Dear @dyoung ,

first of all, welcome to our forum. Nice that you have found your way to us. :-)

You signed a contract for a period of 24 months. So the earlyest date for a cancellation is September 2020. You received this information on September 7th 2018, with our Tarifinfomail. We don’t offer contracts for a period of time of 6 months. Whether the shop staff should have promised you something else, then you should have to complaind it within 14 days (or have to revoke the contract within 14 days). A monthly terminable contract would have cost 5 euros more per month, but this was not ordered. Therefore, the termination confirmation by September 2020 is correct.

Do you have any questions about using our community? Then take a look at Neu in der o2 Community? Die wichtigsten Funktionen und Hinweise auf einen Blick. There you will find all the information you need to use!

Kind regards,

Andrea

Hi Andrea,

Thank you for your quick response.

I specifically asked the assistant in the Berlin - Friedrichstrasse store about that clause in the contract and he informed me that, if I left Germany for good after the initial six months and before the end of the contract, I would be able to cancel the contract early. This page appears to confirm that:

https://hilfe.o2online.de/english-o2-community-43/how-to-do-a-cancellation-of-my-dsl-contract-due-to-moving-abroad-508314

It was always my plan to stay only one year in Germany so I would not have signed a 24 month contract without assurances I would be able to cancel it early. Given these assurances, I signed the contract in good faith.

Whether the O2 shop assistant was mistaken or there remains an additional cancellation procedure for O2 to complete, it is not remotely reasonable in these circumstances to continue to charge me for this SIM. Please tell me how we can resolve this situation.

But a DSL contract is not a mobile contract.

And if you plan to stay for 1 year, why not sign a monthly terminable contract?

maybe you could pay the last year in one payment.

Okay then that page is not applicable. Either way, the assistant who advised me said in no uncertain terms that I would be able to cancel the contract after six months if I left the country. Given this assurance, I had no reason to consider any other type of contract, such as the one that you described. I’ve also been told by other people that they were able to cancel their O2 contract early when they left Germany so I’d be grateful if someone were able to definitively say whether or not this is possible.

I appreciate your efforts to help but I’m not sure how paying the last year in one go will help. It’s paying for a phone I’m not using rather than the timing of the payments that I object to.

Hey @dyoung, 

do we talk about a DSL- or a mobile contract?

Kind regards, Tatjana

Hi Tatjana,

I believe it is mobile. When I contacted a woman who works at the same O2 store over the weekend, she said I could cancel it by sending a copy of my Abmeldung to O2 by mail. This is not feasible as I now live in sub-Saharan Africa. Does anyone know of any alternatives?

Thank you.

Hey @dyoung, 

before you moved to Sub-Sahara Africa do you signed of in the city you lived in germany?

May do you have something like a rantal contract for a flat or a house, or may an employment contract from the country you live now?

Kind regards, Tatjana

Hi Tatjana,

Thank you very much for your help.

I did do Abmeldung but I don’t have the copy with me here. If O2 were able to tell me what they would accept as proof I am no longer Germany-resident (e.g. I have a rental and job contract in my current country), then I can send it via email to a friend in Germany and they can mail it to O2 on my behalf. I just want to confirm that this document will be sufficient before I do that.

Also, am I able to understand from your response that it is possible to cancel the contract early, as I was originally advised?

Hey @dyoung, 

my collegues have to check, if you could cancel your contract earlyer. So they need a copy of your rental or job contract. Here you can find the form. Pleas fill in an send us a letter with it. 

So if the cancelation is possible you have to pay three more month the basic charge of your contract. 

Plase send the letter to: 

Kind regards, Tatjana

Hi Tatjana,

Thank you for your response. Is it not possible to check if I can cancel it earlier without me sending this letter? It seems that there should be a way for O2 to know this fact about my contract (e.g. if I provide my mobile number) before receiving that letter. I don’t think it’s reasonable for O2 to ask me to send a letter that may have absolutely no effect on my contract.

Also, I really appreciate your assistance, but I want to register my profound dissatisfaction with this situation. It seems that the O2 store staff were either unaware of the conditions or deliberately misled me and there is no accountability for what they told me. I’m sorry to say that this happened repeatedly when I was living in Germany. I realise it is not your fault, but it is very disappointing.

Hey @dyoung, 

i could understand your annoyance. But I can not know, what you discussed in the o2 store.

There is no other way, to cancel the contract earlyer. We need the full filled in form fro you and a proof that you live know in an other country. 

Best regards, Tatjana

Hey @dyoung, 

if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us here in our English community.

Kind regards, Tatjana