Browse the archive

Air passenger compensation claim for a delayed, cancelled or overbooked flight (Germany)

Why it matches: The airline cancelled your flight at short notice and offers only a voucher instead of money.

A claim letter to the airline under EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, written for Germany: €250, €400 or €600 compensation per passenger when you reached your destination three hours or more late, your flight was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding. It sets out the flight, the amount by distance, a refusal of vouchers, your out-of-pocket costs and a payment deadline, and names the German conciliation bodies that come next. For passengers on the same booking too. In German.

Air passenger rights: compensation for delay, cancellation or denied boarding (Austria)

Why it matches: The airline cancelled your flight at short notice and you had to pay for a hotel and meals.

The claim letter to the airline when your flight reached its destination at least three hours late, was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding: you claim compensation of €250, €400 or €600 per passenger under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, plus costs you paid for meals and accommodation, with a payment deadline and your account. If the airline does not answer, or answers unsatisfactorily, within six weeks, Austria's Agency for Passenger Rights (apf) helps free of charge; this letter is the first step there. In German.

Power of attorney to deregister or register a motor vehicle (Austria)

Why it matches: You sold your car in Austria and want the buyer to deregister it for you.

The written power of attorney that lets another person — the buyer of your car, for instance — act for you at an Austrian registration office run by a motor insurer: to deregister the car and hand back the Zulassungsschein and plates, with or without reserving the number, to register it in your name, or to deposit papers and plates under § 52 of the Austrian Motor Vehicles Act (KFG). With both people's details, the vehicle's chassis number and plate, and a period of validity. The same in every Land. Deregistration itself is free. In German, ready to print and sign by hand.

Direct debit refund or standing order cancellation — instruction to the bank (Austria)

Why it matches: You cancelled a contract but the firm keeps debiting your account, and you want its debits blocked.

Your instruction to your own bank in Austria about a direct debit or a standing order: have a SEPA direct debit refunded, dispute a debit taken without a valid mandate, stop an announced debit, bar a payee's future debits or delete a standing order (Dauerauftrag). An authorised SEPA direct debit is refunded within eight weeks with no reason needed (§§ 70, 71 of the Austrian Payment Services Act, ZaDiG 2018), an unauthorised one within 13 months (§ 65 ZaDiG 2018). With payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

Notice cancelling motor liability insurance (Austria)

Why it matches: You want to cancel your car insurance in Austria at the end of the insurance year.

The letter cancelling your motor liability insurance in Austria in the four most common cases: at the end of the insurance year (§ 14 Abs 2 of the Austrian Motor Liability Insurance Act, KHVG) — the anniversary of the policy's start, not necessarily 31 December, with the notice arriving a month before — after a premium increase (§ 14a KHVG), after a claim (§ 158 VersVG), and after buying a used car whose insurance passed with it (§§ 69 ff VersVG). With the policy number and plate. In German, ready to print, sign and send by registered post.

Cancelling an insurance policy — home contents, liability, legal expenses and others (Germany)

Why it matches: You want to cancel your home contents or personal liability insurance in Germany.

A letter cancelling your home-contents, personal liability, legal expenses, buildings, accident or pet liability insurance in Germany: with ordinary notice at the end of the insurance period, within one month of a premium increase (§ 40 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG), after a claim, or, for contracts of more than three years, at the end of the third year (§ 11 VVG) — each time, failing that, for the earliest possible date. It revokes the direct-debit mandate and asks for confirmation of the end date. Motor insurance has a document of its own. In German.

Cancelling a gym contract or subscription (Germany)

Why it matches: You want to cancel your gym membership in Germany and stop the monthly payments.

A letter cancelling a gym contract or another running subscription in Germany — a membership, a magazine, a streaming or delivery plan. You give ordinary notice for the earliest possible date, or terminate for good cause under § 314 of the German Civil Code (BGB), such as a lasting illness with a doctor's certificate; you revoke the SEPA direct-debit mandate from the end date and ask for confirmation of it in writing. For contracts since 1 March 2022, at most one month's notice applies after the first term (§ 309 No. 9 BGB). In German.

Cancelling motor insurance (Germany)

Why it matches: You want to cancel your car insurance in Germany and switch to a cheaper insurer at the end of the year.

A letter cancelling your German motor insurance with your current insurer: at the end of the insurance year, early after a premium increase or a claim, or after buying a used vehicle whose policy passed to you (§ 96 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG). For all cover or for the comprehensive cover only, asking the insurer to confirm the end date and refund any unused premium. For most policies, a cancellation for 31 December must reach the insurer by 30 November. In German, ready to send.

