Avoid standing orders and direct-debit billing

[yourkeau 7,719]

Yes, then your best option is to pay for it (and use them in the meantime). 

[Krieg 14,926]

8 hours ago, Sidra Khan said:

Hello, I have reversed the direct debit orders and got my amount back. Now,the issue is they sent me a notice "Leider ist Ihr Mitgliedsbeitrag zum wiederholten Male zurückgebucht worden. Wir werden den offenen
Betrag einschl. der angefallenen Gebühren in Kürze noch einmal von Ihrem Konto einziehen.
Sollte dieser Einzug ohne Rückmeldung Ihrerseits erneut zurückgebucht werden, werden wir weitere Schritte einleiten."  What should I do in this situation?

 

Reversing a payment won't make the debt go away in Germany, and in most cases it will make the situation worse.

 

I know you are a newbie here and sorry nobody told you this before, but you should almost never follow @jeba's advice.

[keith2011 2,579]

As I  understand it, from the start of this year contracts in Germany can be canceled with just 1 months notice, not sure how that applies to older contracts already running but it is a major improvement imo.

[LeonG 14,797]

29 minutes ago, keith2011 said:

As I  understand it, from the start of this year contracts in Germany can be canceled with just 1 months notice, not sure how that applies to older contracts already running but it is a major improvement imo.

 

Old contracts should no longer auto renew for a year but should revert to month to month basis after the initial period.  New contracts can still be made for 12 or 24 months.

 

I switched internet providers in March and my old provider let me go with a month notice and the new one will run until 2024 and then revert to month to month.

[kiplette 8,676]

So should I be able to cancel my mobil-com debitel contract which I've had since Nov. 2012 with effect in a month, rather than with effect from November?

[Sidra Khan 13]

6 hours ago, Krieg said:

 

Reversing a payment won't make the debt go away in Germany, and in most cases it will make the situation worse.

 

I know you are a newbie here and sorry nobody told you this before, but you should almost never follow @jeba's advice.

My amount has been deducted every month ,its only in the month of june that I have reversed the direct debit. I am going to pay them back. Got an e-mail from them giving me a warning about inkasso. Never knew fitness studio can be so fraudulent! Anyways, yes, I am a newbie here and I dont' want to involve myself in more problem. Therefore, I am gonna pay them back.

[LeonG 14,797]

5 hours ago, kiplette said:

So should I be able to cancel my mobil-com debitel contract which I've had since Nov. 2012 with effect in a month, rather than with effect from November?

 

You should :)

[LeonG 14,797]

5 hours ago, Sidra Khan said:

My amount has been deducted every month ,its only in the month of june that I have reversed the direct debit. I am going to pay them back. Got an e-mail from them giving me a warning about inkasso. Never knew fitness studio can be so fraudulent! 

 

Did they tell you it was a month to month contract?  Unfortunately, newbies are sometimes tricked with promises while the written form is the actual valid contract and if it comes down to it, nobody will remember if you were told something else verbally.

 

The email you posted shows that your effective cancellation date is in November so you will have to pay until then.  They do offer to change your contract so that is something you can ask about, whether there is a less expensive one you could switch to, as long as you don't end up in a new one year contract.  I did this once with a cell phone provider.  Was stuck in a contract so I changed to their cheapest plan.

[Sidra Khan 13]

2 hours ago, LeonG said:

 

Did they tell you it was a month to month contract?  Unfortunately, newbies are sometimes tricked with promises while the written form is the actual valid contract and if it comes down to it, nobody will remember if you were told something else verbally.

 

The email you posted shows that your effective cancellation date is in November so you will have to pay until then.  They do offer to change your contract so that is something you can ask about, whether there is a less expensive one you could switch to, as long as you don't end up in a new one year contract.  I did this once with a cell phone provider.  Was stuck in a contract so I changed to their cheapest plan.

But nowhere in the contract it is written that I have to pay even after cancellation. It is just that I had contract till 13. 11.2022.

[JN53 355]

9 minutes ago, Sidra Khan said:

But nowhere in the contract it is written that I have to pay even after cancellation. It is just that I had contract till 13. 11.2022.

 

Your contract is cancelled on Nov. 13, 2022. After Nov. 13, 2022, you will not have to pay. Just because you write a letter to cancel doesn't mean that your contract is cancelled on the date they receive your request for cancelling your contract. 

[Sidra Khan 13]

34 minutes ago, JN53 said:

 

Your contract is cancelled on Nov. 13, 2022. After Nov. 13, 2022, you will not have to pay. Just because you write a letter to cancel doesn't mean that your contract is cancelled on the date they receive your request for cancelling your contract. 

 so, is it possible that I can reduce the time period of the contract? 

3 hours ago, LeonG said:

 

Did they tell you it was a month to month contract?  Unfortunately, newbies are sometimes tricked with promises while the written form is the actual valid contract and if it comes down to it, nobody will remember if you were told something else verbally.

 

The email you posted shows that your effective cancellation date is in November so you will have to pay until then.  They do offer to change your contract so that is something you can ask about, whether there is a less expensive one you could switch to, as long as you don't end up in a new one year contract.  I did this once with a cell phone provider.  Was stuck in a contract so I changed to their cheapest plan.

