Private Legalities
This page contains miscellaneous legal contents regarding private life in Germany. Topics that need extensive description will be introduced on seperate pages.
This is one of the scariest phrases I’ve ever heard. What in the world is “Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland "GEZ”? What have I done wrong?
About two or three weeks ago, let us say, you registered at the police/office (Einwohnermeldeamt). They routinely inform i.a. the GEZ that you now have a domicile in Germany. The GEZ is an agent of all public radio and television stations, and its only function is to collect the fees for having a radio and / or television. (Note the word “having”, by the way.). No matter how old the set, the law generally requires you to pay the fees. So do not throw the notice to the winds: you will just be subjected to heavy fines. If you do not have a radio or TV, fill out the form and send it back. The people at GEZ will usually believe you if you say you only have one or the other. They are unlikely to believe that you lack them both. This system, by the way, finances public TV (ARD, ZDF, regional so called “Third Programs”) and public radio stations. For the viewer and listener, the chief benefit is the absence of commercial interruptions and irritations. You might miss the bathroom breaks, though… Another advantage to the system is that it provides for "relatively objective" news and documentary programs. On election days, you get to see hardly anything else. This is at least an official assignment of public TV.
§
N.B. PCs with internet connection have become subject to this tax. For more details, please read the article in the PC Law Archive: " GEZ now also on PCs "
Recently my state changed from terrestrial to digital transmission and I can’t use my TV set anymore. Can I rest relieved that I do not have to pay anymore.
Sorry, I have to disappoint you. Since you have a TV set you have to pay. It is your personal problem if you have bought the necessary decoder or not. GEZ does not even care if you have a radio in the cellar and do not use it. You have to pay no matter how much sense you think this regulation make.
§
My neighbors just told me a nightmare of a story that controletis of GEZ may forcefully enter the apartment to find out if I have a TV set, a radio or a PC with internet connection. What is true about that?
No! Only the police may use force to enter an apartment and that generally only with the explicit permission of a judge. This is a common rumor that very many Germans believe is to be true but it is not. However, not paying GEZ is an administrative offense, which can be enforced with the help of the police if the state institution for radio and TV applies for enforcement. However, such institutions has seldom applied for enforcement.
§
My electricity supplier asked me to pay by "Lastschriftverfahren". I know this means direct debit, but how does it work?
No reason to worry! Paying by “Lastschrift” or direct debit is a convenient way to pay one’s bills. Participation in this procedure will allow the electricity supplier to directly collect from your account. Now, take this literally. That company will transfer money from your account to theirs. You are not to do anything anymore to pay the bill. This practical side has some distinct advantages. You will never again pay late because it is up to your supplier to make sure he gets paid. The drawback to this is that the supplier can easily collect too much. But if they do, you have six weeks to countermand the transfer. So check your account statements at least once a month. N.B. direct debit is very common in Germany. No one can force you to get in on it, but big companies for basic supplies like water, natural gas, electricity expect you to either use direct debit or pay in advance. Sometimes they even give you discounts for direct debiting. Common phrasing is “zahlen per/mit Lastschrift”, (paying by direct debit).
§
What is an EC card? Is that another kind of credit card like VISA®, MasterCard®, AmEx® or Diner’s Card®?
No, not at all! An EC card is a synonym for electronic cash. When paying with this card you will allow that company to directly debit your account. The EC-card is a remnant of the old Eurocheck system and is nowadays often called MaestroCard. Until 2004, you could pay with an Eurocheck and present the EC-card to prove you owned the check. Two features of this check made it popular. Up to a certain amount, the checks were guaranteed, and they were accepted all over Europe. However, since checks in general have lost prestige as a method of payment, and since the EC-card grew ever more popular, the checks were simply abolished. The remaining card itself is still accepted all over Euroland. No one looks twice, if an Austrian pays with his EC card in Greece or Italy.
§
What does it imply to pay “with my signature”? Will I have really paid without spending any money in the end?
Paying with your signature is actually a comfortable way to pay. When entering your card into the reader this machine will print your bank details on the cash register slip and then you sign it. While you wait for the machine to start printing, your bank will contacted to find out if your card has been barred. Your signature acknowledges that the payment as printed is okay and that this sum can be directly debited from your account. One or two days later, your account will be debited. The advantage for you as the customer is that you have the right to countermand this direct debit. This disadvantage for the honest business is that they will have to initiate collecting proceedings. Since this procedure is insecure and very troublesome for many tradespersons, this system has been abolished at the end of 2006. However, there is still an interim period during which shops will still accept this way of paying.
§
What is like paying with my card's PIN? What are the implications with this method?
The electronic cash method checks already in the shop if your account has enough credit for the transaction. This is sure payment for the shop. However, you as the customer may not contradict this deduction. Banks can return the debit if your account lacks sufficient credit at the time your purchase is to be booked from your account.
§
Specimens of the EC Symbols
|
|
|
