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P ADERBORN , SENNELA GER & DETMOLD 2012 Telephone Contracts in Germany


Telephone contracts in Germany are far more complicated than any telephone contract in the UK. We have put together some general guidelines about what you should and shouldn’t do:


Length of Fixed Service Contracts


A contract is normally for 24 months. Unless terminated in writing at least 3 months before the end of the contract, it will continue.


How to cancel a running contract


If you have a Posting Notice and you wish to cancel a running contract, then you can obtain a standard letter of termination in German (along with an English translation) from the HIVE, your Unit Welfare Officer or the Garrison Information Officer. Once this has been completed, take this along with your Posting Notice to the Deutsche Telekom office and they will then ensure the cancellation goes through. In the case of an altered contract after the 24 month period, this could result in the customer only having to meet the standard costs for 3 months instead of the costs for the remaining term of the contract.


What Customer Details would help in the answering of their queries


The following information such as ID Number, Rank, Date of Birth, Name, Unit and Address, especially for people who are living in Single Living Accommodation. This will enable the Deutsche Telekom office to assist in a speedier fashion than if they are only told “Mr Jones Barker Barracks, Driburger Straße.”


Doorstep or telephone sales


Deutsche Telekom have stressed that you should NOT sign anything on the doorstep or agree to anything on the phone, as it becomes a binding contract. Not only is the contract binding but because if it is a change in a fixed line contract for example, one could loose significant benefits. Country Select, which allows customers to call selected countries for €3.50 per month, drops out of new contracts unless specifically requested. Customers will not necessarily realise this until they receive their next bill where, instead of € 3.50, they may have charges amounting to 10s of Euros, depending on the frequency and the countries called (and for how long). It is advisable to do any changes or amendment at the local DT branch. This is to ensure that their information and details are to hand and, in the future can handle questions or alterations to a contract. This in the end would save work and time, and ensure the customer gets the service they expect.


Problems experienced by those living in Single Living Accommodation and how they might be solved


Problems are often experienced by living-in personnel when they return from deployment. It would appear that when soldiers who have their own connection deploy, they fail to inform DT that they will be away. What appears to happen then is that the standard charges are not paid and mail goes unanswered. The result is that DT send out one warning (standard) in which it lays down a time limit by when the customer must have made contact.


Failure to make contact results in the “debt” being passed to a court and then a debt- collecting agency gets I involved, with additional fees and costs, and the customer being almost “black listed” as a bad risk. When the customer returns they discover


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