Teldafax

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TelDaFax Holding AG iI

logo
legal form Stock company in bankruptcy
founding 2002
Seat Troisdorf , Germany
management Biner Bähr, insolvency administrator
Number of employees 700 (2010)
sales 500 million euros (2010)
Branch Conglomerate
Website www.teldafax.de

The Teldafax Holding AG , based in Rhineland Troisdorf was the parent company of several subsidiaries in the areas of energy supply ( electricity discount ), telecommunications , tourism and financial services were active.

On June 14, 2011, Teldafax applied to the Bonn District Court to open insolvency proceedings . On September 1, 2011, the Bonn District Court opened insolvency proceedings over the assets of TelDaFax Holding AG and its subsidiaries TelDaFax Energy GmbH, TelDaFax Services GmbH, TelDaFax Marketing GmbH, TelDaFax Sales GmbH, TelDaFax Dialog GmbH, TelDaFax Network GmbH and HugoTel Communications GmbH . In the first days of December of the same year still followed TelDaFax Finance GmbH, which i tangent GmbH. L. and Tangens Verwaltungs GmbH i. L.

The TelDaFax bankruptcy received a lot of public attention. It is of particular importance in German economic history because, measured by the number of around 750,000 creditors, it is the largest to date and the second largest insolvency after that of Flexstrom (835,000 creditors).

In contrast to the Flexstrom insolvency, with the TelDaFax procedure there was little prospect of compensation for the creditors right from the start. Instead, the insolvency administrator reported to the insolvency court "in almost all proceedings" that there were insufficient masses and expects the proceedings to last until at least 2020, with quota payments not expected before 2021.

history

Company development 1998–2011

Before the liberalization of the telecommunications market, Teldafax ( acronym from Tel efon, Da ten, Fax ) offered its customers price savings by signing a framework agreement for their Bundespost or later Telekom connection that enabled price savings.

With the liberalization of the telecommunications market in 1998, call-by-call and preselection services were possible via Teldafax using the network code 01030 . Teldafax was also by far the cheapest provider of 0800 service numbers for a long time. After Teldafax ran into financial difficulties a few years later, the invoices for call-by-call services at Deutsche Telekom remained unpaid for a long period of time. Some time later, Deutsche Telekom offset the outstanding bills with the amounts it received for Teldafax when collecting end customers via the telephone bill. After this was prevented by a court, Deutsche Telekom blocked access to the 01030 area code.

After Teldafax by an injunction had initially reached the reconnection, a few days took place later, the final shutdown of the network prefix 01030th The following customer churn was the end for Teldafax: Teldafax presented on 2 April 2001 due to immediate illiquidity in District Court of Marburg a bankruptcy petition . On June 1, 2001, bankruptcy proceedings were opened. In the course of the insolvency proceedings, the company was sold to a Swiss investor group.

In 2002 the company oneVoice Communication was founded, which took over the end customer business of "CONOS AG" and that of "TelDaFax Newline GmbH" in Marburg. The resulting "TelDaFax GmbH" acquired the brand name of the former Teldafax AG without becoming its legal successor. Teldafax Holding AG today includes Teldafax Energy GmbH, Teldafax Telecom GmbH, Teldafax Services GmbH, Teldafax Finance GmbH, e-Punkt GmbH and Teldafax Dialog GmbH.

According to its own information, the Teldafax Group had around 100 employees in September 2007, 180 in December and around 220 in May 2008. In October 2008 Teldafax took over a call center in Berlin-Schönefeld that was threatened with closure . In November 2009 the company had around 430 employees.

On March 11, 2011, the company announced the majority takeover by two investors, CPA Invest AG and Sigma Citation Capital Strategies Limited. CPA Invest AG is part of the factoring network of Swiss Factoring AG, through which the fund provider Debi Select Group invested in Teldafax Holding AG through factoring .

Insolvency proceedings 2011

On June 14, 2011, Teldafax applied to the Bonn District Court to open insolvency proceedings for Teldafax Holding AG, Teldafax Energy GmbH and Teldafax Services GmbH. Three days later, the company announced that from June 18, 2011, all customers would temporarily no longer be supplied with electricity and gas from Teldafax. Instead, the local basic supplier will step in.

In the area of ​​the supply company and network operator Vattenfall , this took place on May 18, 2011. Vattenfall had terminated the supply contract with Teldafax and from this point on refused to continue delivering to Teldafax, so that the replacement supply (in accordance with the Basic Electricity Supply Ordinance - StromGVV) began.

On June 16, 2011, Teldafax applied to the Bonn District Court to open insolvency proceedings for Teldafax Dialog GmbH, Teldafax Finance GmbH and Teldafax Sales GmbH.

