Member breach of contract deducting 30%liquidated damages?California Fitness Exchange is suspected of "overlord contract"

Jimu Journalist Liu Dongli

Video editing Liu Dongli

Intern Fu Xin Chen Yihan

As soon as the forefoot pays for swimming training, the rear foot receives the notification of closing the pool, and the fitness center promises the full refund; in a few days, the swimming pool is open, and the customer still insists on the refund, but the fitness center requires 30%of the penalty.

Mr. Wang, a citizen of Wuhan, is very puzzled: The fitness center does not have to bear any responsibility for breach of contract. Why should consumers be liable for breach of contract? Is this a bully clause?

Notice "Closing Museum" two days after payment

On July 7, Mr. Wang signed up for a child in California Fitness Hui on the fourth floor of the New World International Trade Building on Jianghan District, Wuhan City. The price was 980 yuan. In order to accompany the child, Mr. Wang spent 600 yuan to run a swimming month card for himself, costing a total of 1580 yuan.

"After paying the fee, I asked the coach if I could start learning from the 9th, but the coach said that he could hear the constant temperature swimming pool. I needed to wait for two days. I asked again on the evening of the 10th. I still have to wait for two days." On the 11th, the coach sent him a "Treatment of the Pool Closed Pavilion" on WeChat, called the notice of cooperation with the Cultural and Sports Bureau. The pool was temporarily closed from July 9, 2022, and "the recovery time will be notified separately." Mr. Wang was worried about delaying the child's summer vacation schedule and decided to apply for a refund.

"Notice of the Closing Pavilion" sent by the staff to Mr. Wang

On the 11th, Mr. Wang made a special trip to California Fitness Exchange for a refund. "At that time, the shopping mall managers were also present. The staff of the gym asked me to fill in a full refund list and promised to refund to the account on the 14th." After receiving the refund, he called the staff of California Fitness Exchange. Then the staff told him that the swimming pool could be opened immediately, so he could not refund it. However, Mr. Wang was worried that the swimming pool would be closed for a few days, affecting his time arrangement and insisting on refunds. On the 15th, Mr. Wang came to California Fitness Hui again. The staff told him that he wanted to refund it, but he had to charge 30%of the penalty based on the contract.

This made Mr. Wang unacceptable: "The promise was a full refund at the beginning. Why does it take 30%of the penalties now?" Since then, he has come to the store many times, but the person in charge of the store either ignores it or directly or directly. The alarm is very unhappy.

California Fitness Exchange Entrance

On the morning of July 22, a journalist accompanied Mr. Wang to California Fitness Exchange. At the front desk, the reporter stated that after his identity and intention, a young staff member said that the boss was not there, he could not do the Lord, and he could not provide the boss contact information. The reporter asked him to convey the intention of the boss, but he said on his mobile phone and said, "The boss said that let me do what he should do well." Then he got up and left.

A marketing manager of the mall told reporters that the swimming pool of California Fitness Exchange did not stop for a few days ago, but other fitness areas are still open normally. Regarding Mr. Wang's refund requirements, he said that "the mall will try its best to coordinate." However, until 3 pm, the mall said that the shop chief had not been contacted.

Format contract is suspected of "overlord clauses"

The reporter saw on a comments website that some netizens left a message under the store, and the refund was difficult: "The gym shop manager has not responded so far, and the store chief WeChat has not passed it. So far, the problem is not solved." On January 31 Anonymous users left a message saying that the fitness center was "stopped operating, and the overall cost performance was not high."

According to the format contract signed by Mr. Wang and California Fitness Exchange, Mr. Wang reported to his child "Swimming Training Class (Long Training Course) [Multi -person]", with a basic price of 1,000 yuan. Essence The "Private Education Course Member Articles of Association" mentioned: "The losses caused by the derivation of the contract for the contract to the contract (the loss of service cost, the loss of benefits, the loss of business opportunities, etc.) were calculated at 30%of the paid fees. "

California Fitness Exchange

In this regard, Nie Xiyang, director of the Consumer Committee of the Hubei Provincial Consumer Council, believes that in the agreement text, the liability for liability for the default of the merchant is not clear, and the consumer defaults to pay 30%of the penalty.According to Article 26 of the Law, the operator shall not make an unfair and unreasonable provisions of consumers by restricting consumer rights and aggravating consumer responsibilities in the form of format terms, and shall not use the format clause for mandatory transactions.The content of the format contains the content of the preceding paragraph, and its content is invalid."The merchant uses the provisions of limiting consumer rights and aggravating consumer responsibilities by using the method of the format of the agreement. Therefore, the terms of the agreement stipulate that the" calculation of 30%of the paid fees 'should be invalid clauses, and the agreement is also suspected of'The overlord contract '. "The relevant person in charge of Xinhua Institute of the Jianghan District Market Supervision Bureau of Wuhan City said that they would submit the contract to the District Bureau of the District Bureau for review. Once it is determined to be a" overlord contract ", it will be ordered to rectify it.

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