Without the knowledge of the legal guardian, a minor concludes a contract in a fitness studio of the Bodybalance and Lady-Fitness GmbH & Co. KG chain. Although the contract is ineffective, the studio insists on the conclusion of the contract and statutory notice periods.
What happened? An underage consumer would like to register in a Delmenhorst gym owned by the Bodybalance chain in 2019. Her single mother speaks out against it. The 15-year-old then signed the contract without her mother's knowledge, but with the support of her grandmother. After some time, the mother finds out that the contract has been concluded. Fearing that her daughter might get into financial difficulties, she takes over the payments. However, when looking through her documents, the mother realizes that her underage daughter concluded the contract without the consent of a legal guardian. She notifies Bodybalance in writing in August 2021 that the contract is invalid. She stops the payments. Bodybalance, on the other hand, refers to the statutory notice periods and states that the contract can only be terminated at the end of August 2022.
Legal classification
“The matter is very clear,” says Ilsemarie Luttmann, advisor to the Lower Saxony Consumer Center in Göttingen, and explains: “The daughter is a minor and the grandmother does not have legal guardianship. The contract is therefore invalid.” The basic rule is: minors are not allowed to conclude such a contract alone. If the contract is not approved by the parents as legal representatives, it is to be viewed as invalid from the start. “There is therefore no contract at all between the young consumer and Bodybalance,” says Luttmann.
Result of advice and tips from the consumer advice center
On this legal basis, the consumer could actually claim back all contributions made, but would then have to pay compensation for the use of the studio. In this case, the consumer advice center advises that the mother should insist on immediate termination. “If Bodybalance continues to insist on the contract, the consumer advice center will offer further support from a lawyer,” said the consumer advice center expert. In general, Luttmann advises not to simply suspend payments without comment, but to always inform service providers in writing of the reasons.
If you have any questions about contract law, free short advice from the Lower Saxony Consumer Center can help - on site, by telephone or via video advice.
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 )