NRW wants a money-back guarantee if the internet is too slow

In the future, consumers should no longer have to accept surfing at a snail’s pace without compensation. This should apply to cases in which the Internet is actually slower than specified in the contract, explained the North Rhine-Westphalian department head Silke Gorißen (CDU) at this year’s Conference in Constance according to a report by the DPA.

“Consumers have a right to be able to use the Internet at the speed advertised by the provider,” she said in Düsseldorf. “We therefore want to strengthen the rights of consumers so that they can more easily get their money back if the internet speed is too slow.”

After two days of deliberations, the ministers, led by Baden Württemberg and initiated by NRW, want to present their results on Friday. Gorißen criticizes that consumers would have to go through an enormous amount of effort with the Federal Network Agency to prove the lack of speed to the Internet provider. “It can’t be that a working person basically has to take five days’ vacation to prove that he’s surfing the internet too slowly and that’s the only way to get out of the contract or have to pay less. With such a disproportionate effort, consumer rights only exist on paper.”

The minister also criticized the fact that consumers in rural areas had to accept a lower Internet speed than contractually agreed. “For more than half of the people in North Rhine-Westphalia, the rural area is the center of their lives. Anyone who saves here is setting completely the wrong priorities.”

“We therefore want to strengthen the rights of consumers so that it is easier for them to get their money back if the Internet speed is too slow,” Gorißen said Cologne City Gazette quoted. How this is to be simplified in concrete terms was not yet clear on Thursday.

In addition to fast internet, the North Rhine-Westphalian head of department advertised basic IT protection for hardware and software and strengthened consumer rights when charging e-cars. “Anyone who wants to buy a mobile phone, a television or an electronic door lock for their smart home system also wants to buy the reliability that, thanks to basic IT protection, the new device is set to the highest data protection level the first time it is switched on.”

According to the report, she calls for the federal government to push for greater consideration of consumer interests in the forthcoming consultations at European level on the so-called law on cyber resilience. In addition, the question of the longevity of goods with digital elements, for example in the field of smart building technology, must be defined in a transparent and legally secure manner, according to the minister.

When it came to e-cars, she recalled the previous weaknesses of charging stations. The costs are often significantly higher than at the wall box at home, and the prices are not transparent either.

“A modern and sustainable charging infrastructure means that consumers can easily charge their electric car anytime, anywhere at reasonable prices – without any tariff jungle,” explained Gorißen. “We also need a market transparency point for charging e-vehicles that enables a simple price comparison.” She also wants to promote cashless payment at charging stations.