Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, or BGH) ruled on Thursday that companies may not use their online “cancel contract” button to steer customers away from cancelling. Once you click the button — required by law for many contracts signed online — the page that follows must let you confirm the cancellation, not bury it under offers to pause or keep the deal. The case was brought by Germany’s federation of consumer organisations (vzbv) against the fitness chain FitX, and the decision sets a standard that applies to any business using the button: gyms, mobile providers, streaming services and internet contracts alike.
The ruling at a glance
- Who decided: the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), Germany’s highest civil court, in Karlsruhe.
- Case: vzbv (consumer federation) v. FitX; file reference I ZR 200/25.
- The finding: the confirmation page after the “cancel” button must not contain distracting alternatives, such as an offer to pause the membership instead.
- The law behind it: the mandatory online cancellation button (Kündigungsbutton) under § 312k of the Civil Code (BGB).
- Who it covers: any contract you can enter into online as a consumer — gyms, phone, internet, streaming and similar.
What the case was about
Since July 2022, German law has required businesses that let consumers sign contracts online to also offer an easy way out: a clearly labelled cancellation button (Kündigungsbutton). Under § 312k of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB), the button must be easy to find, and clicking it must take you to a confirmation page where you enter a few details and cancel.
FitX, a gym chain based in Essen, had built its process differently. When customers clicked the cancellation button, they were sent to a page that prominently offered them the chance to pause their membership free of charge — positioned above the actual cancellation form. The vzbv argued this was designed to nudge people away from cancelling, and sued. A lower court in Düsseldorf had sided with the company; the vzbv appealed to the BGH.
What the court decided
The BGH’s First Civil Senate reversed the Düsseldorf decision and ordered FitX to stop the practice. The confirmation page reached via the cancellation button, the court held, may only contain the information the law requires — for example the type of cancellation and the contract it refers to — and nothing beyond that. Retention offers, alternatives and other distractions do not belong there.
“Whoever clicks on the cancellation button must be able to actually cancel — without distraction, without detours, without tricks,” said vzbv board member Ramona Pop after the decision. FitX said it accepted the ruling and had already adjusted its cancellation page.
Why this matters beyond one gym
The cancellation button is not a gym-specific rule. It applies across the board to consumer contracts concluded online — mobile phone plans, home internet, streaming subscriptions, magazines, insurance and more. Because the BGH is the highest civil court in the country, its interpretation guides how every business must design that final confirmation step. In practice, that means a company can still advertise a “pause” or a discount elsewhere, but not on the page where you go to confirm a cancellation.
What it means for people living in Germany
If you have ever tried to cancel a German contract, you know it can feel deliberately difficult. This ruling makes one part clearly easier. When you want to end a contract you signed online, look for the cancellation button — it is usually labelled “Vertrag hier kündigen” (“cancel contract here”) and, by law, must be reachable directly, without logging in. After you click it, you should reach a straightforward confirmation page. If instead you are pushed toward a “pause” or a special offer before you can confirm, that now runs against what the top court has said, and you can point to this decision.
A few practical tips: cancel in writing and keep proof. The button generates a confirmation you can save or screenshot — do so, along with the date and time. You do not need to give a reason to end a contract at the end of its term. And watch the notice period (Kündigungsfrist): most contracts renew automatically, but since 2022 a contract that renews can generally be cancelled with one month’s notice, so you are no longer locked in for another full year if you miss the original deadline by a day.
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