Hermes: Where customers save money according to a court ruling

Consumer advocates scored an important victory against Hermes in court. The shipping service provider charged too high prices that were well above the usual fees. This had an impact on every customer who contacted the hotline. We checked whether that has changed in the meantime.

Hermes can no longer charge so much for the hotline

Until recently, anyone who wanted to contact Hermes by phone had to pay 20 cents per call from the landline network, and 60 cents per call from the cellular network. The district court of Hamburg has agreed to consumer advocates who because sued Hermes for high prices to have.

The prices charged for a call to the Hermes hotline are far too high if one takes into account the average prices and calls in the fixed and mobile networks in Germany. In particular, the court found the fact that the costs are incurred if you just want to find out about the shipping contract. So that would prevents customers from contacting the company.

It was particularly annoying for customers who had to call Hermes several times to clarify a case. There the costs were unnecessarily high. The consumer advocates demanded that the prices for a call from the fixed and mobile network be based on the usual costs of the market. Since many people now have a flat rate at no additional cost, this could have far-reaching consequences for Hermes. According to Golem, the verdict was already pronounced on March 4, 2021, but was not yet final at the time. Has something changed in the meantime?

Yes, something has actually changed: The hotline number is no longer the expensive 01806311211 for which you had to pay so much, but the local number 040593551111 which incurs much lower costs depending on the tariff. If you have a flat rate, you can call for free. So the lawsuit really did something.

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DHL as a model for Hermes

For customers, lower costs when contacting Hermes are certainly a welcome change. the The DHL hotline can be reached at the usual fixed and mobile phone prices, which apply to the respective contract. If you have a flat rate, there are no costs as a normal landline number is offered. Only business customers have to pay. This is the standard that now also seems to be gaining acceptance at Hermes.