Frequently asked questions
about the consumer centres
- Why go to a consumer centre?
- How do the consumer centres finance themselves?
- What issues do the consumer centres provide advice on?
- Where is the nearest advice centre?
- Is it possible to get advice by telephone?
- Why do I have to pay for advice?
- Is the advice I get really independent?
- What are the core tasks of the consumer centres?
- What have the consumer centres achieved for consumers?
- What is the legal basis for the legal advice provided by the consumer centres?
- Is there really a difference between the consumer centres and the Stiftung Warentest consumer information service?
- Can I also become a member at the consumer centres?
1. Why go to a consumer centre?
Today an independent body representing the interests of consumers is needed more than ever due to the changes being made to our welfare system (pension plans, health-care system), the complexity of liberalised markets (energy, telecommunications) and the globalisation of business. The fact that we predominantly comprise publicly funded, non-profit organisations means that we can provide you with independent and neutral advice. Traditionally support for consumers in Germany has come from the non-governmental sector. The consumer centres in the federal states are the most important contact points for people seeking comprehensive consumer information and advice. We provide consumers with an overview of complex product markets and help them to understand complex market conditions. We also identify health and environmental aspects that may influence purchasing decisions.
Our consultation focuses on legal questions concerning the relationship between businesses and private consumers. We explain to consumers what their rights are and how they can enforce them.
2. How do the consumer centres finance themselves?
The consumer centres are financed by funding from federal state governments and income from consultation fees and the sale of consumer advice guides. Exact figures are published in the business reports which you can find on the websites of the consumer centres.
3. Which issues do the consumer centres provide advice on?
In our advice centres we provide consultation on issues of consumer rights and decisions concerning how you can best use your money - for example in the area of contracts of sale and service agreements, false promises made by prize game organisations, the latest miracle diets and dietary supplements, the legitimacy of telecommunications and energy charges, the best pension plans, health insurance and other types of insurance.
We provide advice on:
- credit law, debtor arbitration and insolvency declaration
- banking and investment
- insurance
- patients‘ rights and health services
- passenger rights
- building finance
- energy
- nutrition
- household, leisure, telecommunications
You can find a complete list of the services offered in you federal state on the websites of the individual consumer centres.
The websites of the individual consumer centres also provide an overview of our diverse range of consumer advice guides.
4. Where is the nearest advice centre?
Detailed information including the address of the closest advice centre can be found on the website of the consumer centre in your federal state.
5. Is it possible to get advice by telephone?
Telephone adviceis offered in all federal states on our advice hotlines. You can find more information about this service on the website for your federal state.
6. Why do I have to pay for advice?
Due to the significant decrease in government funding in recent years, consumer centres are being forced to find an ever increasing amount of the funds they require. Only a part of our costs is covered by the consultation fees we charge.
7. Is the advice I get really independent?
The consumer centres are non-partisan, independent, non-profit associations. The work of the consumer centres is not guided by any commercial interest and our advice is therefore exclusively in the interest of the consumer.
8. What are the core tasks of the consumer centres?
We
- prosecute legal infringements by means of written warnings and legal actions
- represent consumer interests at the parliamentary level
- inform the media and the public about important consumer issues
- provide an overview of products and services
- provide independent advice tailored to individual needs
- conduct campaigns and organize projects and exhibitions relevant to areas of consumer interest
9. What have the consumer centres achieved for consumers?
The consumer centres have been working for consumers for over 50 years and in this time have not only provided advice to millions of citizens but have also been responsible for a range of successful developments in the interest of the general public.
The consumer centres are the only organisations in Germany with a right to provide extrajudicial legal advice, i.e. their remit permits them to provide extrajudicial advice and representation for citizens alongside lawyers. Other organisations are only permitted to provide their members with legal advice. This primacy is undoubtedly due to the recognition accorded by legislators to the work of the consumer centres.
In addition the consumer centres have also been given the so-called "Verbandsklagebefugnis" - the right of an association to institute legal action. Consumer centres are permitted to issue written warnings and/or institute actions regarding infringements of the Standard Contract Terms Act (AGB-Gesetz) and the Law Against Improper Competition (UWG).
