germany
is it legal to take a service without paying for it?
<p>I've been going to a gym for 2 years now, but have noticed that the gym has stopped taking the monthly fee from my bank account for some time now. I've been able to go to the gym normally though.</p>
<p>Yesterday I was told by the guy behind the counter that my subscription is not valid anymore. He said it was frozen several months ago. Today I received an email asking if I want to un-freeze my subscription. Obviously, there has been a mistake in their system.</p>
<p>Morals aside, would I have to fear any legal repercussions if I wouldn't make them aware that I have been using their service for several months without them knowing about it (and being paid for it)?</p>

<p>It looks like the gym was allowed to take the money out of your bank account and didn't. They didn't notice that they didn't take your money, so they can't really expect you to notice it. So you haven't done anything that would be criminal.</p>
<p>The bigger question is how much you owe them. If you used the gym all the time, like someone paying monthly would do, they will most likely have the right to payment. That's not unlimited, there will be some &quot;statute of limitations&quot; so they can't ask you for 30 years back payments, but with less than two years they probably have a right. If they raised prices, it's unlikely the would have a right to that because they never told you.</p>
<p>The situation while your subscription was frozen is interesting. Basically you just walked in, used the gym without paying, but they didn't stop you in any way. I could walk into your gym, ask if it is Ok to use it, and if they say &quot;yes&quot; and don't mention payment, I'm in. So for this time you can argue whether or not you owe them money.</p>
<p>Summary: You haven't done anything criminal. You most likely owe them money. About the money, they can take you to court if you don't pay which will cost both sides money. Since you <em>did</em> use their service and other users <em>did</em> pay, the morally right thing would be to pay what seems fair to you, possibly with some negotiation. And legally, you might consider paying them enough to make both sides happy enough so you can stay a gym member and don't get sued for the money.</p>
