The Chamber of Labor sued Austrian fitness centers such as Clever fit, Fit/One, FITINN & Co. and the court was right: contract fee, chip fee and service fee are illegal. Additional costs cannot be charged without further ado. To date, 500,000 euros have been recovered. 20,000 affected people had reported to the AK – and the trend continued.
At the end of last year, the Supreme Court (OGH) ruled in favor of the AK lawsuit against Cleverfit. The administration fee and chip fee collected at the start of the contract and the service fee charged every six months are illegal. It was not clear why these fees, which were charged in addition to the dues, had to be paid – not even in the courts. Consumers are entitled to a refund.
GetUFit, which operates fitness studios in Vienna and Lower Austria, charged the same extra costs as Clever fit. After the final verdict was available, GetUFit was asked to refund these fees. Some of the customers have already been compensated.
Another judgment has been obtained in the case against Fit/One. This chain also operates studios in Vienna and Lower Austria. The administration fee paid at the beginning of the contract, which amounted to between EUR 20 and EUR 29 depending on the time of conclusion of the contract, is illegal. Fit/One has also partially reimbursed the flat fee.
In the FITINN case, the largest chain of fitness centers in Austria, the AK recently also managed to obtain a positive judgment from the Supreme Court. The activation fee of 29.90 euros charged at the conclusion of the contract and collected “for activating the membership card” was considered illegal.
Enforcement of “secondary obligations” quality standards
Now there is also a brand new judgment against Fitfabrik: the OGH has classified the annual service costs of 40 euros that Fitfabrik charges as unlawful. In exchange for paying the service charge, customers were entitled to “free personal training”. In addition, the service fee must “serve to maintain quality standards and investments in equipment and infrastructure”. However, according to the courts, these are undoubtedly secondary obligations that are already covered by the monthly contribution.
There is a Supreme Court proceeding against McFit. The AK expects a ruling soon.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
