The Berlin Court of Appeal has prohibited the re-commerce marketplace Vinted from automatically presetting a buyer protection fee when purchasing used clothing. The court thus upheld a lawsuit brought by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations.
The Lithuanian platform operator Vinted UAB had charged “buyer protection” for transactions via the platform: five percent of the item price plus 70 cents. However, the additional service was preset and could not be deselected by buyers.
In the opinion of the Chamber Court, this practice violates the ban on forcing paid additional services on consumers by default, which has been enshrined in the Civil Code since 2014. Such extra payments are only effective if buyers expressly agree. This also applies to online marketplaces where private individuals trade with one another, meaning that a commercial platform operator only acts as an intermediary for private-to-private sales. The company had previously relied on this. With the ruling, the Chamber Court corrected an earlier decision by the Berlin Regional Court. Although this determined that users were being misled, it considered the default fee setting to be permissible.
The judgment of December 2, 2025 is not yet final.
