Don't fall for this totally legal scam

This is a scammy practice that operates in Germany which, as far as I can tell, isn't actually illegal. It is very easy to protect yourself from it: you just need to read things carefully.

In this video I briefly explain what the practice is and how you can avoid falling for it.

Chapters:
00:00 About this video
00:51 The most common example
01:45 The trap
03:42 The right to withdraw?
04:19 The trap closes
04:49 How not to fall for it

Music:
"Hot Swing"
Creative Commons Attribution licence

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Send letters and postcards to:

Rewboss
Postfach 10 06 29
63704 Aschaffenburg
Germany

Please don't send parcels or packages, or anything that has to be signed for.

[Riya-hozv]

"Since this is germany it's likely you got some physical paperwork"

This is the most german thing ever, yes. As long as there's paper there will be germany

[namenamename]

As my elementary school teacher said; "Wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil".

[TheGreatSteve]

I got a letter through the post when the building society I used was sold, saying I was owed money from the sale and that for a fee they'd get me the money. Instead, I took that letter into the building society, and they hooked me up with the cash for free.

[CharlieBrown-cx]

I had a solicitor in the UK once say they could "let me have" a form, then tried to charge me £40 for it. Instead, I picked it up for free from the local court and reported them to the ombudsman. The solicitor's rather hilarious response was to say that if I was unhappy then I could have it for £20!

[alphax]

It's the same thing in the US, Google search puts third party websites above the government's website and suddenly you're paying $50+ for inputting the same information you had to input on the government site.

[jimmyincredible]

As someone who as always lived in Germany I just learned that I have so far been completely immune to this - because i didn't even consider that official stuff can be done online, and assumed the pinnacle of German bureaucracy was still the fax machine :D

[DFYX]

It's also very common that when you order something from outside the EU (especially the USA and China) and it's held by customs, you'll get a letter from some company that's loosely associated with whatever logistics company handled the international part of the delivery. They will offer to handle the paperwork for a fee between 30 and 50€. Now, German import tax is a bit complicated but not THAT complicated. Usually you can go to the official website, pick the type of product you ordered from a list of categories (like "clothing, cotton" or "computer parts"), enter the amount you paid and be done with it in less then five minutes.

[fonkbadonk]

I've seen the reddit thread this must have originated from, and was in disbelief by how strongly you were opposed to there. Thank you for doing such a great service!

[rarbiart]

"if you want to hide a tree, bring it into the woods".

[Ausknutz]

I was made aware of this when I arrived in Germany to live in a building owned by the university where I currently work. They gave me some papers explaining how the Rundfunkbeitrag works, the correct website to enroll and making it clear the official website does not charge any processing fee.

[Motorov]

I have to say, some things on this channel are really informative, even for a native german speaker and resident. Thank you for your good work!

[ICTman]

This used to be a big thing in the UK too - purported "check and send" services that operated just on the right side of the law to justify their fee. They'd use search ads on things like EHICs/GHICs, Passports, US ESTA, etc. I looked a few up for examples now, though - mostly gone, for some reason.

[tomokig]

In court you still may have a high ground. Since they hide their fee by "strategily" arranging their page the contract itself can be compromised. Also adding a "surprise" in the Terms of Services can also be fought. All important contract information has to be visible AND understandable for the potential customer.
But since the "fee" is so low most people do not sue - that might be much more expensive.
My advice is to contact the Consumer Center in your region and inform about this kind of pseudo-legal operations.

[dsego]

There are unofficial websites selling slovenian motorway e-vignettes for more money than the official site. In Croatia there is also a scam where a private company tracks newly opened businesses and sends a proforma invoice in the mail to get included in a "national business registry". You can just throw these in the garbage bin, but people think it's something official and want to avoid fines so they just pay the invoice.

[elfo]

Moment, das muss man machen?
Ich hab einfach immer gewartet bis ich von denen Angeschrieben wurde, dass die Zahlung überfällig ist. Gefunden haben die mich immer.

[Felisquoreda]

I believe these websites do not only exist for our official bureaucracy, but also if you want to end any contract.
Some years ago I wanted to end my data plan and I wanted Google to tell me, which information needed to be in my letter and how it should look (I could not believe that it could be simple.) And all the result were like "give us your information, were gonna do the work for you". I did not feel comfortable just giving this to strangers on the Internet so I didn't fall for the scam.

[brun]

It’s the same as the scammers who file claims for you when your flight is cancelled or delayed and then take a massive cut of the compensation you are statutorily entitled to.

[Aristomache]

There's similar 'Scams' here.

I worked for the CSCS card scheme processing and sending cards for people to work on active sites.

The cost was £30. There are dozens of sites that charge up to 10 times as much for the same service.

[tarickw]

but why would you notify them? when you move, you register with the town and they notify them and you get a letter asking for clarification and guidance on what to do.

[parsifal]

A very important video!!
Same with the refunds for a late train in the DB. If your train is at least 60 minutes late, you can fill out a form online or on paper and get at least a 25% refund. The process is easy and free of charge.
Lately there are multiple shady companies in the internet that claim that "the process is complicated and slow". And that is a lie. They would send the application for you and charge you with 30% of your refund.
Fill the form only via a DB official website!!