solomongrundy

Yes, extensive. Thanks so much for your encouragement     

This time you will have to pay. All contracts have to be paid unless you cancel, in writing, six weeks before. They are actually being nice to you by offering that you pay half. Next time, 1. Never sign for anything unless you are sure you want it. 2. Enclose the cancellation along with the contract. That way you make a potentially unlimited contract a limited one. Same for gyms, DB Card etc. The trick is to get you to sign on to a subscription, and unless you cancel in writing, it automatically renews. It is one of the more unpleasant aspects of living in Germany.

 

|It s too late for that. He sued me because he says that he renovated, but I can prove objectively that the place is far worse than it was before. It looks more like a building site. 

The guy, a multi-millionaire who owns several apartment complexes and is notorious for pushing long term tenants out, wants to talk. What should I do? I can t move out as I lost my job during COVID and I can t find a new place. 

Frommer just uses random addresses. The moment you reply, especially if you have a foreign name, they know that you are actually a resident at that address. About the letter,s first ignore all the letters, and then,  if it comes, send the  wiedersprucht.   After that, they have to take you to court, and if you live in a shared apartment (WG) there are many judgments that say the main internet person is not responsible. Just to be on the safe side, get people who stay in your apartment to sign a paper saying that they are sharing the apartment with you and  are using your internet.  Also, you are in trouble only if you use P2P. The law on streaming is still unclear and it is far more difficult to prove.

They do it because most people, including Germans, don t challenge it. It is very scary when you see an Inkasso letter. Then comes a lawyers letter. The biggest mistake you can do is sign something they send you, or talk to them on the phone with a native speaker and try to negotiate. They always scare you. That s the trick. they know that they don t have any legal standing but most people think why fight over a small amount. You don t have to pay anything. Just the money for registered letters. With a case this weak they ll give up.

I went to the Mitverein and they gave me the address of the lawyer who has been handling my issue. The yellow cover is with him now. I ll keep everyone posted.

This is a rather common occurrence in Germany. The Inkasso is hoping you ll fold. From now on, no e mail, no phone calls. This is a trap that foreigners fall into. They ll deny that they got the e mail, and a phone call cannot be recorded. Send a registered letter with everything that you have said here, and get them to sign that they have received the letter. Once you have done this, if you do get a court order, there will be a form that says "I contest all charges". Send that by registered mail too. In that case, they have to take you to court, which they are very unlikely to do so because of the two registered letters.

Yes I did. Religiously. It s been more than four years

I hear he is planning to sue me. What should I do? I am a member of the Mitverehin but very broke. Life has thrown me a curveball, and I would really like your advice

No, it is not illegal. In this case, the onus is on the provider to take away the material if they are given notice. That s why movies disappear. If you are accused of torrenting P2P that too is a grey area. You will get increasingly threatening letters from lawyers. Never sign anything. If you get something in a yellow cover that is different. you have to respond denying all charges. Then they have to prove that you knowingly uploaded material, and take you to court, which is very difficult if you live in a shared WG.  

I had a similar experience. They send threatening letters, always offering you a way out if you sign their paper. NEVER EVER SIGN THE PAPER. This went on for an year or more, then I got an yellow letter from the Court and I replied at once denying all charges and send it by registered post.  

If he has lived there since 1995 he has a lot of memories attached to that place, and in Germany, a house is rightly a home, not a piece of real estate that you just sell and buy. Further, he is an old man. Where is he going to find a new place? Recently the rent laws have been further tightened. The best way is to accept what you have. Moreover, if your children want to come to Berlin, why don t they rent a place of their own? The recent rent laws make it more affordable.

Can they claim to have delivered mail to your mailbox? What if they just say that they delivered mail and you did not follow the instructions?  Usually they need to send warnings if they think I am overdue on the rent, but they have not. Can they say they did, but I did not respond? I have not received any mail like that. Plus, is it not that if I miss two months they can evict? How can they wait three years and then send a claim?  Is that even LEGAL?