Consumer advice centers: Report violations and take legal action

Consumer advice centers: Report violations and take legal action

Uninvited advertising calls, bait-and-switch offers, subscription traps or unacceptable clauses in contracts – there are always reasons to complain about companies. But you don't have to accept that! Report violations to consumer advice centers. They can then take legal action. The consumer advice centers carry out around 1,500 proceedings against companies for you every year. Individual consumers are not allowed to file injunctions; this is done by qualified consumer associations such as the consumer advice center. The consumer advice centers can take action against dubious companies that want to take advantage of customers. In the event of a violation, the company receives a warning.

The consumer advice centers in the 16 federal states and the Federal Consumer Association carry out around 1,500 cases per year against companies from a wide range of industries. More than half are successfully concluded out of court because companies submit cease-and-desist declarations. Lawsuits are filed in around 20 to 25 percent of cases. As a consumer, you cannot file an injunction in Germany if an entrepreneur behaves in an anti-competitive manner or uses inadmissible general terms and conditions. However, consumer interests are represented by qualified consumer associations. This can be done by consumer advice centers, for example.

If the consumer advice centers discover a violation, we will send the company a warning. The company is hereby requested to stop the illegal behavior, for example to stop advertising price reductions. If the company signs a cease and desist declaration, the process is settled out of court. The company undertakes to stop the illegal behavior by issuing a cease and desist declaration. The cease and desist declaration is punishable by law - this means that the company undertakes to pay an agreed contractual penalty if it violates the declaration. If the company refuses to submit the cease and desist declaration, the consumer association can file a lawsuit on your behalf.

Consumer advice centers can also take action against dubious companies that want to take advantage of customers. If you as a consumer report such a violation, you should document the case carefully and keep the documents. Without this information, a possible warning is otherwise doomed to failure from the outset due to lack of evidence. If a consumer association files an injunction against a company, your claims against the entrepreneur are suspended due to the violations. This means that your claims cannot expire due to the expiry of the deadline. Consumer associations are therefore obliged to publish all injunctions against companies on their website. You are also obliged to provide information about the current status of the procedure.