When a German telecom provider misses an agreed appointment for service or installation, the customer can claim compensation. Section 58 of the Telecommunications Act sets it at 10 euros or 20 percent of the monthly fee for each missed appointment, whichever is higher. The customer gets nothing if he caused the missed appointment himself. The same section covers faults. If the provider cannot fix a fault within one calendar day of the report, it must tell the customer so by the following day at the latest.
Late Rent, Month After Month
A tenant’s lease said that the rent was due in advance by the third working day of each month. For more than two years he paid in the middle of the month or even later. The landlord warned him, and the payments came late again. The landlord then ended the lease without notice. On 11 January 2006 the Federal Court of Justice ruled on the case. Rent that is paid late again and again can be a reason for termination without notice. After repeated delays and a warning, even a single further delay can be enough.
Faith in the Bundesbank
The Bundesbank keeps a collection of what others have said about it. One entry is attributed to Jacques Delors, then President of the European Commission, in 1992. Nicht alle Deutschen glauben an Gott, aber alle (glauben) an die Bundesbank. Not all Germans believe in God, but they all believe in the Bundesbank. The collection gives the year but no occasion. Another entry quotes Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 26 June 1997. Als Bundeskanzler habe ich manchmal Probleme mit der Bundesbank. Als Bürger bin ich froh, dass es sie gibt. As chancellor, I sometimes have problems with the Bundesbank. As a citizen, I am glad that it exists.
Bad News Without Delay
A company listed on a German stock exchange must publish inside information that directly concerns it unverzüglich, without delay. The rule is Article 17 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Germans call such a notice an Ad-hoc-Mitteilung. The financial supervisor BaFin explains the purpose. Other investors should not be at a disadvantage to company insiders. On 18 September 2015, US authorities published a notice of violation against Volkswagen over manipulated diesel engines. VW sent its first ad hoc notice on 22 September. At times its preferred shares lost almost half their value. By September 2018, investors had filed 1,668 claims for almost nine billion euros. One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that VW should have informed the market by June 2008 at the latest. VW disputed this. The former chief executive Martin Winterkorn was later put on trial, among other charges, because the market had not been informed in the decisive days of September 2015.
A Certificate From the Last Landlord
A German landlord does not know the people who apply for an apartment. Many landlords therefore ask for a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung, a certificate that the applicant owes no rent. The landlord the tenant is leaving issues it. The property portal ImmoScout24 describes a related document, the Vorvermieterbescheinigung, in this way. It shows dass du frei von Mietschulden bist und zuverlässig deine Miete gezahlt hast, that you owe no rent and have paid your rent reliably. Landlords usually ask for a Schufa credit report and proof of income as well. On 30 September 2009 the Federal Court of Justice ruled that landlords do not have to issue such a certificate to tenants who move out. The magazine of the Berlin tenants’ association wrote that the highest court had called the practice into question. A tenant without the certificate can show receipts or bank statements instead.
Do Not Hunt for Friends
Adolph Freiherr Knigge published Über den Umgang mit Menschen, On Dealing with People, in 1788. In his chapter on dealing with friends, he gives this advice. Werbe nicht ängstlich um Freunde. Mache nicht Jagd auf jeden guten Mann, daß er Dir besonders zugetan werden soll. Do not court friends anxiously. Do not hunt every good man so that he will become especially attached to you. He gives a reason. Jede Art von Andringlichkeit, wäre sie auch noch so gut gemeint, pflegt in dieser Welt Verdacht zu erwecken. Every kind of pushiness, however well meant, tends to arouse suspicion in this world. A man who quietly follows the path of honesty and good sense does not stay unnoticed. Er findet planlos ein paar Edle, die ihm die Hand zum brüderlichen Bunde reichen. Without any plan, he finds a few noble people who offer him their hand in a brotherly bond.
A Year Before the Lodge Opens Its Door
A man who wants to become a Freemason in Germany is called a Suchender, a seeker. He can begin by attending a lodge’s guest evenings. In May 2026 the Nordkurier reported on the Freemasons in Greifswald. A seeker there may apply for admission after about a year of getting to know each other and gegenseitigem Beschnuppern, sniffing each other out. A 2021 report in the Volksstimme, from the Altmark region, describes the next steps. The lodge examines the seeker. A lodge member is assigned to him as a Bürge, a guarantor, who accompanies him on his first steps. When the examination is complete, a secret vote decides on his admission.
The Fox in a Student Fraternity
A newcomer in a German student fraternity is called a Fuchs, a fox. He is applying for admission. His probation lasts one to three semesters. At most of the meetings, the Convente, he usually has no vote. An older student, the Leibbursch, stands by his Leibfuchs. He advises him and speaks for him at the meeting. After the probation the fox becomes a full member. In a Burschenschaft this step is called the Burschung. In a Corps it is called the Reception.
The Vocabulary of Trust That Grows Slowly
Trau, schau, wem!
Trust, but look at whom. The Duden explains it: one should look closely at a person before trusting him.
sich beschnuppern
To sniff each other, as dogs do. Two people or two groups get to know each other carefully.
mit jemandem warm werden
To grow warm with someone. One slowly comes to feel at ease with a person.
Vertrauen fassen
To take hold of trust. One begins to trust someone.
sich das Vertrauen erst verdienen müssen
To have to earn someone’s trust first.
erst einmal abwarten
To wait and see first.
Fuß fassen
To gain a foothold. One becomes established in a new place or a new job.
Anschluss finden
To find a connection. One is taken into a group.
A Bushel of Salt
In Goethe’s verse epic Hermann und Dorothea, published in 1797, young Hermann wants to marry a refugee girl. In the sixth canto, the town apothecary urges caution. Trüget doch öfter der Schein! Ich mag dem Äußern nicht trauen. Appearances often deceive. I do not like to trust the outside. He cites a proverb that he has often found to be true. Eh’ du den Scheffel Salz mit dem neuen Bekannten verzehret, / Darfst du nicht leichtlich ihm trauen; dich macht die Zeit nur gewisser, / Wie du es habest mit ihm und wie die Freundschaft bestehe. Before you have eaten a bushel of salt with a new acquaintance, you should not trust him easily. Only time makes you more certain where you stand with him and how firm the friendship is. Then he proposes to ask good people who know the girl.