r/germany • u/sea_sweet876 • 1d ago

Is this letter a scam?

Post image

Hello all,

I would like to know if this letter is a scam or not. I want to be cautious before i take any action on it. Thank you for your help in advance.

165 Upvotes

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367

u/Brapchu 1d ago

That is not a scam and you 100% are legally mandated to do it unless you want to get fined

-160

u/Strange_Chemical5157 1d ago

So the letter didn't arrive. It probably wasn't registered mail, right? ^

87

u/Ok_Upstairs3431 1d ago

they will send you registered mail afterwards with the kind reminder that you have 14 days to do what they ask or pay 800€ in a very official way - also German law has the so called "zustellungsfiction" for Behörden where every letter they hand to the post legally is regarded to have arrived 3 days after they posted it - if you can not prove that is false the latter has gotten to you - welcome to Germany.
(the Behörde may take as long as they wish to respond to your registered mail if you dont go to the courts tho)

36

u/GFYSR 1d ago

"zustellungsfiction" for Behörden where every letter they hand to the post legally is regarded to have arrived 3 days after they posted it - if you can not prove that is false the latter has gotten to you - welcome to Germany.

This isnt actually true. Yes, Bekanntgabefiktionen exist but the burden of proof *does not shift to the recipient. See § 41 par. 2 s. 3 hs. 2 VwVfG

15

u/ken-der-guru Nordrhein-Westfalen 1d ago

Correct. Also since 2025 it is 4 days for “Zustellungsfiktion”.

5

u/ken-der-guru Nordrhein-Westfalen 1d ago

Since 2025 it is actually 4 days. The law about the post got changed.

(And it is a little bit more complicated.)