Woman paid 13 thousand euros for 'returning her lover': court forced clairvoyant to return the money

The Düsseldorf Land Court in Germany obliged a company that offered clairvoyant services for "returning a partner" to return 13 thousand euros to the client. The court declared the contract invalid due to its inconsistency with the moral principles of society and found that the performer took advantage of the woman's emotionally vulnerable state.

According to the case materials, the company advertised various esoteric services, including clairvoyance, spiritual consultations, magic, curse removal, and the so-called "telepathic return of a partner." The services were actually provided by the company's director, who presented himself as a clairvoyant.

The plaintiff contacted him in spring 2022 after breaking up with the father of her nine-month-old child. According to her, she was in a difficult psychological state and hoped to restore the relationship.

During the initial phone consultation, she was offered several options for "returning a partner": one month for 20 thousand euros, two months for 13 thousand euros, and ten months for 8 thousand euros. The woman chose the 13 thousand euro option and transferred the funds to the company.

However, the former partner never returned.

WhatsApp correspondence became key evidence

In court, the company denied selling the partner return service. The defendant claimed that the woman ordered spiritual life counseling, and the amount paid was the fee for such consultations.

However, the court examined the WhatsApp correspondence between the parties and concluded that they were actually agreeing on the "return of the partner." In particular, the messages discussed different rates depending on the time frame in which the former partner was supposed to return.

The court also noted the illogical pricing cited by the defendant. As stated in the decision, spiritual counseling could not cost more for a shorter period and less for a longer one, whereas the proposed pricing system was directly tied to the speed of the expected result — the partner's return.

Why the court declared the contract invalid

Assessing the circumstances, the court found that the company director was aware of the client's emotional state and exploited her despair and trustfulness. The plaintiff convincingly explained that during the first conversation she shared her feelings and believed the promises to return her former partner using supernatural abilities.

The key point in the case was the court's conclusion that the promise to return a person through telepathic or energy forces is objectively impossible to fulfill. The court noted that although the law does not prohibit contracts for services whose effectiveness is not scientifically proven, in this case, the performer not only promised an unattainable result but also demanded an extremely high fee for it.

According to the court, there was an obvious discrepancy between the promised service and the amount of remuneration. Moreover, the performer took advantage of the woman's psychologically vulnerable state, who was experiencing a breakup and looking for any possibility to return her partner.

Under these circumstances, the court declared the contract invalid based on § 138 of the German Civil Code as contrary to the moral principles of society.

The company was obliged to return all received funds

Since there was no legal basis for receiving the funds, the court ordered the company to return 13 thousand euros to the plaintiff, pay interest for the use of the money, and compensate court costs.

In the decision, the court emphasized that the client sincerely believed in the possibility of returning her former partner thanks to the clairvoyant's abilities at the time of the contract and therefore cannot be considered a person who voluntarily transferred money, realizing the absence of any obligations on the part of the performer.

Thus, the court concluded that the company unjustifiably received 13 thousand euros and must return them to the plaintiff in full.

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