Out-of-court arbitration in telecommunications disputes Implementation

You can submit your request for conciliation online, by De-Mail, by e-mail or by post.

Please preferably use the online application form.

To submit the application online:

• Fill out the online application of the Telecommunications Conciliation Board on the website of the Federal Network Agency and attach the necessary documents.
• The conciliation board examines whether the conditions for the opening of conciliation proceedings are met.
• If arbitration is possible, both you and your provider will have the opportunity to present their point of view.
• The procedure is voluntary for both parties. Therefore, it must be terminated if your telecommunications provider refuses to participate in the procedure.
• The procedure is usually conducted by written procedure.
• In many cases, the provider will offer an individual solution on its own initiative to resolve the dispute.
• If the provider does not offer such a solution, the conciliation board will work out an individual conciliation proposal in order to reach an amicable settlement.
• If you and your telecommunications provider accept the conciliation proposal, the conciliation board will terminate the conciliation procedure.
• If the parties do not accept this proposal, you will have the option of going to court.

If you want to submit your application by De-Mail, e-mail or by post:

• Download the form "Application for conciliation pursuant to Section 68 of the Telecommunications Act" from the website of the Federal Network Agency. Note: The additional explanations from the online application are not available to you.
• Fill out the form and attach the required documents.
• Send your application and documents to the Federal Network Agency by email, e-mail or post.
• The further procedural steps are the same as for the online procedure.

The Telecommunications Conciliation Board may initiate conciliation proceedings if:

• the facts of the case are related to certain provisions of telecommunications law on customer protection,
• you have already tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with the provider,
• you are willing to agree to a compromise solution in the conciliation procedure,
• you have not yet applied for conciliation on the same subject matter,
• your dispute has not yet been brought before a court,
• the conciliation procedure is not inappropriate for resolving the dispute. In particular, the procedure is unsuitable if the subject matter of the dispute does not give rise to the expectation of a cost-effective and quick settlement,
• the application does not appear to be manifestly without prospect of success or frivolous. This is especially true if
  • the disputed claim is already time-barred at the time of filing the application and the defendant invokes the statute of limitations,
  • the dispute has already been settled,
  • an application for legal aid has already been rejected on the grounds that the intended legal action does not offer a reasonable prospect of success or appears to be frivolous.

Completed application for conciliation and, depending on the facts of the case:

• Contract and applicable General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of the Provider
• Confirmation of order
• Disputed invoices and itemised bills
• Letter of termination or confirmation of termination
• Test and measurement protocols of your broadband measurement
• Contract for the relocation of a telecommunications connection
• Number porting order

Further information on the required documents can be found in the application form.

The arbitration procedure is free of charge for you and your provider.

Each party shall bear its own costs incurred as a result of participating in the proceedings, such as telephone costs, letter postage or other expenses.

There is no deadline for submitting your request for arbitration. However, your claim must not yet be time-barred. In the event of a disputed invoice, you must object to the provider within 8 weeks and then, if no clarification is possible with your provider, you can file a request for arbitration.

During the proceedings, the conciliation board usually sets a deadline of 3 weeks for the parties to submit their comments.

The duration of the procedure depends primarily on whether the request for conciliation is complete, whether the parties submit their comments in a timely and complete manner and whether they are willing to compromise.

From the receipt of the application by the conciliation board to the conclusion of the procedure, a conciliation procedure takes on average about 9 weeks.

The average time between the parties' submissions and the conciliation proposal is about 3 weeks.

• Forms available: Yes
• Written form required: No
• Informal application possible: Yes
• Personal appearance required: No
• Online service available: Yes

There is no formal appeal against the decisions of the conciliation board.

The parties do not have to accept the conciliation proposal.

The parties remain free to bring proceedings before the courts.

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)

15.02.2022

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.