Federal Court of Justice: BGH limits Payback points for hearing aids

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has set narrow limits to advertising with bonus points when buying hearing aids. Companies should only advertise with a credit up to a value of one euro, the top civil judges in Karlsruhe decided.

Exceptions are only directly acting in terms of pricing, said the presiding judge Thomas Koch. Other monetary benefits are not covered by the exceptions. (Az. I ZR 43/24)

Payback points worth a cent

A leading hearing care professional with hundreds of branches in Germany had advertised that customers could collect payback points from him. As a result, a Payback point worth a cent is credited per euro purchase. This can then be paid out in cash or can be converted into non -cash premiums or vouchers.

The competitive center saw this advertising a violation of the Memorial advertising Act. After that, giveaways and donations when selling medical products are generally prohibited. However, there are exceptions, for example, for “low -quality little things”.

OLG had pulled a higher border

In the lower court, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg had set the limit for the decisive “low value” at five euros per hearing aid. It is only feared that consumers could be guided by the incentive when making their purchase decision.

In the case of advertising for price -bound medicines, the BGH once set the threshold at one euro. However, hearing aids are considered medical devices. Since this price competition is possible and with a view to the general price increase, the OLG opted for a higher limit.

The BGH saw it differently: With the “low -quality little things”, the value must be so low that it has no influence on the purchase decision, said Koch. It is the “mere expression of general customer satisfaction”. Therefore, the BGH had already pulled the border at one euro.