Hello everyone, I have a problem and would really appreciate some advice.
I moved into this new apartment two months ago, but the electricity contract with Stawag is still under the name of the previous tenant. I agreed to pay the electricity bills even though the contract is in her name, because I am the one actually using the electricity and living here.
Three days ago, she submitted a request to cancel the contract through Stawag’s website (the customer portal where you can log in and manage your contract). She now wants me to go to Stawag in person to talk to them about this issue. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the apartment anymore, which I understand, since she is now living in another city.
At the moment, I feel very confused and stressed, because she cannot go with me to Stawag. I can only go there alone, but she is the person whose name is on the contract. Will Stawag believe what I say? Of course, I will bring documents proving that I am living in this apartment, and I also have photos of her contract with Stawag.
I am thinking of asking Stawag to create a new contract in my name, but I don’t know when her cancellation request will actually take effect. I am afraid that if I sign a new contract under my name, I might make everything more complicated and end up having to pay for two contracts.
Because she has already submitted a cancellation request, I don’t dare to ask Stawag to transfer the contract into my name, again because I’m afraid of making things even more complicated.
Has anyone experienced a similar situation before? Please give me some advice. I am really stressed about this issue.
My German is not good enough to explain everything clearly. I don’t know whether the staff at Stawag speak English.
What you should do
You can go to STAWAG by yourself. That is completely fine, even though the old contract is still in the previous tenant’s name.
Before you go, write down the electricity meter number (Zählernummer) and the current meter reading (Zählerstand).
Bring your rental contract or any document that proves you live in the apartment.
Also make sure you know your move-in date, as well as the meter number and meter reading.
At STAWAG, you can explain the situation like this:
“I have been living in this apartment since [move-in date].
The electricity meter with number [meter number] belongs to my apartment.
The previous tenant has moved out and has cancelled her contract.
I would like to sign a new electricity contract in my name.”
You do not need to worry about paying twice. Only one electricity contract can exist for one meter. The old contract will end automatically, and your contract will start either from your move-in date or from the cancellation date.
STAWAG can usually calculate the meter reading for the time you moved in, so you should not have to pay for electricity used before you lived there.
One more important thing to know: STAWAG is the local basicprovider (Grundversorger). This means that even if you don’t actively sign a contract, you will automatically have electricity/gas through STAWAG once the previous tenant’s contract ends. So there is no risk that the power will be cut off.
However, the basic supply (Grundversorgung) is usually more expensive. Because of that, you should make sure to either:
sign a regular electricity contract with STAWAG, or
choose a different electricity provider, which is often cheaper.
You are free to choose another provider at any time. They will take care of the switch for you, and the electricity supply will continue without interruption.
Great, then Stawag retroactively cancels the contract for the date when OP moved in, pays the old tenant back what OP has already paid for her, and charges OP for it again. Then OP has to hope the old tenant pays him back.
STAWAG doesn’t just randomly “cancel retroactively and rebill everyone”...
They try to split responsibility based on move-out / move-in dates and meter readings - if no reading are available they will calculate based on what the previous tenant used on average for that time - so only in some wild edge cases where the previous tentant used an unusual shitton of electricty right before moving out, OP wont pay anything he didnt use...
Most meters are smart anyways so in regular times they automatically knwo how much was used so no that rarely happens...
In any case what so ever, OP if you ever move again (IN or OUT) always right down what the gas/water/electricity meter says
This is not what I've said. OP has already paid for their current (post move-in) usage. However, they have paid inoficially directly to the previous tenant whose contract is (wrongly) still active. This is off the books, no one except OP and the previous tenant know about this.
So if Stawag fixes the situation by giving OP a contract from their move in date, they will reimburse previous tenant and bill OP for the usage since move-in date. OP then has to recover the money that they paid previous tenant themselves.
Thats true did not know this I thought he paid to stawag? If OP pays Money to the previous tenant he should Stop and wait until he Has an contract with stawag or knows when the contract of the previous officially ended and His begann.
I don’t quite understand. For example, if I go to STAWAG and prove that I’ve been living here for 2 months, and I want to set up a new contract in my name, does that mean the contract will be effective from the day I moved in (2 months ago) and they will ask me to pay for the electricity for those 2 months again?
It's one possibility that I think could happen
So what should i do now. I really don’t want to just sit still and wait
Why not? Just stop paying the previous tenant and ask her to cancel the contract and let you know the cancellation date so you can create your own contract. Let yer know you'll gladly cover her expenses once your contract is in place and you know the date of transfer.