Used car purchase agreement between private individuals (Austria)

Why it matches: You need a private used car sale contract that records the handover time and the deregistration.

The contract for a private sale of a used car in Austria: the vehicle with its chassis number, Typenschein or data extract and next roadworthiness test under § 57a KFG (the Pickerl), price and payment, the seller's statements on mileage, accidents and known defects, the exclusion of warranty with its limits under Austria's Civil Code (ABGB), and an express choice on roadworthiness. With the date and hour of handover, deregistration under the Austrian Motor Vehicles Act (§ 43 Abs 4 KFG) and who answers a driver enquiry until then. Not for a dealer sale. In German, ready to print twice and sign.

Authority to collect an ID document and handle registration matters (Germany)

Why it matches: You are moving house and want someone else to register or deregister your address for you.

The authority that lets someone else collect your new ID card or passport at the German citizens' office (Bürgeramt), register or deregister your address for you, or apply for and collect a registration certificate. With the statement that the PIN letter has arrived, without which an ID card is not handed to a representative. Some offices offer their own form free of charge; this one is an independently worded alternative. In German, under the German Civil Code (BGB); fill in, print, sign by hand and give the original to your representative.

Notice to the motor liability insurer of the sale of a car (Austria)

Why it matches: You have deregistered the car you sold and want the prepaid premium refunded.

The letter telling your motor liability insurer in Austria that you have sold your car, as § 71 of the Austrian Insurance Contract Act (VersVG) requires: with the policy number, plate, chassis number, date and hour of handover, the buyer's name and address and the day of deregistration. It asks for the premium to be settled and prepaid premium refunded to your account, or for the policy to move to a replacement car, and for a confirmation of your claims record. Austria has no notice of sale to an authority. In German, ready to print, sign and send by registered post.

Complaint to an electricity or gas supplier (Germany)

Why it matches: Your supplier ignored your meter reading, kept back a promised bonus or never confirmed your cancellation.

A consumer complaint to your electricity or gas supplier in Germany — a wrong bill, excessive instalments, a meter reading not taken over, a missing bonus or a termination left unconfirmed. The letter gives customer number, meter number and supply address, describes the problem, asks for a remedy and points to the four-week statutory deadline for an answer (§ 111a of the German Energy Industry Act, EnWG). If it fails, it is the precondition for a free application to the energy conciliation body, the Schlichtungsstelle Energie (§ 111b EnWG). Not for water or district heating. In German.

Asking your bank to refund a direct debit or cancel a standing order (Germany)

Why it matches: You want your bank to cancel a standing order, for example after moving out or ending a contract.

A letter to your German bank or Sparkasse to refund a direct debit, stop a debit that has been announced, refuse a payee's future debits, or cancel a standing order. A SEPA core direct debit can be reclaimed within eight weeks of the debit with no reason given (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB), and a debit taken without a valid mandate up to 13 months later (§§ 675u, 676b BGB). A standing order or an announced debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before it is carried out (§ 675p BGB). With the payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

Revoking a SEPA direct debit mandate (Germany)

Why it matches: You have cancelled your gym membership in Germany but they keep taking money from your bank account.

A letter to the payee — a gym, insurer, club, mail-order shop or debt collector in Germany — revoking your SEPA direct debit mandate (formerly Einzugsermächtigung). It gives the mandate reference, the creditor identifier and your IBAN, forbids further debits from receipt, and says how payment continues: you will pay by transfer, the contract has ended, or you will pay from another account. Revoking the mandate ends neither the contract nor what you owe. If a debit still arrives, your bank refunds a SEPA core direct debit within eight weeks, no reason needed (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB). In German.

Mutual non-disclosure agreement (Germany)

A mutual NDA under German law for two businesses or freelancers who exchange confidential information before working together: the purpose, what is and is not confidential, sharing only with staff and advisers, an express ban on reverse engineering the samples and prototypes handed over (§ 3(1) no. 2 of the German Trade Secrets Act, GeschGehG), return and deletion, duration, and a contractual penalty of your choice — set at the injured party's reasonable discretion subject to the court, a fixed sum, or none. Signing it also counts as a reasonable secrecy measure under the Act. In German.

