A bitter defeat is looming for Vodafone: two courts have already ruled against the provider. According to the judges, Vodafone demands too much money from former customers. It’s about hundreds of euros for each. But the last word has not yet been spoken.
Vodafone loses in court: Customers are subsequently deprived of money
Vodafone has to take a defeat in court: The Internet and mobile phone provider based in Düsseldorf has lost out in two proceedings. According to the judges, the company Extorted too much money from former customers for unreturned rental equipment.
As a rule, you will receive a router for rent from Vodafone or other providers if you sign a contract for fixed network Internet or cable. The costs for this appear in the settlement of your monthly contract price. If you cancel, it is the return the rented devices to the provider. Anyone who fails to do so will have to pay a fine.
The regional courts in Düsseldorf and Munich have now decided that Vodafone and Vodafone Kabel have charged their former customers too much money. Up to 250 euros according to the terms and conditions – and thus far more than the corresponding devices would have been worth at the time of return (source: Verbraucherzentrale NRW).
According to the judges, Vodafone should not be based on the new price when pricing devices that have not been returned.
Instead of this it depends on the price of a used device. “Anyone who does not return a rental or loan device that has been used for years can no longer be obliged to pay the new price as a lump sum,” according to the consumer advice center. The judgment from Düsseldorf is already final, but the last word has not yet been spoken in Munich.
What you should pay attention to when setting up your WLAN with your own router:
Better to buy it yourself: Rented routers are expensive for customers
At best, Vodafone would have to amend corresponding contractual clauses in the future. It would be conceivable, for example, a sliding Reclaim value based on time of returnor Vodafone could offer routers for sale right away.
But you shouldn’t be interested in the latter. Because that would be much better from the customer’s point of view. Even without the high return costs, rental equipment is much more expensive than buying it yourself. With their own router, customers can save a lot.