Direct debit for magazine subscription

Hi all,

it's my 22nd today and I've been gifted a subscription to a magazine, but they want it done via direct debit. They've sent me a Einzugsermächtigung but it says "nur bei deutschem Konto". I live in the UK and the account with which this would be paid is an English one.

Do I just fill in the blank fields (Konto-Nr., Bankleitzahl, bei [is this the name of the account holder??], datum, unterschrift) and send it to them in Germany? Also it says to reply within 14 days, but we only received the letter two days ago (yet it's dated 17.12.07), will it still get processed?

Cheers in advance

They insist on a German account. You don't have one. So thats end of the road.

Is the "nur bei deutschem Konto" just for their bank? It seems strange because I chose the Ausländer option on their website, that's all. It's 11Freunde magazine if anyone would care to look.

Beware of taking out a German magazine subscription, with most of them if you don't cancel them, often 3 months in advance, they will be automatically renewed for another year and the money hoovered out of your bank account. Of course if you are in England this may be more difficult for them but I still wouldn't do it unless you are certain that it can be cancelled at any time.

I don't think an Einzugsermächtigung is possible with a non german account. Call them. You'll probably have to pay upfront.

That's a crap gift if you have to pay for it yourself...


The "bei" bit probably refers to the name of the bank.

The "Einzugsermächtigung" only works from a German bank, but you should also be able to pay them directly by transferring them the money direct to their German bank from your UK one. Most magazines prefer the "Einzugsermächtigung" as it tends to lock in the customer for the long term, but they cannot enforce it - there's nothing to stop you paying on demand each year...

From his handle it sounds like he might be in Yorkshire. That's the sort of gift I send too...

I'm a bit lost on this one.
Their web site says you can pay "neben Rechnung".
So they send you a bill for EUR 50.
My Bank (HSBC) has an online facility to pay net amounts
to EURO accounts in Germany (you need the BIC and IBAN) - no problem.
As they have a price for Europaischer Ausland they must expect payment
from non-German bank accounts.

It's not really clear what the OP actually received. Most magazine subscriptions send a bill, an Überweisungsformula (pre-printed funds transfer form) and an "Einzugsermächtigung" (direct debit authority) - the latter in the hope the subscriber will complete it for subsequent years. Although the prepared Überweisung contains bank information, it's probably not enough for a transfer from UK where an IBAN and BIC/SWIFT number will be required, but this should be easy to obtain directly from the originator. As the OP hasn't been back on TT since the day after the original post, he probably doesn't care any more in any case.