Advance payment for music

The Polish consumer ordered a soundtrack and song lyrics from a British record company. The agreement assumed that after the first stage of the contract (soundtrack), the customer can withdraw from it without incurring any additional costs. It meant that the music copyrights will belong to the record company, and the consumer will lose the deposit consisting of two installments 240 euro and 50 euro. After the consumer had terminated the contract, the company started to demand a penalty because their rules have changed in the meantime.

Then the consumer referred the case to ECC Poland. The annex to the contract showed that the first installment of 240 euro was defined as an “advance payment”, which in Polish law is repayable – in the contract it was defined as a “deposit” (non-repayable). ECC Poland has transferred the case to ECC United Kingdom. Centers demanded the return of the first installment. Thanks to the intervention of both centers (as part of an amicable settlement of the dispute) the consumer was refunded 120 euro.

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