Misleading pension portal scam:Warning from several consumer protection agencies
Information about acquired pension entitlements is available free of charge from pension insurance. A deceptively similar-looking site charges 30 Euros for it.
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Several consumer protection agencies are warning about a website that, in a deceptively similar imitation of the official sites, charges money for information about one's own pension entitlements, which is actually free. The website in question is “rentnerauskunft.de”, which has now been warned against by the Consumer Protection Agency of Lower Saxony. According to reports, it is operated by a company from London. For information about already acquired pension entitlements, 29.90 Euros are charged there, although this data can be requested free of charge from the German Pension Insurance. It is particularly perfidious that the site refers consumers to consumer protection agencies via a link, even though there is no connection.
“Affected individuals do not have to pay”
In recent days, consumer protection agencies in Lower Saxony, Thuringia, and Hamburg have warned about the portal, among others. They point out that although it is stated unobtrusively that the offer “is not in any contractual relationship with the German Pension Insurance or other public bodies.” However, the design, color scheme, logo, and address are “specifically based on the original.” This deliberately plays on confusion. It is also criticized that the order button is merely labeled “Request.” However, it must be clearly recognizable that clicking it creates a payment obligation. Because this is illegal, no effective contract is concluded by clicking: “Affected individuals do not have to pay,” legal experts are quoted as saying.
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Furthermore, there is a risk that highly sensitive information such as insurance number or address must be disclosed to request pension information. This information should only fall into the hands of official bodies. Thuringia's consumer protection agency further explains that insured individuals receive a personal pension statement every three years starting at the age of 55. However, by submitting an application – which can also be done online – one can request such a document at any time, which costs nothing. This works via a page with a not particularly memorable URL, but one can easily click through to it via the Internet portal of the German Pension Insurance. Anyone who has a problem with the portal from London should contact a consumer protection agency.
(mho)
