September 17, 2024, 7:52 am | Read time: 6 minutes

The jungle of tariffs among mobile phone providers does not yet seem to be dense enough. It is, therefore, only logical to make the termination of a mobile phone contract as opaque as possible. At least, this is the impression given by some major providers in Germany.

Cancellation notice: Cancellation on suspicion

First of all, a brief explanation of the term: With a notice of termination, you do not terminate the contract, but the termination is reserved with your provider – unsurprisingly according to the wording.

Nevertheless, there have already been a few nasty surprises because of this. This is because customers were under the impression that they had given a binding notice of termination. However, this would only have been legally binding for the provider after a further telephone confirmation within seven days. If this has not taken place, the contract remains in force.

Sounds crazy? A little. Because normally, nobody cancels a newspaper subscription, an electricity contract, or a rental agreement on suspicion. It sounds like a story from Absurdistan to have to confirm your termination with the newspaper, electricity provider, or landlord within seven days.

Cancellation button is required by law

This particular method has been used by mobile phone providers for years. For this reason, the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, among others, has campaigned for the introduction of a mandatory cancellation button. Since July 1, 2022, this must be clearly visible to customers on a mobile provider’s website.

This has subsequently happened in most cases. However, providers are relying on the forgetfulness of their customers. After all, terms of 24 months are not uncommon. The issue of “termination” understandably plays no role at the beginning of the contractual relationship.

If, after almost two years, you then use a search engine, adding the words “cancel contract” and the name of any mobile phone provider, you will be shown the providers’ help section as the top suggestions.

On the help pages of the respective companies, however, only the notice of termination appears. There is no reference to the simple and, above all, effective termination process using a button. As part of its research, the TECHBOOK editorial team tried this method with various providers. Customers seem to be deliberately redirected here.

1&1’s Statement on the Notice of Termination

TECHBOOK then asked market giants in Germany, such as Vodafone and 1&1, “Why is the keyword termination’ on the help pages only used to refer to the notice of termination? Why isn’t the cancel button at least linked here?” That would be the simplest method in terms of transparency.

In response to our inquiry, a spokesperson for 1&1 AG replied: “Our customers have all termination options available to them. As already mentioned, the cancel button on the 1&1 homepage, which is generally the preferred point of contact for our customers, is very prominent and easy to find.”

That may be the case from 1&1’s point of view. The cancel button would be even easier to find if it were also linked in the help section. But 1&1 obviously doesn’t want to advertise the button so prominently.

“A reservation also has advantages for customers,” the 1&1 spokesperson continues. “You can use it to secure a termination date and benefit from attractive hold offers if necessary.”

Quick translation aid: The original termination can, therefore, also be a hidden request from a customer for a cheaper tariff. It may or may not be. Perhaps the person wants to cancel their contract for good reason but now has to take this detour.

What Vodafone says about the notice of termination

Vodafone handles the issue much more elegantly. A company spokesperson responded to a TECHBOOK inquiry: “We make it very clear in the case of a notice of termination that it is only a partial step in the termination process and that no notice of termination has actually been given. Such an arrangement must not supersede the other termination options. It must be absolutely clear that it is not a termination.”

When asked further, the Vodafone spokesperson assured us that the results of our research had been “passed on to the specialist departments.” “They will make any necessary optimizations.”

The Vodafone help section still only contains a reference to the notice of termination. Vodafone uses the more euphonious term “termination request.” Of course, the request must then be confirmed by telephone within seven days.

Federal Association of Consumer Organizations examines legal steps

TECHBOOK has also discussed the results of the editorial research with the German Federation of Consumer Organizations. A spokeswoman confirmed to the editorial team: “We have forwarded your example to our law enforcement department to examine legal action against it.” The first court rulings against the notice of termination have now been issued in favor of customers.

Finally, a brief note: the notice of termination is not illegal. Customers who wish to terminate their contract with their mobile phone provider simply have to accept an annoying detour.

From the mobile phone provider’s point of view, such a detour is understandable. However, there is still the question of whether such methods will not make the companies’ previously satisfied customers even more disgruntled and annoyed. Bad experiences with a product or service are known to spread very quickly among family and friends or via social media.

Companies often talk about transparency. If a single link is not placed in a central location for such an important topic as a termination – on the help pages for the topic “Termination” – there is an obvious transparency gap at this point. Please close it. Thank you.

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How to cancel your contract with 1&1 and Vodafone correctly

For all people who want to cancel their mobile phone contract with 1&1: Here’s the 1&1 Cancellation Button.

For Vodafone customers who want to switch: Here’s the Vodafone Cancellation Button

Of course, 1&1, Vodafone, and all other mobile phone providers in Germany also accept contract terminations by letter.