Day 84: Fourteen Days to Withdraw
At her mother-in-law's kitchen table in Trier, Michaela (A) reads through an electricity contract that Anneliese (B) signed when a salesman came to her door.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Anneliese, auf Seite vier steht ganz klein die Widerrufsbelehrung. Wann genau hast du den Vertrag unterschrieben?
Anneliese, the notice about your right to cancel is on page four, in tiny print. When exactly did you sign the contract?
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B
Vorletzten Dienstag, gleich an der Haustür. Der junge Mann meinte, bei den Stadtwerken würde der Strom im Winter ohnehin teurer.
The Tuesday before last, right there at the front door. The young man said electricity from the Stadtwerke, the local utility, would go up this winter anyway.
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A
Die übliche Masche: Von so einem Vertreter überrumpelt, unterschreibt man schnell. Moment, vorletzter Dienstag, dann läuft die Frist ja morgen ab!
The usual trick: caught off guard by a salesman like that, you sign in no time. Hang on, the Tuesday before last, so the deadline runs out tomorrow!
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B
Morgen schon? Bis so ein Brief bei denen ankommt, ist die Frist doch längst um.
Tomorrow already? By the time a letter gets to them, the deadline will be long gone.
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A
Rechtzeitig abgeschickt, gilt der Widerruf, auch wenn er erst übermorgen ankommt. Sicherheitshalber schicken wir ihn per Einschreiben, dann hast du einen Nachweis.
As long as it's sent in time, the cancellation counts, even if it only arrives the day after tomorrow. To be on the safe side we'll send it by recorded delivery, then you'll have proof.
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B
Einen Brief an so einen Konzern? Ich wüsste ja nicht mal, wie man das formuliert.
A letter to a big company like that? I wouldn't even know how to word it.
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A
Ganz einfach: Man nehme das Musterformular von der Rückseite, trage Namen und Vertragsnummer ein und unterschreibe.
Easy: take the model form on the back, fill in your name and contract number, and sign.
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B
Du klingst wie mein altes Backbuch. Und der Vertreter hat doch schon meinen Vertrag bei den Stadtwerken gekündigt, oder?
You sound like my old baking book. And the salesman has already cancelled my contract with the Stadtwerke, hasn't he?
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A
Das klären wir morgen früh per Telefon. Und nächstes Mal machst du keinem Vertreter mehr auf, es sei denn, er bringt Kuchen mit.
We'll sort that out with a phone call first thing tomorrow. And next time you don't open the door to any salesman, unless he's brought cake.
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