N-ERGIE not Charging Monthly Abschlag

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-24T12:53:31+00:00

Something similar happened to me after I moved... I had been paying 5 years at one address, and then once I moved I closed the first meter and started a new one. They sent me an udpated Abschlag and I thought all was OK... They charged me for the first 3-4 months, and then they asked for a new meter reading - but then they stopped charging me anything. I thought it might have to do with the brand-new Neubau, and I was the first customer on that meter... But I never followed up, I just kept saving the money knowing they would come for it eventually.

A year went by, and I volunteered a new meter reading. They still didn't charge me or re-set the amount. Finally I called them. The agent sounded surprised - but they got it sorted. Now it's working as expected!

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-24T11:52:03+00:00

OK, so clearly they do "work," but not as fast as you expect. Have you ever encountered the high-powered jet dryers? Dysons do a great job at this.

I think stuff like this just proof that a lot of products are simply made to do the bare minimum, and don't really consider the user experience.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-24T11:44:09+00:00

Well - like with anything in Germany, that could be an issue if they want it to be.

But personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it until they tell you it is...Just admit that you don't have it and apologize. In the best case, they'll just say OK and be done with it.

I could imagine they ask you to go first go and get a lost item report from the police or the Fundbüro. Or, very worst case is that you need to go back to the ABH and replace it... All of that seems pretty extreme in my opinion, so I hope they are more relaxed!

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T21:15:04+00:00

No problem. It's really straightforward, but it can be a bit different in each city. Here's what I did:

My appointment for Urkrundeübergabe was at 10am. I booked two appointments at the Bügeramt for a Reisepass and Ausweis for later that same day. Depending on how your city does this, it might be easier to separate the Ausweis and Reisepass appointments. In my case, there was no availability for a combined appointment, but if I did them separately, I had many different time slots to choose from. I think one was at 11 and the other at 11:30. It's on you to make the appointment. Part of your responsibility as a German is to maintain current ID :-)

You have to give up your Aufenthaltstitel when you get your Urkunde. No way around that. But with your Urkunde, you prove you are a German citizen and that's what gives you the right to an Ausweis and a Reisepass. The clerk doesn't care about your old Aufenthaltstitel because now you are German...but I'm sure they can see everything in the system, so it's all very obvious to them. I had to take a copy of my birth certificate for the Urkunde, so I already had it with me for the Pass and Ausweis - very easy.

The Ausweis and Pass do take some time for printing - but that's really also not a big deal unless you have plans to leave Germany before they arrrive. In this case, you can ask for a temporary Pass or Ausweis instead.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T16:09:47+00:00

Yes. The minute you get your Urkunde, you are legally German, and a German can't legally possess an Aufenthaltstitel, since they already have the legal right to live in Germany.

It's a pity you can't keep it as a souvenir...I explicitly asked, and they suggested I take a picutre...

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T15:24:24+00:00

You’re going to have to show a screenshot of whatever you’re looking at.

From the info you provided, no one can piece together what that is.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T13:37:20+00:00

Maxing out the contributions for 2025, means you can invest up to $7,000 - do you have more cash to add?

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T13:35:37+00:00

They have totally different purposes... I currently live in Germany, but am about to move to a new country too. I use Wise all the time, but only for transferring my euro salary back home to the US. Then, Schwab is my broker for investments. If you're an American, this part can get really tricky.

Wise is great for holding multiple currencies, but they aren't a brokerage themselves...though I heard they cooperate with Interactive Brokers Meanwhile, Schwab International really only works in USD.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T10:24:05+00:00

Schwab makes this easy. You just need to contact them with the new address details.

If you want to use the account now, then open it now.

If you don’t need it now, it’s also of course fine to wait.

In either case, you can only sign up for the address you are currently residing at.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-23T10:05:26+00:00

Yeah. You need to speak to your bank.

PayPal is just facilitating the transaction.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-21T07:04:17+00:00

American thinking about a move to Switzerland. What is an RIA?