But nowhere in the contract it is written that I have to pay even after cancellation. It is just that I had contract till 13. 11.2022.

[LeonG 14,797]

1 hour ago, Sidra Khan said:

But nowhere in the contract it is written that I have to pay even after cancellation. It is just that I had contract till 13. 11.2022.

 

Right, you still have a valid contract and you can use their services.  It wouldn't make much sense for the fitness studio to make a one year or other term contract with you if they would let you out of it on a month to month basis.  The point of long contracts is that you commit yourself and get a better deal.  If you stop going, the fitness studio gets to continue billing you until the contract ends.  If you continue, you get to enjoy their services at the long term contract rate.

[jeba 4,347]

20 hours ago, Krieg said:

I know you are a newbie here and sorry nobody told you this before, but you should almost never follow @jeba's advice.

What part of the following did you not understand?

On 23/06/2022, 05:56:03, jeba said:

Depends on whether you really owe them. IF you're sure you don't (big IF), you can reverse the charge again.

[Krieg 14,926]

1 minute ago, jeba said:

What part of the following did you not understand?

 

What part of YOUR SECOND MESSAGE IS AFTER THE MESS YOU CREATED you do not understand?  Literally yesterday.   That's why your crap advice is dangerous, you open your mouth with your nonsense and people pay for it.

[jeba 4,347]

What mess should I have created? I merely pointed out that debit orders can be returned within a certain time window. I never said he should do it in case a charge was not justified.

[emkay 10,158]

15 hours ago, kiplette said:

So should I be able to cancel my mobil-com debitel contract which I've had since Nov. 2012 with effect in a month, rather than with effect from November?

I think there might be a ‘depends’. Our Vodafone telecoms contract started years ago in August. We would have to cancel 3 months before the next August. Your contract might state anytime monthly cancellation? We cancelled a few years ago to transfer to Unity Media. Registered mail cancellation etc.  It was all a big hoohaa and we ended up staying with a Vodafone when Unity Media couldn’t deliver after all. At least we got a better deal from Vodafone.

[emkay 10,158]

15 hours ago, Sidra Khan said:

My amount has been deducted every month ,its only in the month of june that I have reversed the direct debit. I am going to pay them back. Got an e-mail from them giving me a warning about inkasso. Never knew fitness studio can be so fraudulent! Anyways, yes, I am a newbie here and I dont' want to involve myself in more problem. Therefore, I am gonna pay them back.

Fitness studios etc are notorious for their very sharp contracts. I wouldn’t necessarily call it fraudulent. Only if the contract doesn’t state the cancellation policy. It must do. Reversing a direct debit payment for a legitimate charge can likely inflame the situation. 

 

My daughter works at a fitness studio as a student job. When she sells a membership, she properly explains the cancellation policy and even suggests forward dated cancellations when members say they are only resident for a short time.

 

[scook17 247]

After being bitten more than a few time by this nonsense I point blank refuse to sign any contract that is not a utility bill. Even those I never sign up for more than one months notice. Sorry if you are a gym, and only offer a monthly renewing contract, not interested. If you are a mobile phone contract with 12 or 24 months, I'll pass and get a pay as you go sim, which I have had for years. If I want to sign up for a class, I will pay the full amount of the class, and never sign anything. If it's a problem, I will pass and find somewhere which allows me to pay monthly or in advance with no obligation.

[Marianne013 546]

On 23/06/2022, 09:51:16, yourkeau said:

Depends on when are you planning to leave. If never, just pay up, it does not worth it.

 

The alternative is to stop paying and empty your bank account so that future direct debits will not work. What happens next is they will keep sending payments reminders up until the total sum reaches some significant amount (500 euro I think, but not sure). Then they will transfer the debt to the Inkasso company, and this is where things get serious (search for Inkasso on this forum). At that moment you do not want to be living in the country. 

 

This will all take time, also for you to think.
 

 

 

Next post: Germans don't want to make contracts with foreigners !!! Discrimination !!!!

Which is what happens if you follow this advice: You spoil it for other people. Don't do it. One year contracts aren't exactly unheard of in Britain either btw.

[alexunterwegs 540]

1 hour ago, Marianne013 said:

Next post: Germans don't want to make contracts with foreigners !!! Discrimination !!!!

Which is what happens if you follow this advice: You spoil it for other people. Don't do it. One year contracts aren't exactly unheard of in Britain either btw.

 

Automatic contract renewal happens in both the UK and Germany, but I think its more commonplace in Germany. The mobile phone ones are a complete pain. I've had any number of mobile salespeole telling me 24 month contracts are standard and I won't do any better. So I've decided to go Pay as you go, although the one I've chosen, is a bit of a nightmare when it comes to customer service.

 

The otehr one is car insurance.  There seems to be only  a one month window within the calendar year rule when you can switch insurers. I never came across that in the UK. There, if you wanted a switch, you just paid up until when you wanted to make the switch, as far as I can remember.

 

I think the industries just follow the well known economic law, If the customer is willing to pay up, they will keep smiling and gladly accept.