Contracts sucked up on the phone or excessively long contract periods and notice periods – the federal government wants to better protect consumers from being ripped off. A corresponding draft law, which is available to the dpa, is to be passed in the cabinet tomorrow, Wednesday. Among other things, it concerns the duration of contracts for cell phones, streaming services, fitness studios or newspaper subscriptions.

“The proposed regulations are intended to Further improve the position of consumers vis-à-vis entrepreneurs and achieve that not only the conclusion of the contract takes place under fairer conditions, but that the contents of the contract are also subject to fairer regulations, “says the draft. Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had proposed changes some time ago, but the Ministry of Economic Affairs had concerns so far.

The planned new consumer law in detail Contract periods : Contracts for the gym, cell phone, Netflix or a music subscription have often been offered for two years. From the point of view of the Ministry of Justice, this reduces the market opportunities for consumers, because they cannot switch to cheaper offers at short notice. In future, such contracts will usually only run for one year. Up to two years are allowed if the consumer is made an offer for the same service with a term of one year. This offer may cost a maximum of a quarter more on a monthly basis.

Automatic contract renewal : Forget the termination – and you have an unpleasant contract for another year on your cheek. That shouldn’t happen so easily in the future. A contract can be automatically extended by three months. An extension of four months to one year should only be possible if the consumer has been advised of the possibility of termination. This does not have to be done by letter, an SMS with the note: “Warning, if you do not cancel now, your contract will be extended by one year”.

Notice period: The notice period for consumer contracts should generally only be one month – instead of the previous three months.

Electricity and gas contracts : It should no longer be possible to conclude supply contracts for electricity and gas on the phone alone. In order for a contract to be effective, it must be available “in text form”, for example by email. So far, a phone call was actually sufficient – consumers were often talked into changing contracts, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Advertising on the phone : In the future, companies must document and store the consent of consumers in telephone advertising.

Consumer advocates had recently repeatedly called for the changes, also because of the Corona crisis. Many citizens currently have less money and would have to see what expenditure they could reduce, said the head of the federal consumer association, Klaus Müller, the German press agency. “Many people are now parting with services that they can no longer pay for.” It is particularly annoying when contracts are automatically extended by 12 months if you miss a termination date.

(jk)