• Direct debit waiting.

Hello,
I have a weird problem, and have no clue what to do about it.
I'm actually living in Lithuania, but I was for a few weeks in Germany, and went to the gym.
Before leaving Germany, I asked them how should I cancel my subscription, they gave me an email. I was texting them not even one time, but they do not answer but, but sending me every month invoices, and at the end of the month I'm just losing money, even though they do not reply, and I'm not going to the gym at all. If I call them they do not speak in English with me, what would be the best solution in this situation?
Thank you.

    @New-Jade-Antelope-659715305#271469 First look inside the contract with the gym that you made when you signed up for it. Most gyms in Germany from my own experience will have some kind of minimum contract period, so even if you cancel the contract, it might not end immediately. Next thing I would advice is to use the contact information that is also written onto the contract that you signed. An email should be fine, but sometimes it could be a good idea to send a postal letter or fax, too, if you don't get an answer. As they're a German company, they're not really required to speak or communicate in English with you (they should make an effort out of courtesy of course, but cannot legally fault them for not doing so). There are many services on the web that will send a fax with a cancellation letter for you for a few Euros.

    Here's some example text in German you could use for writing a letter to cancel a gym contract (courtesy of Aboalarm):

    Mitgliedsnummer: 1234567890

    Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

    hiermit kündige ich meine oben genannte Mitgliedschaft fristgerecht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt. Bitte senden Sie mir eine schriftliche Bestätigung der Kündigung unter Angabe des Beendigungszeitpunktes zu.

    Of course don't forget to add your personal details etc.

    As a last resort, you can also get the money from your direct debits back in the bunq app by clicking on the refund button or not accepting them in the first place. However, I would only advise to do so if you're 100% sure that you do not owe the company any money. Therefore, it's important to check your contract and check all the clauses.

      They are still not answering me any email.
      And they doubled up the price out of nowhere.
      Is there are any chance, to disconnect a card or block it and make a new one by myself? Cause this is not normal...

        @New-Jade-Antelope-659715305#271561 If it's a card payment, you can block that card and order a new one. But if it's not a card payment but a direct debit, blocking a card won't help.

          @New-Jade-Antelope-659715305#271561 Stopping the payments is easy at bunq, yes. But the bigger issue is (in my opinion) the contract that you signed. You live in Lithuania now of course, but a collection agency might operate throughout the EU in case you block the payments. Are you running your email through DeepL before sending them? Because if they're written in English, they might ignore them for that reason. Or do you have a friend that could help you with calling them in German?

            It's direct debit payment... I will try to find a person to call them, but the main point is that, I'm losing money, and I'm not going to get it back, which is super important for me at the moment. Fun fact is that I couldn't cancel subscription at the gym, they told me to EMAIL them, and nobody is answering, so I'm feeling like it's not fair at all, and it's not acceptable for me to pay at this point, but they're still charging, and even if I'm pressing "Deny" after some time they charge it without a permission.

              @New-Jade-Antelope-659715305#271569 but the main point is that, I'm losing money, and I'm not going to get it back, which is super important for me at the moment

              As I already stated above, you can easily recall direct debits directly in the bunq app. It's one finger tap and you have the money back on your account in a few days. I wouldn't recommend doing so except in clear fraud cases, but it's a possibility you always have with direct debits.

              and nobody is answering, so I'm feeling like it's not fair at all, and it's not acceptable for me to pay at this point

              I definitely understand that it doesn't feel fair to you, and I would agree in that personally. But it might still be a good idea to fully deal with it to prevent any consequences in the future. But of course that's fully up to you.

              even if I'm pressing "Deny" after some time they charge it without a permission.

              That's not possible at bunq. In case you have added them to the automatic accept list, you can remove them from there if you want. But everything else has to be manually approved by you.

                Thank you, for your exhaustive explanations Jakob.
                But I really did press "Deny" last time, and they still charged me after 5 days.

                18th of October I got it, I pressed Deny at the same day.
                23th of October it was charged without any permission.

                And I don't see any refund option either.

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