Application to block registration data from disclosure (Austria)

The application to the registration authority (Meldebehörde) to block your address from register enquiries (§ 18(2) of Austria's Registration Act, MeldeG): without a block, anyone who knows your name and a few other details can obtain your address. The block must be granted where you show a protectable interest to be credible — stalking, violence, threats or a well-founded fear of revenge, for instance — and lasts up to five years, even after you deregister. With your reasons, evidence and any children under 18. In German, ready to print and sign.

Mutual non-disclosure agreement — NDA (Austria)

A mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for talks between businesses in Austria about a cooperation, a project, a licence or an acquisition. It rests on the protection of trade secrets in §§ 26a ff. of the Austrian Unfair Competition Act (UWG): the purpose, what counts as confidential, disclosure only to those who need it, an express ban on reverse engineering samples and prototypes, return and deletion, the term after the talks end and an optional contractual penalty. Both parties are named with their company register number. In German, ready to print and sign.

Handover record for the sale of a car (Austria)

The record that seller and buyer fill in together when a sold car changes hands in Austria: date and exact hour, mileage, fuel or charge level, visible damage, whether the car is roadworthy, papers handed over — Typenschein or data extract, Zulassungsschein, the latest roadworthiness report under § 57a KFG (the Pickerl) — and keys, and whether the car is handed over deregistered or still registered. The hour matters: until deregistration the seller remains the registered keeper and receives every driver enquiry. Goes with the sale contract. In German, ready to print and sign by both.

Data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR (Germany)

The data processing agreement (Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag, AVV) every business in Germany needs when a service provider processes personal data for it — hosting, cloud software, payroll, newsletters, IT support. It contains everything Art. 28(3) GDPR requires: subject-matter, duration, nature and purpose, types of data and data subjects, instructions, confidentiality, security, sub-processors, assistance, deletion or return, information and audits, with annexes for the technical and organisational measures and the sub-processors. Free models from supervisory authorities and the European Commission also exist. In German.

Revocation of the waiver of the small-business VAT scheme (Germany)

The letter to the German tax office (Finanzamt) that returns a business to the small-business scheme of § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) after it had waived the scheme and charged VAT. The waiver binds for at least five calendar years and can then be revoked only from the start of a later calendar year. The letter names the year of the waiver and the year from which the scheme should apply again, and states that turnover stays within the €25,000 and €100,000 limits. Germany has no ‘VAT deregistration’: this is the route. In German.

Price reduction or termination of the sale for a defect (Austria)

Why it matches: You want to return the item, cancel the sale and ask for the price back.

The declaration to the seller when repair or replacement of defective goods has failed, in Austria: you claim an appropriate price reduction or termination of the sale (formerly Wandlung), giving the ground, the amount, a payment deadline and your account. Under § 12 of the Austrian Consumer Warranty Act (VGG) for consumer purchases from 2022 and § 932 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB). Termination is excluded for a minor defect; a price reduction remains. After termination the seller pays for the return. The rights must reach a court within three months after the warranty period ends (§ 28 VGG). In German.

Special termination of an electricity or gas contract after a price rise (Germany)

Why it matches: A letter about higher energy prices has just arrived and you want to cancel before the new price applies.

Notice ending your electricity or gas contract in Germany after an announced price increase, without a notice period, on the day the new price is due to apply. Outside basic supply this rests on § 41(5) of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), in basic supply (Grundversorgung) on § 5(3) of the StromGVV or GasGVV; basic supply can also be ended at any time on two weeks' notice. With customer and meter numbers, supply address, date of the price notice, a fallback notice for the next possible date and a request to confirm the end date in text form. In German.

Landlord's termination for rent arrears, with ordinary notice in the alternative (Germany)

A landlord's notice in Germany when the tenant is behind with the rent: without notice under § 543(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) and, at the same time, ordinary notice in the alternative under § 573(2) no. 1 BGB — because if the tenant pays up, only the termination without notice falls away (BGH VIII ZR 106/23). The letter states the ground and every unpaid month, sets a date to hand the flat back, objects to a tacit extension and tells the tenant about the objection in text form. In German, to print and sign by hand by every landlord.

Termination agreement ending an employment relationship (Germany)

An agreement ending a German employment relationship by mutual consent (Aufhebungsvertrag), in German: end date, pay and garden leave, severance, remaining leave, a reference with an agreed grade, employment papers and a clean-break clause. Its preamble records the reason that decides whether unemployment benefit is blocked for 12 weeks (§ 159 SGB III), and it warns of that block and of the duty to register as a job-seeker. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB) it is valid only if printed and signed by hand by both sides: the electronic form is excluded.