Ms. Liu from Hangzhou applied for a two-year parent-child card at a gym on 20151and paid 4499 yuan on the spot. The reason why Ms. Liu applied for the card was mainly because the salesperson claimed that there would be a swimming pool and a children's playground after the gym was completed.
After the opening of the gym, Ms. Liu discovered that there were no children's facilities in the store and there was no swimming pool shown in the promotional materials. She felt cheated and wanted a full refund, but was rejected by the gym, so she sued the gym to the West Lake Court. In the lawsuit, one side of the gym admitted that it was impossible to build a swimming pool due to site conditions, and also admitted that the lack of children's equipment constituted a breach of contract.
The West Lake Court found through trial that the gym clearly stated in the brochure that the store had a swimming pool. Now Ms. Liu thinks that the swimming pool is the main reason why she decided to come to this store for exercise, and other services are irreplaceable. Therefore, the explanation and commitment made by the gym about the swimming pool have great influence on the conclusion of the service contract and should be regarded as an offer. At the same time, the swimming pool brochure is an integral part of the service contract and is binding on both parties.
In addition, according to the nature of the parent-child card handled by Ms. Liu, it can be concluded that the agreement between the two parties contains children's facilities. Due to the limitation of venue conditions, the current gym cannot set up a swimming pool and provide children's facilities, which leads to the plaintiff's contract goal not being realized. Therefore, the hospital believes that Ms. Liu's request to terminate the contract and return the price should be supported. Therefore, the service contract between the gym and Ms. Liu was terminated and Ms. Liu was returned 4499 yuan.
The judge in charge said that the fitness service contract formed between consumers and gyms has strong personal attributes and is not an enforceable contract; Refund of fitness card is not an unbreakable "iron law", even if the agreement signed with the gym indicates similar clauses such as "no card refund" and "once sold, the fee will not be refunded", it should be considered invalid. Consumers can ask the gym to cancel the contract and refund the corresponding service fee before accepting the service.