Request arbitration in disputes with telecommunications providers
Description
The aim of the conciliation procedure is to reach an amicable agreement as quickly as possible in the interest of both parties. In this way, long and possibly expensive court proceedings can be avoided.
You can submit a request for arbitration to the Consumer Arbitration Board Telecommunications if you have already tried unsuccessfully to clarify the matter with your provider. Telecommunications providers mainly include Internet, mobile and fixed network providers.
Your application must indicate that your provider may not have fulfilled an obligation. The arbitration board may take action if this obligation is related to certain provisions of telecommunications law that serve customer protection. This may be the case, for example, if:
- Your connection is disturbed,
- the data transfer rate is too low, or
- other contractually promised services are not adhered to,
- the invoice is objectionable,
- You argue with your provider about the termination of contracts or contract terms.
Before the Consumer Arbitration Board for Telecommunications opens a conciliation procedure, it checks whether the conditions for this are met. For example, the consumer arbitration board cannot take action if your request is not related to the customer-protecting regulations of telecommunications law.
You are in dispute with your telecommunications service provider as to whether they have failed to fulfil an obligation to you.
The Consumer Arbitration Board telecommunications may open a conciliation procedure if:
- in the case of the facts, there is a connection with certain provisions of telecommunications law on customer protection,
- you have already tried unsuccessfully with the provider to reach an agreement,
- You are prepared to agree to a compromise solution in the conciliation procedure,
- you have not yet applied for conciliation proceedings on the same subject-matter of the dispute,
- no action has yet been brought before a court in your dispute,
- the conciliation procedure is not unsuitable for settling the dispute. The procedure is particularly unsuitable if the subject matter of the dispute does not suggest a cost-effective and quick agreement,
- the application does not appear to be manifestly without any prospect of success or wanton. This is especially true if
- the claim at issue is already time-barred at the time of filing the application and the defendant relies on the limitation period,
- the dispute has already been settled,
- in relation to the dispute, an application for legal aid has already been rejected on the ground that the intended prosecution does not offer a sufficient prospect of success or appears to be wanton.
Depending on the circumstances different, for example:
- Contract and applicable General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of the provider
- Confirmation of order
- Disputed invoices and itemized bills
- Termination letter or confirmation of termination
- Test and measurement protocols of your broadband measurement
- Order for the relocation of a telecommunications connection
- Order for number porting
Further information on the required documents can be found in the application form.
- The arbitration procedure is free of charge for you and for your provider.
- Each party shall bear the costs incurred by it as a result of participating in the proceedings, such as telephone costs, letter postage or other expenses.
There is no deadline for submitting your request for arbitration. However, your claim must not yet be time-barred. In the case of a disputed invoice, you must complain to the provider within 8 weeks and can then, if no clarification is possible with your provider, submit a request for arbitration.
During the proceedings, the Conciliation Board usually sets a period of 3 weeks for the parties to submit their comments.
The duration of the proceedings depends above all on whether the request for conciliation is complete, whether the parties submit their comments promptly and completely and are willing to compromise.
From the receipt of the application by the Conciliation Board to the conclusion of the procedure, a conciliation procedure takes on average about 7 weeks.
The average period between the parties' comments and the conciliation proposal is about 4 weeks.
Forms: Application for conciliation in accordance with § 47a of the Telecommunications Act
Online procedure possible: yes
Written form required: no
Personal appearance required: no
You can submit your request for arbitration online, by De-Mail, by e-mail or by post. Please preferably use the online application form.
To submit the application online:
- Fill out the online application of the Telecommunications Arbitration Board on the website of the Federal Network Agency and attach the necessary documents.
- The Conciliation Body shall examine whether the conditions for the opening of conciliation proceedings are met.
- If arbitration is possible, both you and your provider will have the opportunity to present the respective point of view.
- The procedure is voluntary for both parties. Therefore, it must be terminated if your telecommunications provider refuses to participate in the procedure.
- The procedure is usually carried out in the written procedure.
- In many cases, the provider offers an individual solution on its own initiative in order to settle the dispute.
- If the provider does not offer such a solution, the arbitration board prepares an individual arbitration proposal in order to reach an amicable agreement.
- If you and your telecommunications provider accept the conciliation proposal, the Federal Network Agency will terminate the conciliation procedure.
- If the parties do not accept this proposal, you have the option of going to court.
If you want to submit your application by De-Mail, e-mail or by post:
- Download the form "Application for conciliation in accordance with § 47a of the Telecommunications Act" from the website of the Federal Network Agency. Note: The additional explanations from the online application are not available to you.
- Fill in the form and attach the required documents.
- Send your application and documents by De-Mail, e-mail or post to the Federal Network Agency.
- The further procedural steps are the same as for the online procedure.
- § 47a paragraph 2 Telecommunications Act (TKG)
- Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG)
- Ordinance on the Promotion of Transparency in the Telecommunications Market (TKTransparenzV)
- EU Regulation on roaming on public mobile networks (No. 531/2012 of 13 June 2012) in its current version
- Article 4(1), (2), (4) and Article 5a of the EU Net Neutrality and Roaming Regulation (No 2015/2120 of 25 November 2015), as amended
- Arbitration Rules pursuant to § 47a paragraph 3 of the Telecommunications Act in conjunction with § 5 of the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (SchliO)
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
