TKS Snap - Deutsche Telecom services in English

TKS Snap is a service which enables anyone living in Germany to receive their Deutsche Telekom telephone bills in English. As well as English language telephone bills, TKS Snap also provides 24 hour telephone support, in English, for all their telecoms services. These services include:

T-Net (standard telephone connection)
AktivPlus (long distance call service)
T-ISDN (2 digital telephone lines)
T-DSL (high-speed Internet access)
T-Online (Internet Service Provider)

Warning!!! Do not get roped into TKS Snap - the new way to get your phone bills in English. They have stitched me and a few friends up good and proper! Plus, all the guys in their call centre are German... speak terrible English!!! TKSSnap is really not worth the effort! Stick to Deutsche Telekom!

agree completely with the comment above. we are very unhappy with TKS Snap. our first bill had 110 Euro in over charges and get this... if we want to go back to Deutsche Telecom we have to pay all the DSL set up fees AGAIN! this is not stipulated in the TKS contract. it will cost us 160 Euro to switch back to DT. but our bill for last month was 170 Euro, that's higher than DT, so switching back will be worth it in the long run.

what is the point of TKSSnap anyway? my phone number is the same in both languages

in English (089) 123 4567
auf Deutsch (089) 123 4567

in a nut shell, you get to pay higher rates incase you want to talk to someone in English. DT charges .06 a mintue and TKS is .24

a sham!

I´m sorry to have to disagree, but I had absoloutely no problems with the TKS Snap service.
I signed up for TKS Snap because I had so much trouble understanding my German bill. Everytime I called the German Telecom hotline they hang up as soon they recognized that I do not speak German! I do plan on learning some German once I am a bit more settled-in, but I didn't expect a service rep. just to hang up.
Since I changed to TKS I´m very content with my service. My phone is working, and my bill is in English. I did have a small problem with the switchover fee- but one call to their hotline and it was corrected immediately! The fee was waived and it was explained to me that it was a billing error.

Please note that the IP address from which the above comment was submitted was '195.243.181.194' which resolves to TKS themselves. Thus the comment can not be considered impartial. It was most likely written by a member of the TKS staff. They even appear to admit this themselves by signing the name 'Thomas K. Smith'.

I am sorry but I do not agree with the above comments. Apart from that of Thomas K Smith. Whether he be from TKS or not!!
The reason for Tks is so that you recieve all bilsand correspondence in English; Hence making your life easier when it comes to understanding your phone bill. I have called the call centre on many occasions and would like to say that 5 out of 10 times I actually endup talking to an american girl who can talk German!! As for the costs of your calls and line rentals...(Laura!!) Check the facts before posting comments. If you compare the prices of TKS you will find that they match DT 100%. That means a call that costs you 4.6ct a minute with DT will cost you 4.6ct a minute with TKS (That is presuming that you are on the same tariff and everything as your are with DT)

People. Please look at the facts. Consider... Then Judge...

As for AT. You will probably find that you have reacted too fast. The bills that you may have become will probably be accurate. They could have been charges from your Dt before you switched over to TKS or a number of incidents.

I moved here and we signed up for analog phone with DSL from Telekom. We had 3 major problems with them in 3 months and overall couldn't use the phone for 2 weeks out of the 3 months. In addition, there is hardly anyone who speaks English and I didn't understand my phone calls were charged per call, unlike in the US where your local service includes the entire town. They say they have an English speaking phone line, but we had to wait for almost an hour on hold, and I timed it!

So, we moved into our new flat and decided to shop around for phone and DSL. I found an M-Net shop in the Marienplatz U-bahn station and the people who work there speak English and were really friendly and helpful and were much cheaper than Telekom. Downfall is it is a 3-4week delay.

My costs:

Analog phone + Maxi DSL 1600 = €24.90
unlimited flatrate DSL Tarife = €19.90
€2.90 per month I can call the US for 1.8 cent per minute from 6pm-8am without connection charges( like the call shop cards take out)
€2.90 per month I only pay per second, versus rounding up each minute
Setup fee: €49.95 for a 24 month contract or 99.95 for 1 year.

TKS is awful. They lie. Said they would charge 29 euro a month for DSL and phone access. Phone bills aren't much but they really screw you over on internet fees. Our first bill was around 300 euro but the phone bill was only 23. We figured there were a bunch of one-time fees but we were wrong! This month, our phone bill was 19 euro and the total bill was 118!!! DO NOT use TKS!

We welcome any constructive criticism from readers of this website. We do ask, however, that should anyone seriously wish to resolve any issues, whether they feel over-charged or under-served, please either call the hotline or send us an email. I will monitor any response and ensure that all enquiries are quickly taken care of.

