Price comparisons and cost of the means of payment

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) issued an interesting ruling in the summer that affects all price comparison sites, whether for computer games, vacations, flights, apartments or other popular online shopping items.

Key Facts

The BGH ruled that price advertising is only permissible with standard payment methods.
A price was quoted on a flight comparison website that is only valid with a specific credit card.
Increasing the price for other payment methods is not permitted.
Service flat rates are considered a fee and must be communicated openly.
Violation of Art. 23 para. 1 sentence 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008.
The obligation to specify a common and free payment option is crucial.
Prohibition of payment charges that exceed the actual costs.

Under the AZ: I ZR 250/20, the court ruled that it would be illegal to advertise a price if it only applies to one or a few (non-common) payment methods, and the price is therefore higher when paying with other payment methods. Experience has shown that this is likely to be the case with many search engines, for example, for license keys for computer games. Even the defendant’s objection that it was merely a service charge did not move the highest civil court to a different decision. According to the BGH, such a flat rate also constitutes a charge from the consumer’s point of view. In the case at hand, a flight comparison website displayed a price in the comparison view that only applied when paying with a certain credit card and increased when another payment method was selected later.

In the present case, the BGH confirmed a violation of the obligation to indicate the final price to be paid pursuant to Art. 23 para. 1 sentence 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air transport services in the Community, against the obligation pursuant to § 312 para. 4 No. 1 BGB to offer a common and reasonable free payment option and against the prohibition under § 312 para. 4 No. 2 BGB of the agreement of a payment method fee that exceeds the costs incurred by the entrepreneur through the use of the payment method.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.