Minor Closing a Contract Online

It is a truism that having a youngster at home can surely lead to surprises. This becomes unpleasant if all of a sudden bills flood your mailbox.

What happens if a minor engages into a contract on the internet and you do not want to pay the bill? A lot of legal trouble… German business intercourse expects full legal capacity as standard and only exceptionally restricted or no legal capacity. If you do not have full legal capacity then with the upcoming of problems you will have to prove that legal advantage. Minors from 7 – 17 (§§2, 106 BGB) have restricted capacity to contract, meaning their parents have to permit, be it in advance or afterwards.

On the Internet §4 II no. 1 Gesetz über den Datenschutz bei Telediensten, Law on Data Protection for Teleservices, sets the legal rule: Such measures have to be taken that a person with an average understanding should be able to perceive that he is about to do something legally binding and not just clicking around. OLG Brandenburg, January 11, 2006, re 7 U 52/05) ruled that this will be typically met when you have to acknowledge more than one time that you want to order this or download that while simultaneously being presented the order form either as a summary or in full. If the webshop your youngster purchased in does not have that such precautions before entering a contract, then you might have a chance to contest the contract.