This year, the prices for gas and electric have go way up in Germany. I just got my hot water bill. I suspect that Germany now has the highest prices for utilities world wide. for 6 months of hot water which includes the monthly heating payment for my apartment, all together is over 2 thousand Euros for 6 months. Now I pay a "warm rent", so monthly 200 euros is paid for the hot water shower, sink, and heaters, now add 1K to that cost. It is a horrendous price. It is not sustainable for people making minimum wage. Millions will be paying monthly to pay the debt off. This means that most will be paying all year long.
So, if you are thinking of coming to Germany to live, please make sure you have a very good paying job, you can speak the language of at least B1 (German language levels are A1-A2, B1-B2, C1-C2). And most of all, know that you are locked into a place to live because there is a massive shortage of rentals, and, be aware that where the heating services is included in the rent which is known as "Warm rent", it might not be enough for the full end of year balance.
Then double check what the gas, and hot water utilities are, so that you are not caught in a terrible contract that you cannot break! Yes, some contracts in Germany are not cancel-able! Including Cell phone contracts. Be sure your phone works where you live before you commit. How to test that? Pay for SIM card for one month, no contract. If that company does not work, then just do not pay again, and it will cancel. Then try another service, but make sure the service is not a subsidiary of the service you just left. That can be sneaky! As for electricity, if you have the option, search around, but be sure to understand the payment options, including the end of the years billing cycle, if you do not ask, you will get a big surprise in the mail demanding full end of the year payment. Germany is a very contract oriented country, and if you do not pay attention and understand the details, you might be facing a judge. It is the same with ADAC, which in the USA it is equal to AAA the automotive group. But, you cannot break the ADAC contract early. So, no refunds. Then when you want to cancel, you MUST send them a cancellation notice. Otherwise it will be an automatic renewal. If you auto renew but do not pay, then in a certain amount of time, 6 months or a year later, you might be sent to collections, and believe me, the price of everything shoots through the roof by hundreds, and the collection agency has zero remorse or flexibility. They will demand full payment within less than a month. If it is not paid, more fines are added. In short, with lawyer costs, court fees and collection agency fees, we are talking thousands! So, please be sure that when you come to Germany to live, you have a strong grasp of things.
