The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 20th that it has established standard terms and conditions for yoga and Pilates that include a business operator's obligation to notify before suspension or closure and refund standards. Standard terms and conditions are a kind of guideline that serve as the standard for contracts for facility use that business operators enter into with customers. There is no obligation for business operators to follow them, but if an operator sets individual terms that are significantly disadvantageous to customers compared with the standard terms and conditions, it provides grounds for the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to recommend corrective action.
Under the standard terms and conditions established this time, business operators must notify members of a planned suspension or closure at least 14 days in advance. Previously, this notification obligation was included only in the standard terms and conditions for fitness centers such as gyms, but it has now been extended to the yoga and Pilates field. (Related article☞ [exclusive] Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) pushes "notify customers 14 days before suspension or closure" for Pilates and yoga as well) The yoga and Pilates standard terms and conditions also include a provision requiring operators who have taken out surety insurance to inform consumers in advance of the type of insurance and coverage.
The standard terms and conditions also include criteria for calculating refund amounts when a contract is canceled or terminated. In yoga and Pilates, it is common to induce long-term prepayments by offering discounts. Because of this, there have been cases where refund amounts were calculated unfavorably for consumers when canceling or terminating a contract. For example, even though payment was made at a discounted price, the number of uses deducted from the refund was calculated at the regular price (pre-discount amount). Accordingly, the standard terms and conditions stipulate that the refund amount be calculated based on the actual amount paid, not the regular price. Penalties are also limited to 10% of the usage fee.
An official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "We expect that establishing the standard terms and conditions will help prevent potential consumer damage caused by 'eat-and-run' closures," adding, "Consumers will be clearly informed of refund standards in advance, which will improve contract transparency."