The calls for a reform of the public service are getting louder and louder. It is often said that the GEZ, also known today as the broadcasting contribution, is no longer up-to-date. But as long as there is no reform, everyone must continue to pay. And to get the money, the GEZ is now using this trick.
Almost all Germans have to pay around 220 euros a year to the GEZ. Even if hundreds of thousands are being exempted from the broadcasting fee, this has recently resulted in record revenues for the broadcasters. The GEZ contribution in 2021 flushed a good 8.4 billion euros into the coffers of public broadcasters. So much money has never flowed . And it could have been a lot more. Because: The contribution service states that a good 3 million accounts are in a dunning level or enforcement. And from now on many more people will receive letters from the GEZ. Anyone who receives a letter from the contribution service should respond immediately.
MAIL FROM THE GEZ
As early as November last year , we reported on how the contribution service, still called GEZ by many today, gets to the addresses of German citizens. To do this, the contribution service from ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio gets the addresses from the residents’ registration office. This is perfectly legal and is based on the legal basis of the State Treaty on Broadcasting Contributions. You compare all inventory data with the data from the registration offices for all adult citizens and then you know who has not yet paid a broadcasting fee.
And it is precisely these apartments or their tenants and owners that the GEZ is now writing to. From January 10, 2023, the post will gradually flutter into people’s homes. “The letter contains the request to provide the required information about your own apartment at rundfunkbeitrag.de/meldedaten. You can either scan a QR code on the letter or fill out the attached answer sheet and send it back to the post service,” explains the Berlin consumer advice center.
IF YOU DON’T RESPOND, YOU HAVE TO PAY
Anyone who does not respond to the letter will first receive a reminder before the GEZ automatically registers them for the broadcasting fee. “Those addressed should therefore, in their own interest, react promptly to the clarification letter and send the contribution service the necessary information about their apartment,” says consumer protection .
