Dance courses: Your right to cancel after booking online

When you privately book a dance class online with a commercial dance school, a consumer and a business often enter into a contract. For a distance contract, Section 312g(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB) generally provides for a right of withdrawal. However, this applies only if no statutory exception applies. Booking online alone therefore does not guarantee that you can withdraw from the contract.

It also matters when the contract is concluded. An automatically sent confirmation of receipt does not necessarily mean that your booking has been accepted. Depending on the booking process, the contract is concluded immediately or only when you receive a binding confirmation. For an existing service contract, the possible withdrawal period generally starts when the contract is concluded, not when your first dance class takes place.

A booking by email can also qualify as distance selling. However, a purely incidental exchange of emails is not necessarily enough: the provider must use an organized system for concluding contracts this way. By contrast, if you already made a binding agreement in person, a confirmation sent later does not turn it into a new online contract.

The type of instruction also matters. A Line Dance online course may take place live or consist of videos you can watch on demand. Digital content is subject in some cases to different withdrawal rules than a booked instructional service.

Section 312g(2), no. 9 of the German Civil Code (BGB) excludes certain services related to leisure activities from the right of withdrawal. The requirement is that the contract specifies a particular date or period for the service. A dance course you book for leisure purposes as a fixed series of classes is generally covered by this exception.

The exception is not limited to a one-off dance evening. It can also cover a weekend course or several bindingly agreed class dates. For a dance intensive course with fixed blocks of classes, the agreed service period is therefore legally significant, regardless of how the exercises are distributed.

This is intended to account for limited capacity planning: the dance school reserves instructors, rooms and places for the period. A place that becomes available at short notice may not be possible to reallocate. The exception applies from the outset, not only shortly before the course begins. So even booking months in advance does not automatically give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

The starting point is different for classes without an agreed date or binding period. In that case, this exception does not apply automatically. Professional training is also not necessarily a leisure activity. The contract's content remains decisive. Personal circumstances such as illness do not change this classification; conversely, an existing statutory right cannot simply be removed through standard terms and conditions.

If no exception applies and you have a statutory right of withdrawal, the period is generally 14 days. For services, it generally begins when the contract is concluded, but not before you have been properly informed about your right of withdrawal. If you are not properly informed, the period may be extended; as a rule, the right expires no later than 12 months and 14 days after the regular starting point. However, failure to provide this information does not create a right of withdrawal for a course that is exempt by law.

To withdraw, you need only make a clear statement to your contractual partner, for example by email. You do not need to give a reason. Sending your notice in time preserves the deadline; simply not attending the lessons does not count as a withdrawal. You may use a model withdrawal form, but you are not required to. Including your booking number and the course name can help identify your notice.

For paid services, the right may expire once the service has been provided in full, if you expressly agreed to the service starting early and acknowledged that you would lose your right once it had been fully performed. The first lesson alone is not enough for this. You may owe proportionate compensation for lessons already provided, especially if you expressly requested an early start and were properly informed.

Following a valid withdrawal, the provider must generally refund payments received within 14 days of receiving your notice. Any potential claims for compensation remain relevant. This overview concerns German consumer rules and is not a substitute for legal advice on your individual case. Voluntary cancellation and ordinary termination are separate matters.