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I used to be a happy N26 customer. But now I'm going out of my way to tell everyone not to use them. Two years ago I ordered the "metal" account (I think that w

I used to be a happy N26 customer. But now I'm going out of my way to tell everyone not to use them. Two years ago I ordered the "metal" account (I think that was the name) since I was traveling a lot. Last year, I forgot to cancel it until I got an email saying it renewed. It's not a huge amount, €5 a month. But I don't use it anymore so that's wasted money and I decided to cancel it. Under EU law, I have two weeks to cancel a subscription if I decide I don't want it, including an auto-renewing subscription. I've cancelled subscriptions this way with companies before and never had any comments beyond "yes, we'll cancel that for you immediately". Not so N26. I said I want to cancel (within 2 days), they said I'd have to pay the full year. I sent them the EU law saying that I have two weeks to cancel, and they immediately, and in very threatening terms, said if I don't pay it all they'll send my account to a debt collection agency (this is now the 4th message in the conversation, and my first ever conversation with support after three years as a happy customer). I immediately withdrew all money from the account and emailed support instructing them to close the account, referencing that support conversation and the law saying that they can't charge me for the year's subscription. Well, they did close my account, and they did send the rest of the subscription charge to a collection agency who have sent me a few messages (that I've ignored). Oh, and the cherry on top. They emailed me back to say that my attempt to cancel the subscription was not valid because I didn't use the word "revoke". Apparently this would have all been fine if I said I want to "revoke the subscription" but my account goes to a collection agency because I said " cancel my subscription" instead which is completele BS. Pretty terrible experience. In short, don't use N26.

thelastinuit 6y ago
Uff! I moved to Germany last year and i almost got an account with them... for thor’s beard!!! I’ glad i opened an account at bunq.
- ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago
  Bunq is the cat's whiskers.
hellobruder 6y ago
If you bothered to read the terms before you sign up for Metal, you'd see that the subscription duration is ONE YEAR. They did not hide this fact either, it is written there "Duration: Annual" at the sign up page.
- esperent 6y ago
  Yes, I know. I had the subscription for two full years. When it auto-renewed for the third year, I decided to cancel it, within the two weeks cooling off period required by EU law. The terms and conditions provided by the company can say what they like, but they are not allowed to invalidate EU consumer protection laws. In any case, the main issue was that N26 support escalated this in an extremely aggressive manner. I was talking to them politely. I actually said something along the lines of "I believe, under this EU law, that I'm entitled to cancel the auto-renewed subscription. Isn't that correct?". Their response: boom, debt collection agency. Completely uncalled-for and turned this previously happy customer into someone who hates their company.
  - zebra_pendula 6y ago
    Where do you find the law concerning the cancelation within the two weeks cooling off period?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
b3orn 6y ago
Could you tell us which EU law allows this, because I'm not sure what you're talking about. The only thing with two weeks I know about is for returning online purchases which wouldn't apply here as it's a renewal. As far as I know cancellation deadlines can be up to three months.
- micheljansen 6y ago
  Not sure about German/EU law, but in the Netherlands the 14 day cooling off period also applies to subscriptions and financial products [1]. However, this is only 14 days after the sale. I don’t think this applies to renewals. [1] https://business.gov.nl/regulation/cancellation-period-sale/ https://business.gov.nl/regulation/cancellation-period-sale/
  - b3orn 6y ago
    Yes, this is exactly what I meant and should be the EU law he mentioned. The 14 days only apply to subscriptions after initially signing up, after that you have to cancel your subscription within the regular cancellation period that is stated in the contract or terms of service and can be up to three months in Germany. In case of N26 Metal it seems to be four weeks.
  - 42droids 6y ago
    The 14 days cool down period also applies in Germany and every EU country.

thelastinuit 6y ago

Uff! I moved to Germany last year and i almost got an account with them... for thor’s beard!!! I’ glad i opened an account at bunq.

ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago
Bunq is the cat's whiskers.

hellobruder 6y ago

If you bothered to read the terms before you sign up for Metal, you'd see that the subscription duration is ONE YEAR. They did not hide this fact either, it is written there "Duration: Annual" at the sign up page.

esperent 6y ago
Yes, I know. I had the subscription for two full years. When it auto-renewed for the third year, I decided to cancel it, within the two weeks cooling off period required by EU law. The terms and conditions provided by the company can say what they like, but they are not allowed to invalidate EU consumer protection laws. In any case, the main issue was that N26 support escalated this in an extremely aggressive manner. I was talking to them politely. I actually said something along the lines of "I believe, under this EU law, that I'm entitled to cancel the auto-renewed subscription. Isn't that correct?". Their response: boom, debt collection agency. Completely uncalled-for and turned this previously happy customer into someone who hates their company.
- zebra_pendula 6y ago
  Where do you find the law concerning the cancelation within the two weeks cooling off period?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

b3orn 6y ago

Could you tell us which EU law allows this, because I'm not sure what you're talking about. The only thing with two weeks I know about is for returning online purchases which wouldn't apply here as it's a renewal. As far as I know cancellation deadlines can be up to three months.

micheljansen 6y ago
Not sure about German/EU law, but in the Netherlands the 14 day cooling off period also applies to subscriptions and financial products [1]. However, this is only 14 days after the sale. I don’t think this applies to renewals. [1] https://business.gov.nl/regulation/cancellation-period-sale/ https://business.gov.nl/regulation/cancellation-period-sale/
- b3orn 6y ago
  Yes, this is exactly what I meant and should be the EU law he mentioned. The 14 days only apply to subscriptions after initially signing up, after that you have to cancel your subscription within the regular cancellation period that is stated in the contract or terms of service and can be up to three months in Germany. In case of N26 Metal it seems to be four weeks.
- 42droids 6y ago
  The 14 days cool down period also applies in Germany and every EU country.