On September 1, 2011, insolvency proceedings were opened against the TelDaFax Group due to insolvency and over-indebtedness. Attorney Biner Bähr from Düsseldorf was appointed insolvency administrator . Claims of the insolvency creditors could be registered with the insolvency administrator by January 31, 2012 in compliance with Section 174 InsO . On November 8, 2011, over 700,000 creditors were invited to a first meeting in Cologne, most of them customers who had made an advance payment .

Criminal proceedings from 2013

In early 2013, the Bonn public prosecutor brought charges against the former Teldafax managers Klaus Bath, Michael Josten and Gernot Koch. The accusation was of bankruptcy , commercial fraud and bankruptcy . The proceedings began on February 18, 2014 before the commercial criminal chamber of the Bonn Regional Court. However, on March 7, 2014, the process broke down. The Bonn Regional Court upheld the defendants' complaints about the occupation of two of the three defendants and suspended the proceedings on the second day of the hearing.

The procedure was resumed in 2015 with a new cast. In November 2016, after a payment of 20,000 euros, the lawsuit against the former CEO and Supervisory Board member Michael Josten was finally stopped. The evidence against the other two ex-managers was continued, according to the court. You were sentenced to suspended sentences (one year and four months and 11 months) before the Bonn district court on March 1, 2017.

Subsidiaries

Teldafax Energy GmbH

TelDaFax Energy GmbH , founded in August 2006, has been offering electricity tariffs for private and commercial customers throughout Germany since February 2007. Teldafax initially obtained its electricity from the Belgian company Electrabel and the German subsidiary BKW FMB Energie. Various energy trading companies are now sources of supply for Teldafax Energy. The company has also been offering natural gas since June 2008 , initially only in certain regions of Germany. Further regions were gradually developed. Teldafax now offers natural gas throughout Germany. This makes the company one of the few nationwide gas suppliers.

In January 2008, Teldafax Energy announced the takeover of the software developers OMD and e-Punkt and announced that it would convert the GmbH into a stock corporation. On July 10, 2008, Teldafax began building a landfill gas power plant near the Belarusian capital Minsk . The power plant went into operation in December 2009. The electricity produced is intended for consumers in Minsk. Further power plants in Belarus are planned.

Teldafax Telecom GmbH (Troisdorf)

Teldafax Telecom has specialized in the development and marketing of high-performance voice and data technology for both the wholesale and retail markets. With over 400 million minutes in the international voice segment alone, the company is positioned in Germany. Teldafax Telecom serves over 11,600 shops (POS) in Germany and Austria with individual products and personalized service.

Teldafax Services GmbH

Teldafax Services GmbH specializes in customer service, customer administration, order processing, invoicing and quality assurance for the parent company.

Teldafax Finance GmbH

Teldafax Finance GmbH offers financial services (insurance, funds, credit cards) as a cooperation partner of external insurance providers.

Teldafax Marketing GmbH

In autumn 2007, Teldafax Marketing GmbH was founded, which supports the Teldafax Group in marketing all products and services and presents the company to the outside world. Teldafax Marketing GmbH is independent and does not belong to the Holding AG. In October 2008 Teldafax Marketing GmbH took over the former call center adstep, which is now incorporated into the group as Teldafax Dialog.

Teldafax DIALOG GmbH

Teldafax DIALOG GmbH operates a customer service center in Berlin-Schönefeld.

Sponsorship and partnerships

In the biathlon , the athlete Michael Rösch was supported by Teldafax. The biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen was also sponsored by Teldafax until 2009.

Football was added in 2007 when Teldafax became the main sponsor of Bayer 04 Leverkusen . The sponsorship contract, which actually ran until 2013, was terminated in June 2011 because Teldafax, which was in financial difficulties, needed the 13 million euros to strengthen the company. According to the judgment of the Cologne Regional Court in autumn 2014, Bayer 04 Leverkusen had to return more than 16 million euros of previous sponsorship money because the club was already informed of Teldafax's financial difficulties at the time of the payments.

By taking over the title partnership for the FIS Teldafax Team Tour 2009, the company supported a major sporting event in winter sports that spanned several weeks.

In 2009 Teldafax expanded its sponsorship commitment and became an advertising partner of ski jumper Martin Schmitt .

In addition to the promotional sponsorship activities, Teldafax became involved in the youth field of football for the first time in summer 2008 and supported the Ulf Kirsten and Ralf Minge football camp in 2008. The participant places acquired as part of Teldafax's sponsorship were made available to children from socially disadvantaged families and a children's home.

criticism

According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung , three Teldafax board members warned of the company's precarious financial position in July 2009. Apart from the dismissal of a supervisory board, nothing happened. Apparently, the main customs office in Düsseldorf was already aware of the impending insolvency in 2009.

The Handelsblatt reported on October 20, 2010 that the electricity provider Teldafax was over-indebted. The company finances itself like a pyramid scheme from new customers, whose prepayments are used to buy electricity, which is then resold at a loss. In the past, bankruptcy was only prevented with balance sheet tricks. The company denies these allegations.

