Leistungen A-Z

Forms: Application for conciliation pursuant to § 47a Telecommunications Act

Online procedure possible: yes

Written form required: no

Personal appearance required: no

• Online application of the Conciliation Board Telecommunications
• Application for conciliation pursuant to § 47a Telecommunications Act for download

The aim of the conciliation procedure is to reach an amicable settlement as quickly as possible in the interest of both parties. In this way, long and possibly expensive legal proceedings can be avoided.

You can file an application for conciliation with the Consumer Conciliation Board Telecommunications if you have already tried unsuccessfully to clarify the matter with your provider. Telecommunications providers mainly include Internet, mobile and landline providers.

Your application must indicate that your provider may not have fulfilled an obligation. The conciliation body can become active if this obligation is related to certain provisions of telecommunications law which serve to protect customers. This may be the case, for example, if:

• your connection is disturbed,
• the data transfer rate is too low, or
• other contractually promised services are not adhered to,
• the invoice is objectionable,
• You are in dispute with your provider about the termination of contracts or contract terms.

Before opening conciliation proceedings, the Consumer Conciliation Body Telecommunications examines whether the prerequisites for this are met. For example, the consumer arbitration board cannot take action if your request is not related to the customer-protecting regulations of telecommunications law.

You are in dispute with your telecommunications service provider as to whether they have failed to fulfil an obligation to you.

The Consumer Conciliation Body Telecommunications may open conciliation proceedings if:

• the facts of the case are related to certain provisions of telecommunications law for customer protection,
• you have already tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with the provider,
• you are prepared to agree to a compromise solution in the conciliation procedure,
• you have not yet applied for conciliation on the same subject matter,
• no action has yet been brought before a court in your dispute,
• the conciliation procedure is not unsuitable for settling the dispute. The procedure is particularly inappropriate if the subject matter of the dispute does not give rise to a low-cost and rapid agreement,
• the application does not appear manifestly unsuccessful or frivolous. This is especially true if:
• the disputed claim is already time-barred at the time the application is filed and the defendant invokes the limitation period,
• the dispute has already been resolved,
• an application for legal aid has already been rejected in connection with the dispute on the ground that the intended action does not offer a reasonable prospect of success or appears frivolous.

Depending on the circumstances, for example:

• Contract and applicable General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of the Provider
• Confirmation of order
• disputed invoices and itemised bills
• Letter of termination or confirmation of termination
• Test and measurement protocols of your broadband measurement
• Order for the relocation of a telecommunications connection
• Order for number porting

Further information on the required documents can be found in the application form.

• The arbitration procedure is free of charge for you and for your provider.
• Each party shall bear the costs incurred by it as a result of participating in the proceedings, such as telephone costs, letter postage or other expenses.

You can submit your request for conciliation online, by De-Mail, by e-mail or by post. Please preferably use the online application form.

To submit the application online:

• Fill out the online application of the Telecommunications Conciliation Board on the website of the Federal Network Agency and attach the necessary documents.
• The conciliation body checks whether the conditions for the opening of conciliation proceedings are met.
• If arbitration is possible, both you and your vendor will be given the opportunity to present each other's point of view.
• The procedure is voluntary for both parties. Therefore, it must be terminated if your telecommunications provider refuses to participate in the proceedings.
• The procedure is usually conducted by written procedure.
• In many cases, the provider offers an individual solution on its own initiative to resolve the dispute.
• If the provider does not offer such a solution, the arbitration board will prepare an individual arbitration proposal in order to reach an amicable settlement.
• If you and your telecommunications provider accept the arbitration proposal, the Federal Network Agency will terminate the arbitration proceedings.
• If the parties do not accept this proposal, you will have the option of going to court.

If you want to submit your application by De-Mail, e-mail or by post:

• Download the form "Application for conciliation pursuant to § 47a Telecommunications Act" from the website of the Federal Network Agency. Note: The additional explanations from the online application are not available to you.
• Fill in the form and attach the required documents.
• Send your application and documents by De-Mail, e-mail or post to the Federal Network Agency.
• The further procedural steps are the same as for the online procedure.

There is no deadline for submitting your request for arbitration. However, your claim must not yet be time-barred. In the case of a disputed invoice, you must complain to the provider within 8 weeks and can then, if no clarification is possible with your provider, file a request for arbitration.

During the proceedings, the conciliation board usually sets a deadline of 3 weeks for the parties to submit their comments.

• Section 47a (2) of the Telecommunications Act (TKG)
• Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG)
• Ordinance on the Promotion of Transparency in the Telecommunications Market (TKTransparenzV)
• EU Regulation on roaming on public mobile networks (No. 531/2012 of 13 June 2012) as amended
• Article 4(1), (2), (4) and Article 5a of the EU Regulation on net neutrality and roaming (No. 2015/2120 of 25 November 2015) as amended
• Conciliation Rules pursuant to Section 47a (3) of the Telecommunications Act in conjunction with Section 5 of the Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (SchliO)

• Information on the conciliation procedure at the Consumer Conciliation Board Telecommunications of the Federal Network Agency
• Information on the topics that may be the subject of conciliation proceedings at the Consumer Conciliation Body Telecommunications

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy