My phone or internet price is going up: can I leave my contract in Germany?
If your provider changes the contract terms on its own, such as the agreed prices, it must tell you one to two months ahead on a durable medium. You can then cancel within three months, without notice and at no cost (§ 57 TKG).
When a provider changes the price or terms during your contract, you may have the right to leave without a fee. That depends on what your contract already said about price changes and on the rules in Germany.
📜 The rules in Germany
Price rises built into the contract
§ 57 TKG contains no special rule for index-linked price changes. The only exceptions to the exit right are changes solely in your favour, purely administrative ones, or ones directly required by law.
The details
- There is no right to cancel if the change is only to your advantage, purely administrative with no negative effect, or directly required by EU or German law. (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- The three months start when the provider's proper notice reaches you. The contract ends at the earliest on the date the change takes effect. (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Your provider must advise you at least once a year on the best tariff for you, based on the services you use now, especially your data volume. (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Schlichtungsstelle Telekommunikation der Bundesnetzagentur
Handles disputes when a provider changed the contract to your disadvantage and refuses your cancellation, or did not announce the change in time.
Compare offers
We found no official, state-run price comparison for phone and internet in Germany.
🪜 Step by step
- Read the notice carefullyNote the date the change starts and any deadline to react. Keep the message.
- Check your contractSee whether the contract already set out this rise, for example a yearly increase linked to inflation.
- Decide whether to stayCompare offers. If you have the right to leave, use it in writing before the deadline.
- Complain if the rules were not followedIf you were not told properly or the rise breaks your contract, complain to the provider and then to the dispute body.
📇 Who to contact
Sponsor this page → One labelled block, €100 a month. Founding price €75 until 31 January 2027.
❓ Questions
Is a price rise linked to inflation allowed?
It can be, if the contract set it out clearly. Whether it gives you a right to leave is in the rules for Germany on this page.
How much warning must the provider give?
Providers usually have to tell you before the change starts. Where the rules in Germany set a notice period, it is on this page.
What if I miss the deadline to leave?
The new price then usually applies. You can still leave at the end of the minimum term, or with notice if the contract already runs on.
📎 Sources
- gesetze-im-internet.de →
- bundesnetzagentur.de →
- bundesnetzagentur.de →
- bundesnetzagentur.de →
- bundesnetzagentur.de →
- verbraucherzentrale.de →
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