545 Euros wrongly debited: Consumer protection agency warns of promotional calls

Freenet DLS deceptively sold multiple subscriptions to a mobile customer after a promotional call, which went unnoticed for years. The consumer protection agency of Lower Saxony is now reporting on this. The consumer advocates warn of the “known pattern” and advise keeping a close eye on your account after such promotional calls.

The consumer from Lower Saxony received a promotional call from Freenet DLS GmbH, where she was a mobile customer, reports the consumer protection agency. During the call, she was offered a trial subscription to the IPTV service Waipu.tv, for which she was supposed to register via an SMS link. After the trial month expired, the customer was supposed to decide whether she wanted to continue subscribing to Waipu.tv for 10 euros per month.

According to the consumer protection agency, the customer agreed to receive the SMS with the registration link but never activated the service. Nevertheless, Freenet activated the Waipu.tv contract, report the consumer advocates. Additionally, a subscription to an unnamed cloud service was also taken out. Both are said to have happened without the consumer's knowledge. Freenet did not immediately respond to an inquiry from heise online.

545 euros debited

The customer only noticed the additional contracts when she wanted to cancel her mobile contract with Freenet. In total, Freenet had debited 545 euros from her for the unwanted contracts over several years. When she objected to these debits, she only received 2.99 euros back from Freenet. Only with the help of the consumer protection agency did Freenet refund the full 545 euros.

“Unfortunately, this procedure corresponds to a known pattern,” said Jana von Bibra from the consumer protection agency of Lower Saxony. “After a promotional call for a free trial month, those affected agree to receive further information without obligation. They assume that no binding contract has yet been concluded and that the subscription only runs after activation by them. Later, they realize that they are already being charged costs.”

Law on the side of consumers

In such cases, however, the legal situation is clearly on the side of the consumers: a contract is only concluded if an offer is explicitly accepted. If the customer is given the impression that further steps are necessary for activation, no contract has been concluded.

The consumer advocates advise keeping an eye on your account after promotional calls and checking debits. If you discover order confirmations or costs for unwanted additional services, you should immediately object and revoke them. Furthermore, you can object to promotional calls at any time, advises von Bibra. Such calls are only permissible with the prior consent of customers.

(dahe)