The consumer centres have repeatedly made use of this right with great success - as shown by several examples in the area of financial services. One notable instance is the loan campaign instituted by the consumer centre during the 1980s, which resulted in a consumer-friendly Federal Supreme Court judgement that made public the unethical nature of instalment loan contracts and encouraged borrowers to assert their financial claims against credit institutions. Due to the support of the consumer centres, thousands of instalment loan recipients received large refunds from banks and savings banks.
Also worthy of note is a judgement by the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in 1988 on accounting practices in the case of mortgage loans. The judgement, which was based on a lack of transparency in such accounting, led to the elimination of the established practice whereby credit institutions delayed the accounting of mortgage repayments. The judgement was ground-breaking for consumers because it was the first time that the Federal Court unambiguously ruled that the terms of business of financial institutions had to make the rights and obligations of the contractual partners clear to the extent that clients who dealt with such information only once in their lives could also understand the terms involved.
This transparency requirement remains a consistent element of BGH adjudications today. For example in February 2004, as the result of an action brought by a consumer centre, the BGH declared non-transparent interest clauses in savings agreements to be inoperative. This judgement affects all banks and savings banks offering long-term savings agreements. In addition to a variable basic interest payment, savings contract holders also receive fixed premiums, bonus payments or interest loadings which increase over the period of the agreement. In the past, many savers were angered to find out after their agreements had expired that the variable basic interest rate dropped markedly in low-interest phases but was not properly adjusted upwards during high-interest phases. This resulted in interest losses of up to several thousand euros. In a further case brought by a consumer centre, the Federal Court also decided in the interest of consumers, ruling that investors participating in risky ventures as "silent partners" were permitted to leave the venture without incurring financial loss. Such investors can claim back their full original investment in the corporate entity if they can prove that when entering into the contract they were not properly informed of the attendant risks and disadvantages.
In 1997 a consumer centre argued in the Federal Court that payments into current accounts had to be credited on the day of payment. Up until this point the terms of business of many banks had stipulated that accounts would be credited only on the next bank working day, and as a result the banks were able to make considerable interest profits at the expense of their customers. Given that current accounts have now become indispensable, the judgement in support of the consumer centre's argument is in the interest of every household.
10. What is the legal basis for the legal advice provided by the consumer centres?
According to the Act on Legal Counselling, consumer centres are permitted to provide legal advice and extrajudicial legal aid. Their approach involves initially providing help for self-help and only acting directly as a prosecuting party in cases where the client has not been able to achieve a result. The first step is always an examination of the legal situation by the legal advice arm of the consumer centres. In addition, consumer centres have the authority to proceed against improper competition and inadmissible terms of business in so far as consumers are directly affected by them.
11. Is there really a difference between the consumer centres and the Stiftung Warentest consumer information service?
The consumer centres and the Stiftung Warentest consumer information service have clearly delineated areas of work and tasks. The consumer centres advise and inform consumers in regard to their concrete problems. Consumer centre consultants deal with over four million inquiries annually and work on site in the areas of law and reclamation, nutrition, energy, products, loans, debts and retirement provisions. As a source of "help for self-help", advice centres and city libraries provide access to the Infothek, a nationwide uniform information system that provides citizens with comprehensive, up-to-date and specific information on an exhaustive range of topics.
The Stiftung Warentest consumer information service tests products and services using comparative investigations in Germany and the European market. It informs the consumer in a neutral and generally understandable fashion via the journals "test", "FINANZtest" and other special publications. You can find comprehensive information on service and product tests in the Infotheks or online at Stiftung Warentest.
12. Can I also become a member at the consumer centres?
Consumers can support the work of the consumer centres by becoming sustaining members. This is possible, for example, in Baden-Wurttemberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia. Your membership will help us to continue offering a cost-effective and comprehensive consultation service, as well as helping us continue to represent the interests of the consumer vis-à-vis government authorities, policy-makers and business.
In the past we would not have been able to bring many important legal actions without the help of the contributions by our sustaining members. When our work results in a more consumer-friendly formulation of general terms of business or the banning of improper competitive practices, then this is to the advantage of all consumers. You can find out how to become a member and the cost of membership by visiting the websites of the consumer centres.
