The Case of Rufa [2022] 003
The gym is near the road
I always meet my little brother with a leaflet
Kindly ask a "swim fitness to know about it"
Look down at your own little belly
The heart wants to exercise without a card
So I went into the gym
Got an annual pass and bought a personal training class
Get ready for exercise with confidence
Only to find that the gym "ran away"
Who will refund the money in the membership card?
How can such disputes be defended?
Don't worry, the judge will give you a trick!
Basic facts of the case
On July 3, 2018, Li purchased a personal 3-year membership card for a gym for fitness exercises, and paid a membership service fee of 2799 yuan, on the same day, Li purchased 24 private training classes with a unit price of 200 yuan for a gym, and paid a class fee of 4800 yuan. On July 17, 2018, Li purchased 10 rehabilitation personal training courses worth 2500 yuan under the recommendation of the gym's personal trainer, X. When passing by the gym in January 2021, he found that the store was closed and the refund was attempted, and Li sued the gym to the court.
Court hearings
The "Membership Application Form", "Receipt" and WeChat chat records submitted by Mr. Li can confirm that he has applied for a membership card in a gym, and the two parties have a fitness service contract relationship, which should be performed in accordance with the contract. Li suspended the card for two months within the validity period of the membership card, so the fitness service contract between the two parties should expire on September 2, 2021, because a gym was closed during the contract performance period and could not provide member fitness services for Li, so it should refund the membership service fee of 669 yuan from the date of suspension (December 15, 2020) to September 2, 2021 (a total of 8 months and 18 days), calculated as follows: total amount / purchase time * remaining days, that is, 2799 yuan÷ 36 months×8 months + 2799 yuan ÷ 36 months÷ 30 days × 18 days; because a gym did not provide Li with 18 regular personal training classes and 9 rehabilitation private training classes, it should refund Li's above-mentioned personal training class fee of 5850 yuan.
Judge's Statement
Zhao Cuizhu, vice president of the Second Civil Division of the Licheng District Court in Jinan City
Paragraph 4 of Article 94 of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China clearly stipulates that if one party delays in performing its obligations or has other breaches of contract, the parties may terminate the contract.
Consumers apply for fitness cards and pay membership fees at fitness venues, and form a service contract relationship with gym merchants. In this case, the legal relationship of the service contract between Li and the gym was clear, the gym could not continue to provide normal fitness services for Li due to its own reasons, and Li had the right to claim rescission of the contract according to law and require the other party to refund the membership fee.
Judge reminds
First, when applying for a prepaid fitness card, pay attention to the following six points:
01 Do a good job in the preliminary inspection work
Visit the gym environment, equipment, word of mouth, business license and venue lease term before applying for the card.
02 Be wary of pre-sale cards and low-cost cards
Consumers should be vigilant against gyms that have newly applied for a business license, have not yet started business and are attracting customers at ultra-low prices on this basis, and should not trust low-cost cards that are much lower than the average market price of the same service level.
03 The recharge amount should not be too large
Fitness card is a prepaid service, although the more you buy the cheaper, but also to bear the corresponding "runaway" risk, in order to avoid encountering a large risk of loss, if you use the form of prepaid fitness card, you should try to choose a strong business, and as far as possible to choose the amount is not too high, in a relatively short period of time can be consumed to recharge.
04 Don't take your word to word
For the merchant's service commitments on preferential conditions, service periods, the scope of use of membership cards and gifts, etc., they should be fixed in writing, and do not trust the verbal commitments made by the sales staff.
05 Pay attention to the details of the contract text
When signing a service contract, the content of the contract should be read in detail, and the merchant should be vigilant and require the merchant to complete the lack of key information, unclear information of the other party to the contract or no signature and seal.
06 Properly preserve relevant evidence
After applying for the card, in addition to the membership card itself, it should also properly keep the signed contract and the receipt, invoice or other payment voucher issued by the merchant, so as to protect the needs of rights in the future.
2. When it comes to defending rights in gym disputes, pay attention to the following four points:
01 Rational rights protection
When encountering businesses "running away" or other disputes, they should rationally safeguard their rights and safeguard their rights in accordance with law, and must not take measures to rob fitness equipment or other excessive rights protection measures.
02 Collect evidence
First of all, corresponding evidence should be collected and fixed, such as contracts, agreements, bills, as well as photos, videos, audio and video recordings recording the merchant's "running away" and the negotiation process.
03 Active consultation
If the negotiation with the merchant for a refund is fruitless, it may be reported to the local consumer association, the Administration for Industry and Commerce and other organizations and administrative departments, and negotiate mediation under the auspices of the relevant departments.
04 Prosecute according to law
Where mediation fails, consumers may file a lawsuit with the people's court where the defendant is located or the fitness venue on the basis of valid evidence, and the people's court may also conduct pre-litigation mediation at the stage of prosecution.
Transferred from: Jinan Licheng District Court
Source: Shandong Gaofa