Karlsruhe Regional Court (Ref. 14 0 31/20 KfH)

Has it already happened to you that the costs estimated from the seller is much less than the actual final price? 

Stop wrapping your head around it and seek for legal help!

The Case

Mr. Falkenbach becomes clear information from his car repair shop: The flat-rate price for the repair of the damage is going to be 700 euros. When the customer picks up the car, however, 833 euros are printed on the invoice.

Reason for this unfortunate misunderstanding is that the employee of the car repair shop only told his customer the net price of his service, absolutely not mentioning the value added taxes that were going to incur. 

Mr Falkenberg decided to take legal action, as he previously refused the offer of another garage, which would actually have been cheaper, only because he thought that he was going to pay only 700 euros. 

Tribunal Decision

The Karlsruhe Regional Court decided that consumers in Germany must always be able to see immediately and transparently the actual price of goods and services they are going to purchase, always including VAT. It is not permissible to add VAT on the invoice without informing the customer in advance. 

In case the seller (or car repair shop owner) does not comply with this regulation, it could face an administrative fine of up to 250,000 euros.

So, be careful with your business! We advise all kind of businesses. Contact us.