invoice had to be paid.
But this video seems to have the purpose of getting unsettled victims of the subscription trap to pay if, after receiving an invoice, they want to know whether the site is known for rip-offs or subscription traps.
By the way, the same man calls himself Thomas Fischer in another video. His topic is the same: bills from MeinKinoWelt.com supposedly have to be paid. Another man doesn't give his name at all, but also tells the same thing - each tailored to the relevant website. What is also noticeable about these clips is that the comment function has usually been deactivated and there are usually no other videos on the YouTube channels used.
Screenshots: checked4you.de
Our lawyers at the NRW Consumer Center can reassure you. You do n't have to pay !
For the following reasons:
- When registering, it is not clear that this is a paid membership. For something like this, Section 312j of the German Civil Code requires a clearly labeled button that says, for example, “Order with obligation to pay”.
- The price is difficult to find, namely only in the English-language terms of use. At the end of point 5 it is translated: “If you do not close your account within 5 days, it should be automatically converted into an annual premium account for €11.99 per month (€143.88 per year).” Such important information Hiding things like this is (attention, legalese) not transparent and therefore, in our opinion, not effectively included.
- In addition, the terms of use are probably not effective because they are not available in German.
How should I best behave?
Basically, a provider must first prove that you have concluded a valid contract with them. In our opinion, this cannot be the case here because there is no “Buy” button and because simply agreeing to invalid terms of use cannot be an argument for having concluded a valid contract. But you should take action and “alternatively revoke” the contract (now it’s getting legal again) and challenge it “due to fraudulent misrepresentation”. This can also be done via email. But you don't have to write the right words alone. You can download a sample letter here . We have more information about this in our article about rip-offs on the Internet .
Is watching the films really legal?
But don't get the idea and think: "Great, then I can always watch movies for free." Because that could get you into trouble. According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice in April 2017 (case number C-527/15), there is a risk when streaming videos if the user has to realize that the films have ended up on the Internet illegally. And anyone who, for example, discovers a film that has just been shown in the cinema in the free stream should be able to realize that this is not in the spirit of the creators and is therefore forbidden. In the worst case scenario, you will have provided the necessary information for legal action - with your registration.
A case for the investigating authorities
Many users who have fallen into the trap have already complained to consumer advice centers. The complaints were collected by the “Market Watchdog” project of the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center and the findings were passed on to the police and public prosecutor’s office. According to research by the market watchdog team, the companies “Turquoiz Limited”, “Lovelust Limited”, “Bizcon Limited” and “Anmama Limited” operate the following domains:
However, the experts doubt whether the company names and addresses provided are correct. Finding out the real operators is now the task of the police and public prosecutor's office.
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )