Actually, consumers can now reduce the payments to their provider if the landline Internet is bad. But it probably won’t be as easy as initially thought. The official measurements are hardly suitable for this, as the Federal Network Agency confirms.
Internet providers triumph: reducing payment becomes a test of patience for consumers
Not to save money with poor internet service: the TKG amendment is proving to be more and more a laughing stock a few months after it came into force. Since December it should actually be possible to use official measurements of the Internet speed to prove to the providers if they are not adhering to contractually guaranteed services – and then depending on the extent of the omission reduce the monthly price.
It is now clear that consumers once again have reason to feel like they have been duped: An example from a Vodafone customer shows that how little the measurements using the official app of the Federal Network Agency are actually worth (Source: Teltarif). Because the result is that the 30 prescribed measurements are not evaluated together. There is only the final evaluation:
A “considerable, continuous or regularly recurring deviation in speed” of fixed-network Internet access within the meaning of Section 57 (4) sentence 1 no. 1 TKG in accordance with the General Decree 99/2021 of the Federal Network Agency was determined.
– or maybe not. Whether you get 10, 20 or 75 percent less performance, the log only makes a binary statement: Target reached or target missed. It also remains completely unclear which values are relevant for the possible reduction. The Teltarif colleagues contacted the Federal Network Agency, which confirmed the problem:
“The protocol serves as proof of an extraordinary right of termination or of the existence of a right to a price reduction. One The measurement log does not contain any statement on the amount of the reduction claim. The amount is to be clarified by the consumer in dialogue with the provider for the specific individual case.
With these WLAN tips you can do something for your home Internet:
Federal Network Agency gives Vodafone, Telekom and Co. a boost
However, the following statement by the Federal Network Agency is likely to become a major problem for Internet customers: “The providers determine the amount of the reduction in the specific individual case, if possible in dialogue with the consumer.” The question remains: If the provider ultimately decides – as 1&1 has already proven – then why bother? A question that many customers will certainly ask themselves.
Personal assessment of Felix: The measurement log, which customers should use as a tool against the providers, is largely a farce. In order to enforce a legally compliant reduction, it is insufficient. It can only be used as the very last step, as a justification for termination without notice. For everything else, the Federal Network Agency refers you to the consumer centers and courts.
Ultimately, it is purely a matter of negotiation by how much the monthly costs can be reduced – that was also possible before the law was changed. As long as the providers have the last word, the wording of the law may be in the interests of consumers, but its implementation is not.