You can not cancel her contract for her, unless you have a document where she authorizes you to do this in her name.
Cause what am i waiting for? I have problems with both Anbieter and all i should do is waiting for them to do nothing?
The only problem you have is with the previous tenant. She is not cancelling her contract and therefore preventing you from making your own contract. The easiest and safest way forward is to stop paying her (without any contract btw) to pressure her into cancelling the contract. Everything else can be clarified and done only after her contract has been cancelled.
Please try the hotline: either 0241 181-1222 or 0241 181-0. they are available again on monday 09:00. Their english capabilities vary a lot, just ask any of your friends to translate if nessecary.
I'm not sure I understand the problem correctly. So the contract is in her name right now but with your bank details? And you are afraid to be paying for two contracts if you make a new contract now? I think you need to talk to Stawag. Show them your Meldebescheinigung, Mietvertrag, and most importantly Stromzählernummer/Gaszählernummer and ask them if there are any active or cancelled contracts on this apartment right now. You can send them an email first, then you can get your text translated beforehand. I also would recommend to look into other electric or gas companies since Stawag is quite expensive. You can compare companies online.
Don't worry too much. I actually recommend to not pay her bills for her anymore, what if she cancels the contract retroactively and then you have to pay for your usage again? Not paying will also have the effect that she will be more motivated to get her shit done.
She has to cancel her contract (should have done so when she moved out). Once she does, don't worry you still have an electricity contract, just a rather expensive one. You can then go ahead and sign your own contract with any German electricity provider (use Check24 to find the cheapest one).
Guys. I really appreciate all of your advices. But i’m so done i just realized i have another problem with E.ON. I’m so stressed right now omg.
So I registered for an electricity contract with E.ON two months ago (12-month term) because that was when I had just moved into this apartment. Last month, they sent me a letter saying that they could not find my data at the municipal electricity provider (STAWAG) in order to carry out the switch. But they already gave me a Vertragsnummer to log into their App.
I sent E.ON an email including the apartment handover document from the previous tenant to me, along with photos of the electricity meter showing the reading on the day I moved in.
I have never received any written confirmation that the contract has actually become effective.
However, at this point everything feels very complicated, and I would like to resolve the issue of the electricity contract being under the wrong name with STAWAG first. Therefore, I sent an email to E.ON requesting the cancellation of my application.
Guys is it even possible to cancel my Anmeldung with E.ON like this? Could I be charged a penalty or asked to pay electricity costs later on?
If EON explicitly told you that they could not find your meter / could not carry out the switch, then the contract most likely never became active...
If the switch failed, then the electricity you used during that time was supplied by STAWAG under Grundversorgung - that’s the default.
First, cleanly sort out the situation with STAWAG (correct name, move-in date, meter number).
Once the meter is clearly registered to you, you can either
stay with STAWAG on a normal tariff
sign a new contract/tell E.ON with E.ON or another provider
In order to know exactly which meter belongs to you there is an addiotional number the
Marktlokations-ID (MaLo-ID): Stawag will be able to tell you if you provide them with the serial number of the meter etc..
this Marktlokations-ID (MaLo-ID) ist ID E.ON (or any other provider) need to locate the meter.
Thank you. I already sent EON an email to cancel my Anmeldung with them. Does that mean i create another mess? Cause i wanna solve the problem with STAWAG first and my contract with EON on the MeinE.ON app is always “wird bald in Belieferung sein”.
No, you didn’t create another mess and you won’t get into any trouble or pay any fine...
“Wird bald in Belieferung sein” means E.ON has not started supplying electricity yet (but will soon) The switch never went through (they couldn’t clearly identify the meter), so E.ON hasn’t delivered any power to you.
That means the electricity you used was automatically supplied by STAWAG via Grundversorgung. That’s the default in Germany and completely normal (is much more expensive though...)
Without a "Lieferbeginn" "start of delivery", EON can’t bill you for anything. In cases like this, the contract is usually cancelled or simply never becomes active once the switch fails or is withdrawn - but u will get an definit answer from EON.
Sorting things out with STAWAG first is the right move. Once the meter is clearly registered to you, you can choose a supplier again.
Thank you so much. I asked the same question in another sub and they told me i can not cancel the Anmeldung with EON and that EON can charge me for monthly fee. It’s so unfair if they do it but also i don’t know anyone who used to have the same problem as mine and already successfully cancelled contract with EON so now i just hope for the best. Maybe i will go to Essen to talk to them on Friday next week and hope they can help.
