Usual household amount
The usual household amount is a not precisely defined quantity in Germany for the purchase of goods or the disposal of recyclable materials in relation to the household size .
Definitions
Trading companies, often retail companies , only offer their customers goods in “normal household quantities” in order to limit the stocking (hamster purchase) of the end consumer to a certain level. This is often mentioned in the general terms and conditions. There are only a few legal regulations (competition law) and a few cases in jurisprudence, so that it is largely up to the discretion of the respective company and it also depends on the type of goods. Particularly in the case of special price promotions or a limited range of goods, the limitation of purchases is intended to prevent a few buyers from buying corresponding goods in larger quantities and thus to minimize the range of goods more quickly until the goods are finally completely out of stock.
Waste disposal companies also restrict the mostly free acceptance of recyclable materials with the term “normal household quantities”; amounts exceeding this are billed separately. This is to prevent traders or private waste generators from being able to dispose of larger quantities at low cost or free of charge. Corresponding mention of the term can be found in the general terms and conditions or, in the case of municipal companies, in official gazettes and regulations .
Legal
When returning empties , the Packaging Ordinance does not provide for any limitation on normal household quantities for disposal.
If an advertising brochure for voucher cards says “Only household quantities”, end consumers have the right to purchase at least four voucher cards, ruled the Hamburg District Court , Az. 327 O 272/11, F 5 0330/11. An electronics discounter initially only allowed customers two cards. The Lübeck Regional Court ruled on December 11, 2012, file number: 11 O 65/12, that dealers must make it clear and unambiguous if they only want to offer one hard drive per customer. More than one external memory could also be common in households. This was also confirmed comparatively by the district court of Kiel , Az. 14 O 119/14 on January 26, 2015, in which the advertisement with “delivery of normal household quantities” does not mean “1 piece”. In the case in question, a mobile phone without a card contract was offered for a purchase price of EUR 99 on the day of sale. Prospective buyers were denied the opportunity to purchase more than one mobile phone. Since in a multi-person household there can be a higher demand than just one item, this restriction could not be taken from the advertising, so that it was misleading according to §§ 3, 5 UWG.
The reference that an advertised product is only sold in "normal household quantities" and "the article could be sold out on the first day of the offer due to limited stocks" is anti-competitive in accordance with §§ 3, 5 I S. 2 No. 1, 8 UWG , since the consumer cannot expect that an article will be sold out an hour and ten minutes after opening, judgment of the Cologne Regional Court of September 30, 2009, Az. 84 O 68/09.
Unfair surreptitious fraud under the UWG is also given if a retailer buys goods in "normal household quantities" from another retailer and does not disclose his intention to resell, but acts like an end consumer. Buying the goods from end customers is not, however, surreptitious fraud.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated May 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.internetrecht-rostock.de/werbung-haushaltsuebliche-quote.htm
- ↑ http://klawtext.blogspot.de/2012/12/papi-darf-ich-noch-ne-zweite-festplatte.html
- ↑ http://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/lgs/koeln/lg_koeln/j2009/84_O_68_09 Judgment20090930.html
- ↑ http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/anspr%C3%BCche-steller-h%C3%A4ndler- Lieferant.html