The European Consumer Centre Germany Supports You
On this page, you can send a request directly to the legal team of the European Consumer Centre Germany. We will support you free of charge with two services
- general information about your rights,
- personal help if you have a specific complaint against a trader or service provider.
All requests must have a European context, i.e. they must be related to a company from another EU member state, Iceland, Norway or the United Kingdom.
Information About Your Rights
You have questions. We have answers:
- Your rights when buying and booking in other EU countries, Norway, Iceland and the UK.
- Advice on many topics such as online purchases, flight delays or travelling by train
- Tips to protect yourself from fraud
- Free of charge*
Our Rules
We are happy to support you free of charge. However, in 2024 alone, we received almost 50,000 requests. Given this workload, for us to be able to help you quickly and successfully, we ask you to comply with the following requirements.
1. You Must Live in Germany
We can only help you if you are residing in Germany.
If you live in another EU member state, Iceland or Norway, please contact the consumer centre in your country (even if your complaint is against a retailer from Germany). In our overview, you will find the contact details of the European Consumer Centres. If you live in the United Kingdom, the International Consumer Centre UK can assist you. Our colleagues will be happy to help you.
2. Your Request Must Have a European Context
Unfortunately, we are barred from helping you if your enquiry only relates to the situation within Germany. The consumer centres of the federal states are responsible for such requests, and we warmly recommend them to you. Alternatively, you can also contact an arbitration board free of charge.
We may assist you if you have a question or problem with retailers or service providers in other EU countries, Iceland, Norway or the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, we cannot help with issues relating to other countries, for example, Switzerland, the USA or China. Further information about our service and treatment of complaints can be found in our Quality Charter.
3. You are Personally Affected
We ask that only the person who has a question or is personally affected by the problem fills out the form. If this is not possible, please provide a reason.
4. Appropriate communication
Our main goal is to help consumers. Free of charge. We are well aware of the feelings of anger and powerlessness you may have about the behaviour of some companies.
However, we believe that it is important to communicate in a factual and appropriate way.
Insults and inappropriate comments will not be tolerated. They will result in your complaint not being processed.
Thank you very much in advance for your understanding and your cooperation in order to ensure a constructive and respectful communication.
5. documents
In order to process your request as quickly as possible, please fill out the necessary written authorisation and send us all further documents relating to your problem as a PDF file. Important: Do NOT send us the original documents by post; a copy or scan is sufficient.
Yes, I Want to Use the Service (free of charge*)
I have a question about my rights
- I have used the search feature on the website to see if my question has already been answered (we have over 200 helpful articles advising on topics such as travel, shopping or finance).
- I acknowledge that this request will not halt a possible statutory limitation period.
- I have filled out the necessary power of attorney and have already compiled all other documents relating to my problem in a PDF to be able to upload them.
Our advice: In case of fraud, incorrect debits or insolvency of the merchant, you can and should ask your bank to charge back the money. This is possible if you have paid by credit card. Act quickly!
Watch our video on YouTube: When and how can the European Consumer Center help me?
Our Financing (The Small Print)
* It is always a good idea to look at the small print. That's the place that our legal team will scrutinise when dealing with a case. With us, for once, there's good news for you: you really don't have to pay anything. Our service is funded by the EU Commission and the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. So that everyone can benefit from Europe.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Who Offers You this Service?
The European Consumer Centre Germany helps people living in Germany who have problems with a company in another EU country and are struggling on their own. All our services are free of charge because the European Commission and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection cover the costs. More about us.