It can be possible that EON will not cancel the contract - its in there interest to deliver the electricity so they make money - but that would actually be cheaper for you:
I am sure EON charges less fees than the Grundversorgung from STAWAG (im 99% sure without looking it up) - I mean you will have to pay for using it either way:
monthly fee either from stawag or EON, every electricity company has a monthly charge + what you used...
I mean, now im paying for Stawag. That’s why i cancel my Anmeldung with EON cause it’s still “pending”. I have fear that EON can charge me for the monthly fee or anything but in real life i’m paying for Stawag, that means i have to pay for both of them at the same time. Is it possible that it happens?
And if i make a new contract with Stawag with my name on it, can i cancel the contract whenever i want when i find another better Anbieter, or i have to wait until the contract ends?
okay
You won’t end up paying both at the same time.
Right now you’re paying STAWAG, which means the electricity is coming from them
Since E.ON is still “wird bald in Belieferung sein”, they haven’t started supplying anything, so they can’t charge you a monthly fee.
Without a Lieferbeginn, there is no billing.
About STAWAG: it depends on the type of contract.
If you moved in and just used electricity without actively signing anything, then you are automatically in Grundversorgung. That contract can be cancelled at any time (usually with short notice) (and after a while I think goes into the normal tarrif (not sure about that one)
Just ask STAWAG which tariff you’re currently in.
A "normal" STAWAG contract is different, those usually have a 12 month duration.
Thing is :
as long as the meter was still registered to the previous tenant, she is technically responsible up to the point the meter is registered to you. Once that’s fixed, everything is clearly separated.
So clarify with STAWAG:
which contract you’re in
if in grund/ersatzversogrung, you can cancel or change to there normal tarrif - but usually you find cheaper ones - once you have the Marktlokations-ID you can also use smth like check24 to find the cheapest one and they will automatically do everything for you if you have all the information (Marktlokations-ID important)
Thank you. Sorry for asking so many questions but i’m stressed these days and really have no one to ask 😭 The previous tenant already sent a cancellation request to Stawag. Now i wanna have a Grundversorgung contract with Stawag with my name on it, so i can cancel it in the future anytime. Is it possible that i go to Stawag and tell them the problem with the previous tenant and that “i just wanna make a Grundversorgung contract that i can cancel it anytime now”? Cause she sent the request to cancel her contract already (her contract is also Grundversorgung), but we dont know when will Stawag works on it so i dont know if i can still ask them to change the name on the contract to my name, so i just think of making a new Grundversorgung one with my name.
No problem, your questions are completely understandable.
Once the previous tenant’s contract is confirmed as cancelled and you are already living there, you are automatically in Grundversorgung with STAWAG.
You said you want to stay in Grundversorgung, but keep in mind that it is quite expensive. A normal contract is usually much cheaper (for example, I’d pay about 1/3 less for the same usage), but those contracts often have a 12-month term.
If you move again, you can usually take the contract with you, or it gets automatically cancelled if the provider can’t supply your new address.
If you don’t want much hassle, while talking to STAWAG you can switch to "STAWAG Strom Extra" contract that is like 10-15% cheaper and has 1 month term or their normal contract with 12 month term. Switching to an other provider (like E.ON) is often even cheaper, but many of them raise prices after the first year. In practice, the cheapest option is often to change providers every year and use the new-customer bonuses...
edit:
if you are living alone jsut changing to "strom extra" saves you ~110€ a year their website claims and eon probaly 150 or more than. (its all the same anyways,- I mean its not not like the energy comes from somewhere else..) nothing changes except you pay less.
explanation from stawag: https://www.stawag.de/produkte/grund-und-ersatzversorgung/
price list for the Grundversorgung/Ersatsversorgung:
https://www.stawag.de/fileadmin/stawag/content/Dokumente/Strom/Presiblatt_Strom_Ersatzversorgung_HH_mErgBed.pdf
0,4489 € kWh (a lot I pay ~0,30€ - EON will be propably be around 0,35€ or less)
114,00 € year fee (is okay/cheap sometimes/often a bit more)
My advice would be to let the old tenant deal with the contract. If it’s still under her name you not even have duty to pay for - if you not sign any agreement with her or STAWAG.
STAWAG is quite expensive just chose your own contract you can check for example on https://www.verivox.de/stromvergleich/