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Money · Germany
Updated September 2026

🔁 They will not let me cancel my subscription — who helps?

Direct answer

Since 2022, a contract you can sign online must be cancellable online too, and after the first term it renews only month to month with a one-month notice in most EU countries. Cancel in writing (email is fine), keep the proof, and stop the direct debit if they keep charging. Verbraucherzentrale (verbraucherzentrale.de) is the consumer body for Germany and takes complaints about subscription traps; for a company in another EU country, Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum Deutschland (+49 7851 991480) helps free of charge. The last step is Allgemeine Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle (verbraucher-schlichter.de).

Call firstVerbraucherzentrale
Report toEuropäisches Verbraucherzentrum Deutschland
If that failsAllgemeine Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle

🗣️ What to say

"I cancel my subscription [number] with effect from the earliest possible date. Please confirm the end date in writing within 14 days. I do not consent to any further charges after that date."

🪜 Step by step

  1. Cancel in writing, datedEmail to the address in the terms, or the online cancel button. Screenshot the confirmation. Phone-only cancellation is not allowed for consumers.
  2. Know the termAfter the initial period, the contract is month to month with one month's notice in most countries. A tacit renewal for another year is not valid unless you were clearly warned.
  3. Stop the moneyRevoke the direct debit or card mandate at your bank. Charges after a valid cancellation can be reclaimed.
  4. Complain to VerbraucherzentraleAttach the cancellation and the charges. Repeated complaints about the same company trigger enforcement.
  5. Cross-border or stubborn: Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum Deutschland, then Allgemeine VerbraucherschlichtungsstelleECC for companies elsewhere in the EU; the dispute body if the company simply refuses.

📇 All contacts

VerbraucherzentraleAdvice, template letters, help with mediationWhen the seller refuses🔗 www.verbraucherzentrale.de
Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum DeutschlandFree help with sellers in other EU countriesSeller is in another EU country, Norway or Iceland📞 +49 7851 991480🔗 www.evz.de
Allgemeine VerbraucherschlichtungsstelleOut-of-court dispute resolution, free for consumersWhen advice did not help🔗 www.verbraucher-schlichter.de
Amtsgericht — Online-MahnverfahrenPayment order without a lawyer, then a claimLast step, when the claim is clear🔗 www.mahngerichte.de

❓ Frequently asked

They say I must call to cancel

For a contract signed online, no. Write instead and say the online route was unavailable.

I cancelled but they keep charging

Reclaim the amounts through your bank (unauthorised direct debits can be reversed) and send the company a final demand.

Gym, dating app, streaming — same rules?

Same EU rules, with national details on notice periods. Gyms are the classic case; the one-month rule applies after the first term.

📎 Sources

Last checked: 2026-09-26

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🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

🔗 Related questions

✉️Write my letter: Cancel a subscription · Complaints→📦Faulty goods, no refund→📶Phone or internet contract→💳Scammed online→⚡Energy bill dispute→

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