Child orders "free" SMS service via Internet - Germany

I recieved a letter from a collection company yesterday stating I owed €145.00 to a company I had never even heard of. So I look it up and it is an internet SMS site. I question my 14 year old daughter about this when she comes home from school and she said "yeah, I signed up for it but thought it was free and when I treid to use it, it didn't work".

She obviously didn't read the ABG (fine print). She signed up for a two year contract which costs €8 per month plus anything over 100 SMS. Needless to say I wanted to choke her, and she is not allowed on the internet until further notice etc..

But my question is: Since she is a minor can they stick me with this contract?

If it's in your name, I would say you are liable. If it is in hers, then probably not.

How are you going to prove that it was her and not you?

And what about the entire, "You can cancel the contract if it was made over the internet"? Or did you wait too long?

Go to your nearest Verbraucherzentrale, they will be able to help.

For reference, see also a related earlier topic: Getting in debt by not reading the AGBs carefully

Unfortunately, she put my name on the account but gave her email address. This was done back in September so it has probably been too long to cancel. All correspondence was sent to my daughter's email address which she deleted.

I know I will have to pay the bill. Even though I don't understand why it is soo much if it is only supposed to be €8 per month and she swears she hasn't used it because it wouldn't work.

Who received the debt collectors letter?
In whose name was the contract?

You or your minor daughter?

This is a greyish area the EU is trying to clamp down on.

Your daughter was committing a "fraud" on you by using your name. I think the providers of such services know full well that parents often think they will just pay it so they have no identity or credit checks.

Verbraucherzentrale and I'd be tempted to tell this company to get lost.

Good luck!

There was a report about this sort of thing on Akte 06, read here:

http://www.sat1.de/lifestyle_magazine/akte.../content/15358/

At the Medienmesse in Munich a few weeks ago I met with the founders of SCHAU HIN!. In their latest magazine they addressed this specific issue.

Before the age of 18 no German is considered "Vertragsfähig". If a child under this age enters into a contractual agreement withought the consent of the parent, the parent is not necessarily required to pay the bill.

Out of curiousity and not really relevant, are you going to make your daughter pay you back the money?

Jasmine,

A little more info for you...

I work in the mobile telecoms field. This issue, especially in regards to under-aged users surfing the operator's portals for downloads and/or registering for content services via content aggregators is constantly being discussed.

The first step you should do is contact the collection agency and tell them that your under-aged daughter entered this "contract" without your knowledge or consent and that although you will not be sending them (the collection agency) any money, you want to keep them informed of the steps that you are taking. Let them know that you are in contact with the Verbraucherszentrum (that is your second step, to contact them immediately) and that you will be in touch with them soon.

You might also want to contact one of the help hotlines through Schau Hin and ask them for any direction or advice they can give.

If the content aggregator/SMS aggregator that your daughter purchased the service from accepts new customers with only a mobile number and email as identity verification, that is there problem more than it is yours (especially because they are not properly screening for fraud). Only, there seems to be some missing link here. If you sign up for a service like this, the SMS aggregator normally shares a billing platform with your mobile operator. This is because they need to be able to bill you for the SMS somehow..They also need a connection to mobile operators network and permission to send SMS to that network.

One advantage that you have is this:

If the SMS aggregator does not want to play nice, simply let them know that you know..that mobile operators (T-mobile, Vodafone etc) are very quick to block aggregators from their network if they even get a hint at professional or contractual irresponsibility of any kind on behalf of the aggregator.

All you have to do is look here - it's printed in black and white:

Vorgehen bei ungewollten Internet-Abo-Verträgen

Firstly, a child under 18 is not liable for payment. If you can prove that your child signed up, there are no worries whatsoever.

If you can't prove that it was your child, you still have the possibility of Widerspruch (also known as § 312d BGB ).

Please note to period of 14 days. Once you have done this, there will be no further legal requirements on your behalf.

If the 14 days have expired, you still have § 119 Abs. 1 BGB, otherwise known as Anfechtung ... have a look at the link I provided.

So don't worry ... you have nothing to worry about whatsoever!

Oops, I didn't read that the debt collectors are already hounding you. In this case all you can use is § 119 Abs. 1 BGB, I suppose.

Exactly.

Thanks a lot for all of the helpful advice!

I have been trying to get a hold of the collection agency all day. I keep getting a recording saying "all operators are busy leave your name, number etc... then after the tone there is another recording saying "there is no room for any more messages try again later."

I also tried to get a hold of the internet site the only contact information is a mailing address and email address. I did send an email, for what good it will do.

Tomorrow I will call the Verbraucherszentrum. And I will read all of the helpful links and information provided.

Planetmoni- yes, if I end up stuck with this bill. She is required to pay me back the money!