TKS Hotline (0.24 €/call): 01804 – 8577627

E-Mail: tkskl-service@t-online.de

I agree and disagree with all the above statements. TKS is a bit pricey. But the English bills are convenient. I, too, had to wait a while to get an English speaking person to help me with an issue. All things considered, though, I am happy with my service. The customer service rep (on the phone) was very polite and helpful, and everytime I have a bill issue or other needs they are taken care of appropriately. There was, however, a three week period in which my phone was shut off for no reason (kinda pissed me off), but it was resolved.
Maybe my results are unique because I am on an Air Force base, so take that as you will. Overall I am happy with my service. I do wish I had more choices, but hey, I have a phone and the internet for a decent price (especially the long distance), so I can't complain.
Shop around if you can, but if you can't, TKS isn't as bad as some people would like you to think.

I know about the TKS Snap and would like to know something about my handy. I was wondering if I could access my phone mail from my handy using my house phone? If so how do I do this?

TKS is not worth the price or effort. If you have a problem...don't count on any help from the folks there. If they do fix it, it's after several weeks. As soon as I return from my deployment, I'm dropping TKS and going with my ISP provider for phone service...if I can't get it done while 3,000 miles away.

Let me clarify some other points in my first post. Another issue with TKS (I too am at an Air Force base) is that you can never get their office on the phone. Therefore, you HAVE to go to them in person...and stand in line for a while. Also, you never get the same answer twice. You ask the same question at Ramstein and Vogelweh, you'll get 2 different answers. Right now, I'm in the process of trying to get a problem fixed that has taken close to 3 weeks. This is unacceptable, and it's old. Sad thing is...this is common for TKS. I highly recommend using some other provider for your phone and/or internet service.

Today has sucked with TKS. The hotline isn't really a hotline. Every day this week they said the phone would be fixed by the end of that day. Here it is, Friday, and the phone still is not fixed. Tuesday, (Monday TKS is closed for training, not that it will help), I'm dropping TKS and going to a local, cheaper provider.

I'm pretty sure Deutche Telekom have an English Helpline!!!...some guys at work have called and found "DT" quite useful. Dunno about TKS...above comments don't sound too good...lol

Saturday followup - After many, many, many phone calls, TKS finally figured something out. Somebody, somewhere, put a block on my phone for outgoing phone calls (only emergency calls can be dialled). However, to do this, one must go to the office in person. Now, I'm in Iraq right now, and my kids don't drive, and the wife didn't go there...so, how did this happen??? TKS has no idea. Maybe, just maybe, the phone will be working right on Tuesday. We shall see.

you guys seem to have caught up on the bitching about everything and anything... I guess this is the Alpes way ! I have switched to TKS and they do have some glitches but they are far better and more helpful than DT and not to say a lot more reasonable. As far as the criticism of the staff that is rather unfair. The guy thet help me switch was Irish and a couple of other times I spoke to English and American gals. All of them extremely kind and helpful.

Al,! What is your problem! You have only seem to come on here to slate this company without actually giving any reasons whatsoever!
I am a TKS Customer and I TOTALLY disagree with many things that you are saying.
I Disagree with a lot a things that you all say!

1. TKS prices are EXACTLY the same as the DTAG prices. Dont believe go and have a look on both websites and compare it yourself!!

2. The Customer service side of life isnt as bad as you say it is! And if you were to ask the people on the hotline why they do have a training on mnday they will tell you.

Training is between 9am-11am And is focused on improving customer care!

I thought this to be reasonable.. Ok maybe monday isnt the best day.. BUT AT LEAST THEY DO IT! Unlike DT who just have the same old bitter employees who are pissed with sitting behind the same desk for the last 15 years.. And really dont give a **** about your problems or anyone elses!

3.Quote Al "Right now, I'm in the process of trying to get a problem fixed that has taken close to 3 weeks. This is unacceptable"

Depending on what type of problem is it!
If it is a billing problem then it is written in the Terms and conditions that it can take up to 6 weeks to be concluded! (same as DT before someone jumps on the bandwagon!)

Technical issues are normally dealt with extremely fast and efficiently!

Fine, TKS isnt perfect! It never will be! I have had problems with them aswell but never as many as AL, (must be the unluckiest guy in the world!)

Answer this though! Name one company that doesnt have a problem! There is always the unsatisfied customer and there is always someone that (like me) has had a problem, had it dealt with and then concluded that the company tries their best in order to resolve the problems that do occur in the everyday running of the business!

4. If you look up a bit on this forum.. You will see that there has been an entry made by TKS Acc Management.. How many companies check out the local forums in their area in order to acheive customer response!

This person has obviously seen that there have been negative comments posted and left contact instructions to you all so that you can contact them!

Believe it or not the email response from the customer services is rather effícient! 9 out of 10 times they get back to you on the same day (within working hours)

Q. Al, have you actually been a customer from TKS?

Q. If so did you actually call them! If you ask for a manager you will get one and you will receive an answer!

Q. Al, I have looked around at your profile! Your British. 27. What are you doing in a munich air base! The british dont have an air base there anymore!

Q. Al, You seem to get around alot, one minute you wont be going Mountain biking because of an illness and the next..."TKS and going with my ISP provider for phone service...if I can't get it done while 3,000 miles away. "
3000miles away? why do you actually need a phone in germany if your 3000miles away!! And if you are on deployment how would you know that your phone isnt working! If its because your wife or G/friend is there then why arent they calling tks or going to the local shop to get the problem sorted!

Q. WHO ARE YOU?? I dont normally make any personal comments but your whole profile contradicts itself constantly... I apologize in advance to all the people that find this offensive but... Al, you are a bitter twisted young man who obviously is just here to cause a bunch of trouble and start an argument! but what else can you expect from someone that lists his priorities in life to "MTB, Snowboarding, Drinking."

With that I shall leave you all to dwell over the whole topic.. I shall be checking this forum again in the near future! So do feel free to respond! But do yourselves a favour! If your gonna say that the service is shit then give a reason! Why was it shit! What went wrong! Come on people is just isnt that hard!

All in all, I am one happy customer!

To John - Somehow when I made these posts, it linked my name to someone's profile. So to the Al that is British, my apologies. I am not the AL in that profile that made these posts. I'm not in the Munich area, and I've been with TKS for over 8 years...because until very recently, they were the only option in the Kaiserslautern area. As for my wife, she tried to get it resolved, but she also has other issues to deal with...things that I would normally take care of when I'm there. As for needing a phone in Germany...well, I live in Germany, and I am currently deployed to the desert. In response to your "service" question, the problem is when you call for an answer, you keep getting pawned off to someone else. It has been my experience with TKS that this is a common thing. Hope this satifies your questions John.

im paying for ans ISP from tks snaps but my connection to their ISP is hit and miss and when i try to get a tech suppot guy they always tell me to make an week later appointment where theyre to call me...but never do. not impressed by your customer service

While stationed in Germany, I used a digital phone line and dialup internet as it was the only service available in the dorms at Sembach at the time. For the first 6 months, I had realitively no problems with them. My bills were a little pricy, but I could afford 120 a month. Then all of the sudden my bill is for over 300 euro due to additional. I took it to the representative on base. They could explain to me what the charges were for and told me to call the English speaking hotline. I called over 20 times at various times on many diffrent days. My calls were only answered 3 times, two of which I was hung up on when it became apparent I didn't speak German. The one time I got a hold of someone who spoke broken english, I explained my problem and they said that their supervisor would have to handle it, but he wasn't there. I went to their representative on base a few more times, but they always told me I had to call the hotline and that they could offer no more help. While I was trying to resolve my first bill, a month passed and that bill said I owed an additional 400 and some euro due to the same charges and late fees. I took that bill to the representative and was told the same thing as before. By this time, I had given up on the help line and didn't want to accrue any additional charges so I asked to cancel both my phone line and internet, but was toldI couldn't untill I paid the bills. At this point, I was completely fed up with trying to deal with them and simply paid the bills as I had the extra money and canceled both services. After that, I bought a pre-paid cellphone and used that for the rest of the time I was there. I would never use TKS again and would suggest the same for anyone else.

Frustrated by Alice's incompetence (8 days waiting for them to repair my internet and telephone connection and counting), I am thinking to switch providers. As someone put in another posting, choosing a provider is like choosing which of your ears to cut off, there is no nice answer and never a happy ending.

I heard of a company called TKS that offers tv, phone and internet services with English support. Judging by their website, they seem to target American and Brit forces stationed in Germany and expats as well. Is there anyone in the forum who is/has been a client of TKS and would recommend it? Do they really offer English support or is it just a catch?

Thank you for the feedback!

Topics merged by admin

Feedback was pretty negative two years ago. See reviews above. Things may have changed in the meantime.

TKS quite simply re-sell services from Deutsche Telekom. They are not commercially connected in any way, but offer the same services at the same prices. The difference is that they offer English language support and provide invoices in English. Their original target was the military communities around Germany, but they have since spread out to non-military and have attempted, but generally failed to generate local partnerships to re-sell their services (Expats-in-Bavaria used to re-sell them, Munich Found still does). As they provide the Telekom services they are technically identical in their offering, but they do seem to push ISDN heavily which for most people is more than they need and expensive - maybe they earn more commission on this service. Comments I've heard about them that their post-sales support is very poor, and clearly as an additional link in the path to Telekom there can be problems and delays solving service problems and faults. Unless getting an invoice in English is critical to your survival, I'd suggest going directly to Deutsche Telekom is a better bet and cuts out the middle man.

I used TKS before my move to Berlin and had no problems what so ever

So why didn't you stay with them when you moved?

Because my company now pay my phone bills etc and they use DT