Consumer rights in Germany: withdrawal, cancellation, warranty and debt collection

If you conclude a contract with a business online, by phone, by email or outside its business premises (for example at your front door, at work or on a promotional trip), you can usually withdraw from it within 14 days without giving a reason.

• When the period starts: for goods, on the day you receive them (for several deliveries, the last one); for services, electricity, phone or internet contracts, on the day you conclude the contract. The starting day is not counted. If the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it ends on the next working day.
• If you were not properly informed about your withdrawal right, the period is extended, up to a maximum of 12 months and 14 days.
• How to withdraw: you must tell the business clearly that you are withdrawing; returning the goods without a message is not enough. No signature or reason is required. Use the withdrawal button on the website, the seller's form, an email, or a letter by registered post (Einschreiben) as proof. Sending it on time is enough.
• After withdrawal: send the goods back within 14 days (the original packaging is not required) and keep the postage receipt. The seller must refund the price and the standard delivery charge you paid, and bears the risk if the parcel is lost on the way back.

There is no withdrawal right for things bought in a shop on the spot, for purchases from private sellers, and for some goods even online: items made to your specifications, perishable food, sealed hygiene products or sealed media once you open them, newspapers (but not subscriptions), and travel, flight, train and event tickets for a specific date. For digital content and services, the right can end early, but only if you expressly agreed and confirmed you knew you would lose it.

Businesses that let you conclude contracts through a website or app must now offer an electronic withdrawal function, labelled "Vertrag widerrufen" (withdraw from contract) or similarly clear words. It must be easy to find throughout the withdrawal period and must not be hidden behind a login if you could buy without one. In a second step you confirm with a button such as "Widerruf bestätigen", and the business must immediately send you a confirmation with date and time.

The button does not change the 14-day period; it makes withdrawing easier. Keep the confirmation email.

For ongoing contracts such as mobile phone, internet, gym, streaming or magazine subscriptions, the "fair consumer contracts" rules apply to contracts concluded since 1 March 2022 (for phone and internet since December 2021):

• The initial minimum term in standard terms may be at most two years.
• The notice period before the end of the initial term may be at most one month.
• After the initial term, a contract may only extend indefinitely with the right to cancel at any time with one month's notice. Automatic extensions by another full year are no longer allowed in new contracts.
• These limits do not apply to insurance contracts. Contracts concluded before March 2022 can still extend by up to a year, so check your dates.

The cancellation button (Kündigungsbutton): since 1 July 2022, businesses that let you sign up online for a paid ongoing contract must let you cancel online, through a button labelled "Verträge hier kündigen" (cancel contracts here) or similar, which leads directly to a confirmation page and a final button "jetzt kündigen" (cancel now). No login may be required, and you must receive an immediate electronic confirmation of your cancellation with date and time and the end date of the contract. It applies even if you signed the contract before July 2022 or in a shop. It does not apply to financial services, including insurance.

If a business does not provide a proper cancellation button, you may cancel at any time without notice. In July 2026 the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) also ruled that the confirmation page must not show retention offers, such as pausing the contract.

Contracts made by phone: electricity and gas contracts discussed on the phone are only valid once you confirm them in text form, for example by email. For other contracts concluded by phone, you normally have the 14-day withdrawal right.

Statutory warranty (Gewährleistung) is your legal right against the seller, wherever you bought the item:

• It lasts two years from delivery. For used goods, a business seller may shorten it to one year.
• If a defect appears within the first year, it is presumed to have existed at delivery, so the seller must prove otherwise. After that, you may have to show that the defect was already there.
• You first ask for repair or replacement (Nacherfüllung), and you choose which. The seller pays transport, labour and parts.
• If that fails, is refused, or two repair attempts are unsuccessful, you can ask for a price reduction (Minderung) or withdraw from the purchase (Rücktritt) and get your money back.
• New since 31 July 2026: if you choose repair instead of a replacement within the warranty period, the warranty period for the item is extended once, from two to three years.
• A sign saying "reduced items cannot be exchanged" does not remove warranty rights for defects.

Guarantee (Garantie) is a voluntary promise, usually by the manufacturer, with conditions it sets itself. It applies in addition to the warranty. During the first two years, claiming against the seller under the warranty is usually the stronger route.

Labels since 27 September 2026: shops and online sellers must show a standard EU label informing you about the statutory warranty, and a separate label where a manufacturer offers a durability guarantee of more than two years.

Right to repair: since 31 July 2026, manufacturers of certain household products, including washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, dryers, TVs, monitors, smartphones and tablets, must offer repairs at a reasonable price and supply spare parts for 7 or 10 years. Repairs are not free, but manufacturers must publish typical repair prices.

A debt collection agency (Inkassobüro) or a lawyer may collect money only if you really owe it under a contract and you are in arrears (after a reminder, after a payment date agreed in the contract, or 30 days after an invoice that warned you about this).

If the claim is unjustified (you never signed a contract, already paid, or withdrew in time):

• Object in writing and send it by registered post, with a copy to the company you supposedly owe. Explain why you do not owe the money.
• Do not pay anything, not even a part, and do not sign an instalment agreement; both can count as accepting the debt.
• Ask for the original power of attorney or assignment, the name and address of the original creditor and the details of the alleged contract.
• Check whether the collector is registered in the official legal services register (Rechtsdienstleistungsregister). Unregistered collectors are not legitimate. Lawyers who collect debts are registered with their bar association instead.

If the claim is justified, pay the main amount, but check the fees: collection costs are capped by law and are often inflated. The Verbraucherzentrale's free online Inkasso-Check helps you assess both.

Threats: a collector cannot freeze your account, send a bailiff or report you to a credit agency (Schufa) just by writing to you. A Schufa entry requires a justified claim and at least two reminders, and is not allowed once you have objected in writing. You do not have to let collectors into your home.

Court payment order (Mahnbescheid): this is an official letter from a court. The court does not check whether the claim is justified. If you disagree, you must object within two weeks using the enclosed form. If you do nothing, an enforcement order (Vollstreckungsbescheid) follows, against which you again have only two weeks to object; after that, even an unjustified claim can be enforced. Never ignore court post.

• Fake debt collection and fake lawyers: letters, emails and text messages demanding money for contracts you never made. The Berlin bar association keeps a list of fake law firms and recommends checking any lawyer in the official nationwide lawyer directory.
• Doorstep selling: representatives sometimes target people with limited German. Never let sellers into your home, never pay in advance, and do not sign anything you do not understand. If you did sign, you can usually withdraw within 14 days.
• Subscription traps (Abofallen) and fake online shops: very cheap prices, prepayment only, missing or odd legal notice (Impressum). The Verbraucherzentrale runs a fake shop finder.
• Phishing: messages that imitate banks, parcel services or authorities and ask you to click a link or enter data. The Verbraucherzentrale's Phishing-Radar lists current waves.

See also the guides on rental scams and on safety in Berlin.

• Verbraucherzentrale Berlin (consumer advice centre, publicly funded): independent advice in person, by phone or by video. General consumer law advice costs 20 euros for up to 20 minutes (2026); short questions are answered free on its general legal hotline on Tuesdays and Fridays, 10:00 to 13:00. It also offers specialised advice on energy, insurance, banking and debts, sometimes free.
• Arbitration: if a company does not cooperate, the federal Universal Arbitration Board (Universalschlichtungsstelle des Bundes) can mediate between consumers and businesses out of court.
• Legal advice and representation: for low incomes, state-funded legal advice (Beratungshilfe) costs at most 15 euros. See the guide on legal help.
• Templates: the Verbraucherzentrale publishes free template letters for withdrawal, cancellation, warranty claims and objections to debt collection.