Predatory behaviour in German railway

[The exile]

I think they expected my friend to make the renewal payment. It seems like a trap to me

What leads to to that conclusion?

In general, I think your friend’(assuming they’re don’t gave a German background) has fallen into the trap of assuming that “everyone does it our way”. It’s not a uniquely British disease….

 

[The exile]

What if a rail card holder is in a coma, are you trying to tell me it’s ethical for a rail company to start debt collection and slap on huge interest rates because the comatose patient was not able to pay for another year through no fault of his on?

The same would happen regarding unpaid debt here. Doesn’t stop the action being stopped / reversed once the facts are known.

The other thing that has occurred to me is that the communication could well be an auto-generated one and that whoever your friend’s account has communicated with is the first appeals stage just quoting standard responses. As always, we’d need to see the actual comms.

 

[railgunn]

What leads to to that conclusion?

In general, I think your friend’(assuming they’re don’t gave a German background) has fallen into the trap of assuming that “everyone does it our way”. It’s not a uniquely British disease….

I think he had the same experience as Gloster except he didn’t know to cancel:

I have not had a German railcard (Bahncard) for several years, but I used to get one regularly, although I might let it lapse if I wasn’t going to use it for a few months. I always sent, in those days by post, a letter saying in German that I was cancelling the card and only once had a problem. The problem was that I left it a bit late and they issued my replacement before the cancellation arrived (*); the cancellation was due, I think, one month before expiry.

Haha, I did a bit of digging and so far railcards in the UK, France, Italy, Austria, Japan, China, and Spain do not automatically renew. So what happened to my friend would never happen in these countries. As far as I know only Germany auto renews railcards and only them auto renew a rail card and expect a rail card holder to pay them for a renewal they didn’t consent to, then charge x5 the rail card fee by adding interest. I guess this is a German disease .

 

[The exile]

Haha, I did a bit of digging and so far railcards in the UK, France, Italy, Austria, Japan, China, and Spain do not automatically renew. So what happened to my friend would never happen in these countries. As far as I know only Germany auto renews railcards and only them auto renew a rail card and expect a rail card holder to pay them for a renewal they didn’t consent to, then charge x5 the rail card fee by adding interest. I guess this is a German disease .

Judging by many posts in the disputes section, there are a lot of people in the UK who wish they did!

As for a "renewal they didn't consent" to - if they signed up for the standard Bahn Card then I'm afraid that's exactly what they consented. Whatever it is that has mounted up to 5x the BC fee in three or four months (if I understand aright), most of it is not interest - interest for overdue debts is strictly regulated in Germany (surprise, surprise) and although it is several %-points above the base rate, it wouldn't rack up that quickly. Does you friend have a breakdown of the amount he's being asked to pay?

Posting this bit for the benefit of others - though it will probably make your friend even more annoyed - there is in fact a "trial BC" (Probe-Bahnhcard) valid for three months which does not auto renew on expiry. It's presumably more expensive than the standard one, though. Sorry - must have clicked on the wrong box. The BC100 also does not auto-renew - which at nearly €5,000.00 a year is probably a good job.

 

[railgunn]

Judging by many posts in the disputes section, there are a lot of people in the UK who wish they did!

As for a "renewal they didn't consent" to - if they signed up for the standard Bahn Card then I'm afraid that's exactly what they consented. Whatever it is that has mounted up to 5x the BC fee in three or four months (if I understand aright), most of it is not interest - interest for overdue debts is strictly regulated in Germany (surprise, surprise) and although it is several %-points above the base rate, it wouldn't rack up that quickly. Does you friend have a breakdown of the amount he's being asked to pay?

Posting this bit for the benefit of others - though it will probably make your friend even more annoyed - there is in fact a "trial BC" (Probe-Bahnhcard) valid for three months which does not auto renew on expiry. It's presumably more expensive than the standard one, though. The BC100 also does not auto-renew - which at nearly €5,000.00 a year is probably a good job.

He says extra fees are for communication, late fees, postage, debt collection business fees. It’s interesting that Germany is opt-out for rail card fees but opt-in for organ donation lol. I guess he should have gone for the trail BC. I think those who can afford the BC100 can also afford to pay the fines due to auto renewal problems but then again these are business leaders that help make the rules. The working class and rule takers suffer.

 

[The exile]

He says extra fees are for communication, late fees, postage, debt collection business fees. It’s interesting that Germany is opt-out for rail card fees but opt-in for organ donation lol. I guess he should have gone for the trail BC. I think those who can afford the BC100 can also afford to pay the fines due to auto renewal problems but then again these are business leaders that help make the rules. The working class and rule takers suffer.

Presumably he has now cancelled?

I need to correct something I wrote earlier - I think I must have read the conditions of the Probe Bahncard 100 by mistake. The trial Bahncards 25 and 50 are automatically converted into full year subscriptions on expiry if you haven't cancelled them 4 weeks before. I suspect this is what has happened to your friend as that would explain the 5x price (something like 3-a-bit x the trial price for the full year + fees)