Now the Baden-Württemberg Consumer Center (VZ BaWü) is receiving more complaints about Mönchshofer AG and a very similar scam.

Although Bonafair was explicitly banned by a court ruling at the end of January 2022 ( HERE ) from calling consumers without their permission and sending them unordered goods including invoices, the company is not thinking of stopping - even though there is a risk of a fine of up to 250,000 euros .

Bonafair telephone rip-off with nutritional supplements / Photo: Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center
Bonafair telephone rip-off with nutritional supplements
Photo: Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center

How does Bonafair AG proceed?

The process is always the same: older people receive a call in which they are involved in a conversation about various health problems in old age or the current Corona situation. VZ BaWü is usually told that the caller was very nice and sensitive. In some cases the impression was given that the person calling was from the pharmacy or health insurance company.

As the conversation continued, various nutritional supplements were mentioned, of which you would receive a free sample pack. There is probably no mention of the horrendous costs of around 160 euros for three boxes of the dietary supplement or a subscription contract. Shortly afterwards, those called receive a package of nutritional supplements along with a hefty bill.

Attention debt collection

Consumers are currently reporting to the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center, receiving debt collection letters from GMI – Gesellschaft für Mahn- und Inkassowesen mbH and being asked to pay claims from Bonafair.

The Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center recommends:

Don't let yourself be put under pressure! With a free debt collection check ( HERE ) you can check whether the claim is justified and the amount is appropriate. If necessary, you will receive a sample letter at the end with which you can object to the claim:

Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center

If in doubt, contact your consumer advice center.

Who is Mönchshofer AG?

There are currently an increasing number of complaints about Mönchshofer AG and a very similar scam: The provider uses the same scam to foist subscriptions to similar dietary supplements on consumers. Several facts suggest that Mönchshofer AG has followed in the footsteps of Bonafair AG:

  • the cover letters are exactly the same
  • The headquarters of the two companies are at Konstanzerstrasse 19, 8274trägerwilen in Switzerland
  • The logistics centers of the two companies are located at Wilhelmstrasse 162, 72805 Lichtenstein
  • The board of directors of both companies is the same
  • The packaging of Mönchshofer AG's nutritional supplements contains tablet blisters with the inscription “Hirschberger NaturRat”, the Bonafair AG brand

What can you do?

The Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center recommends the following procedures:

Received a package?

Have you received a package from Bonafair AG or Mönchshofer AG yourself? If you did not agree to a delivery over the phone, you can object to the alleged conclusion of a contract with the company. To do this, send our sample letter ( HERE ) completed by email or by registered mail to the address in Switzerland specified in the cancellation policy. Please keep the receipt for the registered mail or the email sent as proof of your cancellation. You do not have to return the unordered goods.

Agree to delivery by phone?

“If you have agreed to a delivery over the phone, you can cancel this contract afterwards. Do not use the cancellation form that Bonafair may have sent you. With this form you agree to cover the return shipping costs. Instead, send our sample letter ( HERE ) by email or by registered mail to the address in Switzerland specified in the cancellation policy. Please keep the receipt for the registered mail or the email sent as proof of your cancellation. You only have to pay the return shipping costs if Bonafair or Mönchshofer informed you about this over the phone before you agreed to the delivery.”

Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center

Unsure what to do?

Are you unsure how to proceed in your specific case? Then you are welcome to contact the Baden-Württemberg consumer center for telephone advice. You can reach them at 0900-1-77 444-2, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The price of telephone advice is 1.75 euros per minute from the German landline; higher prices are possible from mobile networks. Please have all documents relating to your case ready for the interview. You can find further advice options ( HERE ).

What has VZ BaWü achieved so far?

As reported ( HERE ), the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center warned Bonafair AG in April 2021 and asked them to refrain from doing so in the future

  • calling consumers for advertising purposes without their prior consent,
  • To send consumers unordered goods including a payment request and
  • To continue sending consumers payment requests after they have revoked their consent.

Since Bonafair AG was unwilling to issue a cease-and-desist declaration and to stop the unscrupulous behavior in the future, a lawsuit was filed in May 2021. With the recognition judgment (5 O 25/21 KfH) of the Offenburg Regional Court, Bonafair AG was then legally prohibited from carrying out the above-mentioned procedure at the end of January 2022. Any violation of the ruling now threatens the company with a fine of up to 250,000 euros.

Initiation of administrative fine proceedings against Bonafair AG

In order to be able to claim this fine, the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center needs cases of violations of the judgment that are as well documented as possible. Would you like to support this? Then please send the exact description of your case and your complete documents to the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center using the contact form (the first form HERE In order for us to initiate administrative fine proceedings against Bonafair AG, we also need your consent that we may pass on your data. You can give us this consent directly in the contact form.

Action against unauthorized advertising calls

Advertising calls are generally prohibited unless consumers have expressly agreed in advance that a company may call for a specific purpose. If you have not expressly given Bonafair AG or Mönchshofer AG permission to call you to offer you nutritional supplements, calling the companies is not permitted. Bonafair AG was also banned from making unauthorized telephone calls by the court ruling.

Despite the ban, the two companies still call consumers without permission in order to foist subscriptions on them. The Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center therefore collects incoming complaints about the two companies and forwards them to the law enforcement authorities in Switzerland, who can initiate criminal proceedings.

Record call data

For this purpose, the following data is required from those affected:

  • When was the call?
  • Have you agreed to a marketing call from Bonafair AG or Mönchshofer AG?
  • What number did you call from?

If you would like to support VZ BaWü in taking criminal action against the companies, you are welcome to send all information and existing documents relating to your case to the consumer advice center using a contact form ( HERE : Contact form: Your experiences with Bonafair and Mönchshofer). In order to be able to forward your data to the law enforcement authorities in Switzerland, your consent is required that your data may be passed on. You can give this directly in the contact form.

Bonafair or Mönchshofer do not provide you with any information about your data?

You have the right to information about which personal data Bonafair AG or Mönchshofer AG has stored about you, where the data comes from and to whom it was passed on. You can request this information using a sample letter from the consumer advice center. ( HERE ) The company must respond immediately and provide you with the requested information within one month.

If the company does not have the right to store your personal data, you can request deletion. This is the case if you have not agreed to either the advertising call itself or the delivery.

No information about stored data?

If the company does not comply with the request for information, the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center can report this to the Federal Network Agency and the responsible data protection authorities in Switzerland, which can initiate fine proceedings against the two companies. Regardless of this, it will then be examined whether further representative action proceedings should be initiated against Mönchshofer AG.

The following information is required from those affected:

  • When did you send our sample letter requesting the information?
  • What deadline have you set for the information?
  • By what day (after the deadline) did Bonafair AG or Mönchshofer AG still not respond?

If you would like to help with this, you can send the necessary information to the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center using the following contact form ( HERE contact form: No information about data from Bonafair or Mönchshofer) and upload the completed sample letter ( HERE ) as an attachment. In order to be able to initiate a fine or representative action procedure, your consent is required that your data may be passed on. This consent can be given directly in the contact form.

Source: Baden-Württemberg Consumer Center

Already read? Permanent rip-off Bonafair condemned!


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