Internet outages and missed appointments: what you are entitled to
If your connection is completely down or an engineer appointment is missed, § 58 TKG sets fixed compensation. The amounts, the deadlines and how to claim.
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If your connection fails completely or the engineer does not turn up, the compensation amounts are set out in law and are not up for negotiation. What matters is that the fault has been reported and documented.
Complete outage: tiered from day three
If a reported fault is not fixed by the end of the second day after the report was received, you become entitled to compensation. For the third and fourth day it is 5 euros or 10 per cent of the agreed monthly fee, whichever is higher. From the fifth day it is 10 euros or 20 per cent, again whichever is higher.
This requires a complete failure of the service, not just a slower connection. For persistently low bandwidth, a price reduction under § 57 TKG applies instead.
- Report the fault immediately and in a way you can prove
- Note the date and time of every report
- Days 3 and 4: 5 € or 10 %, whichever is higher
- From day 5: 10 € or 20 %, whichever is higher
Missed appointment: per appointment
If the provider does not turn up for an agreed service or installation appointment, you are entitled to 10 euros or 20 per cent of the monthly fee, whichever is higher, for each missed appointment separately.
Get appointments confirmed in writing. Without proof of the appointment, the claim is hard to enforce, because the provider could otherwise dispute that it was agreed.
How to claim compensation
Make your claim in writing, referring to § 58 TKG, stating the fault report and setting a specific deadline. The consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale) provides a template letter for this. If the provider does not respond or refuses, the next step is the free conciliation procedure (Schlichtungsverfahren) of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).
Frequently asked questions
When do I get money for an internet outage?
You are entitled to compensation if a reported fault has not been fixed by the end of the second day after you reported it. For the third and fourth day it is 5 euros or 10 per cent of the monthly fee, and from the fifth day 10 euros or 20 per cent, whichever is higher in each case.
What if the engineer doesn't turn up?
For each missed service or installation appointment, you are entitled to 10 euros or 20 per cent of the agreed monthly fee, whichever is higher. Written confirmation of the appointment is important as evidence.
Does this also apply if the internet is just slow?
No. § 58 TKG applies when the service fails completely. If the connection is merely persistently slower than agreed, the right route is a price reduction under § 57 TKG, with the measurement procedure of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) as evidence.
Selected sources
Note: This article is general information and not legal advice. It does not replace an assessment of your individual case by a lawyer or a consumer advice centre. No guarantee of accuracy; the law and case law may change.
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