If there is not enough money in the account, paying with the Girocard can be expensive. Refugees in particular are at risk due to a lack of knowledge about cashless payments.
The Brandenburg Consumer Center reports:
Thanks to the Girocard – the former EC card – consumers can pay conveniently and cashless almost anywhere: in the supermarket, drugstore or at the ticket machine. Requirement: There is enough money in the account. Each account holder must take care of this independently. If not, it can quickly become expensive for consumers.
The problem: There are two variants of card payment. “It is only when the consumer enters the PIN when paying with the Girocard that it is normally checked whether the account has sufficient funds,” explains Laura Ströbel from the Brandenburg Consumer Center. The payment process will be canceled if there is not enough money in the account to pay for the purchase. However, if the consumer completes the payment process with a signature, no verification has taken place beforehand. Payment will be made at a later date by direct debit. If there is not enough money in the account to pay the bill, the retailer can contact a debt collection agency to claim the outstanding amount.
“Advice practice shows that refugees in particular are at risk due to a lack of knowledge about payment processes in Germany,” says Ströbel, coordinator of the “Consumer Protection for Refugees” project. “That’s why, in addition to information, we also provide refugees and multipliers with checklists on the subject of account management in different languages,” adds the consumer advocate.
Those affected who have received a debt collection letter can have it checked online using the consumer advice center's debt collection check at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/inkasso-check . You will receive an individual sample letter to the debt collection company with which you can - depending on the results of the check - dispute the claim or the amount of the estimated costs.
Those interested can find more information about shopping with the Girocard in Arabic, German and Polish at: www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/node/27132
Consumers who need personal help can contact the Brandenburg Consumer Center:
- in the consumer advice centers, make an appointment on 0331 / 98 22 999 5 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or online at www.vzb.de/termine ,
- Telephone advice on 09001 / 775 770 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 1€/min on German landline, mobile phone varies) and
- Email advice at www.vzb.de/emailberatung
The VZB provides multilingual information for refugees with tips and checklists at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/migranten .
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