If you are one of the many Germans who will soon receive mail from the GEZ, you should definitely reply: Otherwise, in the worst case, the bailiff will soon be at the door. Everything you need to know is here.
Millions of Germans could soon receive mail from the GEZ: The contribution service of the public broadcaster, as the GEZ has been officially called since 2013, is sending its third registration data comparison after 2013 and 2018 in order to demand contributions for really all apartments. Anyone who does not answer is threatened by the contribution service with the bailiff.
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The GEZ writes to all persons of legal age who cannot be assigned a registered apartment. The GEZ wants to know whether this person has to register or whether someone is already paying for their apartment.
The residents’ registration offices will provide the necessary data on November 6th. The authority will then compare them and gradually write to adults who cannot be assigned by the end of the year.
Even if you are already registered with the GEZ, you can still receive mail, but then there is an error in the database.
Answer the letter within two weeks in writing or via the GEZ website. This also applies if you are already registered with the GEZ and receive the letter in error.
If you get mail from GEZ, you should definitely reply. If you ignore the letter, the authorities will send you a reminder after two weeks. If you ignore this too, the GEZ will automatically register you for an account and demand contributions. If you do not pay this either, you will receive reminders and, in the worst case, an enforcement order. The contribution service is entitled to do this because all adults in Germany have to pay GEZ according to the law. You save yourself the additional costs if you answer the letter right away.
Each apartment only has to pay GEZ once. If someone is already doing this for your apartment, let the GEZ know exactly that by sending them the contribution number of the person who pays for the shared apartment. Then the contribution service must delete your data immediately.
The FOCUS Online guide answers all important questions about pensions on 135 pages. Plus 65 pages of forms.
The GEZ contribution has cost 18.36 euros per month since 2021 and is collected quarterly. If you register again, the authority will soon collect 55.08 euros for the first three months.
If no one has yet paid GEZ for your apartment, the authorities will demand the contributions retrospectively. If you moved in a year ago and haven’t paid anything yet, the additional payment alone will cost you 220.32 euros.
The residents’ registration offices provide the GEZ with information on your name, address, doctoral degree, marital status and date of birth as well as the day you moved into the apartment. The data is earmarked, so it may not be used for other purposes. The registration authorities are obliged to release the data. Citizens cannot prevent their data from being shared.
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