HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) – After an advertising slogan from Parship, everyone falls in love
eleven minutes via the online platform of one of its members. However, that says nothing about when it will be your turn when there are many thousands of members. In any case, the separation from the brokerage agency took quite a long time for paying customers until 2022. Anyone who did not cancel a six- or twelve-month premium membership twelve weeks before the end of the term remained a member for another full year – and continued to pay between 60 and 80 euros per month.
The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg does not consider this to be appropriate, as the chairwoman of the Civil Senate, Stephanie Zöllner, indicated on Thursday in the oral hearing on a model declaratory action brought by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations. An automatic extension of one year is only reasonable for a 24-month contract period.
When weighing up the extension period, a certain success component also plays a role, explained the Senate rapporteur, Stefan Schilling. “It’s very individual when someone feels successfully in love.” It is difficult to imagine that a user would still want to stay on the platform. He advised Parship to keep customers in the free basic membership.
In February 2022, Parship changed its terms and conditions. After the automatic extension if the membership is not canceled on time, the membership can be terminated on a monthly basis. That is why the proceedings only concern premium memberships between 2017 and 2022. In the other points, the model declaratory action has little chance of success, as Zöllner indicated.
The consumer advice center also wants to ensure that Parship’s dating agency is classified as a so-called service of a higher nature. According to the Civil Code ($627), such a service requires a special relationship of trust. According to the plaintiff, the customer reveals very personal things in a questionnaire. Therefore, as with a relationship with a doctor, lawyer or tax advisor, it is unreasonable if a Parship member cannot terminate immediately in the event of a loss of trust.
However, the Federal Court of Justice decided in June 2021 that Parship was not a classic marriage broker with index cards. The partner suggestions are based on algorithms, explained Schilling. The answers to the member questionnaire would be converted into points. The algorithm evaluates the result and creates a personality profile. According to Parship, the 80 questions mathematically allowed a number of variants with 39 positions. The customer then receives suggestions for partnerships and can decide whether he wants to accept them or not.
When you have personal contact, you can sometimes “no longer smell” a doctor, lawyer or tax advisor, said Zöllner. Then a trusting cooperation would no longer be possible. However, machines and algorithms worked at Parship. “We’ll wait until two avatars are discussed,” said the judge humorously. Data protection is another aspect. “But when I see what the young people reveal,” added Zöllner.
After the court session, Parship spokesman Christian Steinhof said: “We are very satisfied with the way today’s hearing went. The court followed our legal opinion in the main points.”
The consumer advice center’s speaker, Henning Fischer, said that the likely success of the lawsuit regarding the right of termination would be important for many customers. Consumers were often lured by special offers of perhaps 199 euros for half a year and were then expected to pay 800 euros for another year if they did not cancel on time. “These are the things that really bother consumers.” In this respect, the court’s indicated decision on this point is very significant.
Both parties to the lawsuit announced that they would appeal if they lost. The consumer advice center represents 29 Parship customers in the proceedings, and around 1,200 others have joined the lawsuit, according to the federal association. The Higher Regional Court wants to announce its judgment on October 26th./bsp/DP/stk
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