Improved consumer protection: Canceling a mobile phone contract: New laws make it easy to exit the contract
Tuesday, 07/05/2022, 2:43 p.m
Until now, anyone who wanted to cancel their mobile phone contract had to pay attention to deadlines so that the provider received the cancellation at least three months before the end of the contract – otherwise the contract was usually extended by a whole year. This has changed now. Read here which rules apply now.
Almost everyone knows someone to whom this has already happened: you actually wanted to cancel your mobile phone contract, but the three-month lead time was missed, which is why the term has now been extended by a full year. Annoying, and not user friendly. But things have been different since December 1, 2021, as reported by the “Federal Association of Consumer Centers”. You can now cancel your mobile phone contract monthly after the minimum term has expired. Incidentally, this also applies to other fixed-term contracts – for example for the gym or for combination contracts, for example for smartphones that are bundled with a tariff.
Also new and better for the consumer: If you want to cancel your mobile phone contract and switch to a new provider, the new provider must take care of the switch from now on. While many providers are gritting their teeth, this procedure is becoming a pleasure at the mobile phone provider o2: Anyone who takes their old phone number with them until January 7th will even get 100 euros for free.
Cleverly cancel your mobile phone contract: Now you have to check your old contract
Anyone who is now toying with the idea of terminating their mobile phone contract in the near future should take a close look at their documents: it is often worth switching to a new provider or changing the tariff with the same provider. Because two years ago, 5 GB of data volume and an all-network flat rate were part of the luxurious tariff models. Today, on the other hand, this is standard. In addition, for example, the often booked o2 tariff “Free M with 20 GB data volume” is significantly cheaper at 29.99 euros per month than a comparable offer a few years ago.
o2 also offers the right tariff model for those who don’t want to commit themselves: The Flex tariffs without a minimum term and monthly notice period are now available at no extra charge. So far, these tariffs have cost at least five euros more than the comparable 24-month tariffs. In line with this, o2 offers numerous smartphones without a tariff, which can also be paid off in conveniently small monthly installments.
Combination tariffs with a smartphone are still worthwhile, however. Because in connection with a 24-month contract, there are cutting-edge cell phones such as the Google Pixel 6, Samsung Galaxy S21 and the Apple iPhone 13 with a small surcharge. In addition, after the minimum contract period has expired, o2 only calculates the tariff and no longer the full price that you paid with your smartphone. And since you can now cancel your mobile phone contract on a monthly basis, that sounds doubly fair.
Hence our recommendation: check the contract, cancel the existing provider and look for a new offer that offers more for less!