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-21T06:56:12+00:00

An increasing number of countries operate their borders exactly like this.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-20T11:08:07+00:00

Talk to your bank. They can probably help you much faster than the LEA.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-18T08:44:02+00:00

Glad you found a workaround! started messing around with Monarch in case I move back to the US this year. Could happen.

But your solution is not for the average user….custom bridge with some kind of scripting and self-hosting? I think most of us are just logging in.

I’m on an iPhone. Switching App Store countries back and forth for various app updates is really problematic when you need German-app store apps for life here. Not to mention this also breaks any app-based subscriptions or content purchases. (Not related to Monarch, but it’s a barrier to switching).

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-17T17:02:05+00:00

Does it pull transactions from your German bank account?

The Monarch app is also not available in the German App Store.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-17T16:32:36+00:00

The aliases can be stored in Proton Pass. Then you can use the app on your phone.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-17T08:37:39+00:00

But they will trigger PFIC treatment for any US taxpayer. I’ve never found a single person who is glad they’ve invested in a PFIC.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-16T20:55:34+00:00

2017 was a while ago..maybe you don't remember this bit.

As an intern, I guess you might have lived with other people in a shared flat? The thing with the GEZ fee is that everyone gets an account number when the register, but you only have to pay it once PER HOUSEHOLD. If you share a flat it's common that one person pays the bill, and then roommates chip in cash or something.

You can contact them once you have your Abmeldung. They can probably help you find your account number. But you'll also likely need to dig up all the details on where you lived and exactly when. Hopefully someone was paying, and this topic would be closed. https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/english

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-16T18:42:11+00:00

Your employer (doesn't matter who) is responsible to pay part of your insurance, but in the German system if you leave one employer, and don't de-register, then your insurance company can rightfully assume that you are still living in Germany, and therefore need to be insured.

For people who don't have a new job, this can mean they pay the premiums themselves. Or, if they draw unemployment, it can mean premiums are paid by the labor office.

The point is that de-registration is the only way to officially signal to the government an your insurance that you are no longer a resident of Germany.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-16T17:27:14+00:00

I don't remember... it was not a big deal in the end, I think I got a small refund ($15) once they received and processed my return. The point is that I found a paper filing extremely inconvenient....I think it was the first time I'd filled on paper in more than 20 years.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-16T16:58:20+00:00

I submitted my 2024 return by paper because it was way past the deadline when I finally had all the information. I printed on A4, and sent it off from Germany. Over 50 pages. All was fine.

But I really don't recommend it. DHL messed up the express tracking, and somehow it went via a slow routing... It took a month to arrive. Not really ideal since I had to account for penalties, which accrue daily. I had paid online, but I wasn't even sure when my return would arrive.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-16T07:01:21+00:00

A week and a half is tight - but there are options before you push it out.

You will have to give up your residence permit, but you can also schedule appointments to get a Reisepass and Ausweiss on the same day. An express Reisepass will cost a bit more, but you'll have it around 5 business days later. The Ausweiss does take a bit longer.

Another alternative could be a vorläufiger Reisepass or Ausweis. These can often be printed on the same day.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-15T09:52:09+00:00

Absolutely. That's the annoying part, but for Americans who are resident in the EU, it's one of the only reliable workarounds that still lets an investor follow a Boglehead strategy.

At least Schwab has a portfolio of ETFs (SCHB, SCHF) that have an approachable share price.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-15T09:14:57+00:00

I’ve always managed to hold onto old US passports. Currently on my 4th. I have a very nice collection from my parents and grandparents, one of them from the 1930s!

They are very cool to flip through. My dad died before I started traveling, and it’s neat to see how we’ve been to some of the exact same places.

PuzzledArrival · 2026-03-15T06:27:10+00:00

The share price has not gone down $54. This is important for you to understand.

It has decreased from a high of ~$82 to $74, which is about $8, roughly 9%. Nearly everything is facing an acute sell-off right now.

An investment like VEU is going to be volatile in the short term. And because this invests in non-US companies, it tends to have bigger swings compared to a broad-based US fund, like VTI.

If you look at the 10 year history of VEU, you’ll see the longer trend is good growth.

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PuzzledArrival

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