Withdrawal from a sale or price reduction after a failed repair (Germany)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The second step of a complaint about faulty goods in Germany. If the seller did not repair or replace the goods in time after being told of the defect, the defect returned after a repair, or the seller refused, you declare withdrawal from the sale or a reduction of the price (§§ 437 and 441 of the German Civil Code, BGB) — when buying from a trader, without a further deadline (§ 475d BGB). With purchase date, defect, ground, amount to refund, deadline for payment and IBAN. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Buyer
- Buyer's address
- Seller
- Seller's postal address (for the complaint)
- City
- Date
- Order number
- Date of purchase
- Item
- Price
- Date of the complaint
- Defect
- Why the repair or replacement failed
- Withdrawal from the sale or price reduction (Germany)
- Amount claimed
- Refund deadline
- IBAN
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Do I need to give the seller another deadline before withdrawing from a sale in Germany?
- Usually not, when you bought for private use from a trader. Under § 475d(1) BGB no deadline is needed if the seller did not repair or replace within a reasonable time after you reported the defect, the defect reappears despite a repair attempt, it is so serious that immediate action is justified, or the seller refuses or plainly will not put it right. Pick the ground in the document that fits your case.
- Withdrawal or price reduction in Germany — which fits, and can I switch later?
- On withdrawal you return the goods and get the price back, less compensation for the use you had (§ 346 BGB). It is excluded for a trivial defect (§ 323(5) BGB); for a fixable defect that is usually the case when the repair costs less than 5% of the price. A price reduction remains open even then: you keep the goods and pay less (§ 441 BGB). Choose carefully — once a price reduction has validly been declared, withdrawal for the same defect is no longer possible (Federal Court of Justice, VIII ZR 26/17).
- Who pays for returning the goods after withdrawing from a sale in Germany?
- The seller. In a consumer sale the seller bears the cost of taking the goods back, and your proof that you sent them back counts as returning them (§ 475(6) BGB). So you can claim the price as soon as you can show the goods were sent. For the time you used the goods, the seller may deduct fair compensation (§ 346 BGB); enter the amount you claim accordingly.
- In what form is withdrawal or price reduction declared in Germany, and what if the seller does not pay?
- No form is prescribed; the declaration takes effect when it reaches the seller (§ 130 BGB). Send the document by e-mail and also by post, and keep proof — the tracking record of a letterbox-delivered registered letter (Einwurf-Einschreiben) does not on its own prove receipt (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 68/24). If the seller has not paid by the date set, you can turn to the federal Universal Conciliation Body, if the seller takes part, or sue at the local court (Amtsgericht).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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