Gigacube contract question

[xChaolin]

I have the 500 GB, 5G Gigacube. Nowhere near 5G speeds, but that's not the point 😃

When I ordered it, it said 85 EUR per month, with 129.99 one time price for the 5G device. 

The contract I got in the mail says:

Gesamtbetrag: 499.21

Ratenzahlung: -360.00

Zahlbetrag: 139.21

I have no idea why every single contract in Germany is so unnecessarily complicated, and it really tests the patience of a person. Just one question: Why?

Der Hardwarepreis abzüglich Ihrer geleisteten Einmalzahlung ergibt einen Gesamt-Ratenzahlungsbetrag in Höhe von 360.00 EUR. Dieser ist in 24 Monatsraten zu je 15.00 EUR zurück zu zahlen und wird monatlich ausschliesslich über Ihre Vodafone-Mobilfunkrechnung abgerechnet.

And on the back it says that there is a Gutschrift over 24 months, 15 EUR each. If I am charged 85 per month and 129.99 one time for the device, why not just charge me 85 per month and 129.99 for the device??? Why am I reading all of these unnecessary numbers? I am sorry but this is just so extremely frustrating, after dealing with so many internet problems over 4 years and now even the "5G" internet gives me 40 upload for one second and then 5 upload the next second, constantly jumping up and down. Then I get this contract that I can't even understand because none of these numbers were in the page where I ordered the Gigacube from.

What is this 15 EUR per month payment? What is the Gutschrift for? I have read this contract 3 times and it does not make any sense at all. Why is the Zahlbetrag 139.21 instead of 129.99? What is the 499.21 for the Gesamtbetrag, and what is the -360.00 from the Ratenzahlung?

I would appreciate any explanation for this contract.

[reneromann]

You opted to pay 85 € per month, that is 70 € of base fee -and- 15 € fee for the device. That 15 € fee for the device times 24 months equals 360 €. And thus your invoice for the device shows the complete price reduced by the 360 € that you pay over time (the afforementioned 15 € of your monthly fee times 24 months).

Any you might have a look to that 139,21 if there is a part for the Packaging & Postal costs is included - this might be the difference to the 129,90 € for the device itself.

And please note that your first regular invoice might be higher as you'll have to pay the partial price from the activation of the device until the invoice date -and- the monthly fee for the next month (from that invoice to the next invoice date).

And why you see the higher number of 499 € on your invoice is pretty simple:

This is the value of the device, thus if you may have to ask your insurance for a replacement in case something happens, they'll ask for this invoice stating the correct price that they'll then reimburse you. Therefor just the 129,99 € would be not enough as you pay part of the price over time.

[xChaolin]

Thank you for your quick reply, I see you here often. You're quite the help.

On the Gigacube ordering page: https://zuhauseplus.vodafone.de/gigacube/

84,99 € pro Monat

Einmaliger Hardwarepreis: nur 129,90 €

Anschlusspreis: 49,99 €

I am sure my German is not this bad. One time price for the hardware is 129.99, and the installation price (no idea what this is for, I did not have anyone install it for me) is 49.99, and I pay 84.99 monthly. There is nothing about 15 EUR a month for the device. Not on the main page, and not in the details either. I read everything. This is why it is super confusing and there is no excuse for this because none of this is written on that page.

[xChaolin]

Is this connection price of 49.99 really charged? I received the Gigacube and did everything myself. What is this exactly charged for? Just seems so ridiculous, there was nothing done except the delivery.

[reneromann]

The 49,99 € is the set-up fee - that involves all the things to create a customer profile, create the necessary contract information, map the SIM card and send you the activated SIM card. That doesn't necessarily mean that there's really someone coming to you to set up the router.

And as I said - the price of 84,99 € is split up into two parts - one is the base fee for the tariff (69,99 €) and one is the monthly payment of 15 € for the 5G router [in case you'd have opted for the standard router, this would have only been 5 €].

And the 129,99 € is the one-time price for the hardware - there may be additional charges for parcel & packaging (currently there seems to be a promotion active where this p&p is reduced to 0 - but I don't know if this applies to your contract, thus you may need to check the invoice what causes the different price).