Manager Magazin reported in February 2010 that there is “probably no competitor among the electricity providers that so many customers are complaining about. The allegations range from missing or incorrect final invoices, failure to repay credit balances and rip-offs. ”Other points of criticism are the company's poor accessibility, the incompetence of the hotline and price increases despite the price guarantee.

Teldafax Energy is accused of engaging in unauthorized telephone advertising ( cold calling ) in violation of the law against unfair competition . At the request of the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia, the district court of Bonn sentenced Teldafax to refrain from making advertising calls to private end consumers under threat of a fine of 250,000 euros. A reader of test magazine also successfully sued against the harassment of Teldafax advertising calls.

At the beginning of 2009, the WDR magazine Markt reported that hundreds of customers had not received any final bills or any reimbursement of their credit balance. Teldafax announced that it intends to issue the outstanding final invoices by the end of March 2009 with an interest rate of eight percent on the credit balance. At the end of April 2009, the consumer center Saxony reported that numerous Teldafax customers had turned to them about outstanding final invoices. At the beginning of December 2010, Teldafax's direct debit authorizations were unilaterally terminated. The recipients were asked to immediately deposit their advance payments into an account at a local bank.

Due to the repeated criticism of the prepayment principle used by Teldafax, the company introduced a simpler and clearer tariff system at the beginning of 2011 that dispenses with prepayment. Customers can now choose from four gas and four electricity tariffs, whereby the monthly payment only has to be made after the end of the reference month. According to the later insolvency administrator, the company only supplied a third of its customers with electricity at cost-covering prices.

The procedure for the original direct debit and the now required transfer differed considerably at the time: If customers had a right to repayment from Teldafax - for example due to a cancellation or a termination of the contract - they could direct debit amounts from their bank free of charge up to six weeks after the invoice was closed book back (now changed). It is different with a transfer: If the provider did not voluntarily repay, the customer had to take legal action.

The public prosecutor in Bonn announced on June 27, 2011, which carried out a raid on the Teldafax business premises on June 27, 2011 against the responsible persons of Teldafax Holding GmbH and several subsidiaries on suspicion of delaying insolvency and commercial fraud . Criminal proceedings are also pending against Verivox GmbH in this context (Heidelberg public prosecutor, 320 Js 28010/11). The main hearing in the criminal proceedings against three persons responsible for Teldafax Holding GmbH began on February 2, 2014 before the Bonn Regional Court, but was temporarily suspended on March 7, 2014 due to doubts about the legality of the criminal chamber's occupation. The time of the continuation of the hearing and the outcome of the criminal proceedings are open.

The bankruptcy administrator found chaos when he took up his post. The bookkeeping is as of March 2011, almost 240,000 letters were unopened. The quantities of newly arriving mail can only be managed with considerable effort. The insolvency administrator assumes 750,000 creditors, which would be the largest number so far for a single bankruptcy in Germany. The postage costs alone amount to 1.2 million euros. In order to save costs and effort, the creditors are not asked to assert their claims, contrary to usual practice. Instead, the damage is calculated in advance, which you can object to if necessary.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.pressemitteilungen-online.de/index.php/teldafax-insolvenz-dr-biner-baehr-zum-insolvenzverwalter-bestellt/
  2. ↑ http://www.news.de/wirtschaft/855150424/neuer-investor-beim-stromanbieter-teldafax/1/  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.news.de  
  3. ↑ http://www.news.de/wirtschaft/855150424/neuer-investor-beim-stromanbieter-teldafax/1/  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.news.de  
  4. ↑ Helmut Bünder: Teldafax files for bankruptcy. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 14, 2011, accessed June 28, 2014 .
  5. ^ Bonn District Court: decision to initiate . (PDF; 66 kB) September 1, 2011, accessed on June 28, 2014 .
  6. ↑ a b c Notice from the insolvency administration. 2011, accessed June 28, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Christoph Giesen: Between megalomania and amateurism. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . September 2, 2011, accessed June 28, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Jürgen Flauger, Sönke Iwersen: Guardian for electricity and gas . In: Handelsblatt . No. 104 , June 4, 2013, ISSN  0017-7296 , p. 18 .
  9. ↑ Heike Jahberg: "With Flexstrom you get your money back". Interview with the insolvency administrator. In: Der Tagesspiegel . March 23, 2014, accessed June 27, 2014 .
  10. ↑ a b Jürgen Flauger, Sönke Iwersen: giant bust Teldafax: charges against the bosses . In: Handelsblatt . No. 33 , February 2013, ISSN  0017-7296 , p. 3, 6 .
  11. ↑ Information on bankruptcy proceedings. FlexStrom Aktiengesellschaft, accessed on October 21, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Benjamin Hammer: Little prospect of compensation. Deutschlandfunk , November 8, 2011, accessed June 28, 2014 .
  13. ↑ http://www.teldafax.de/
  14. ↑ European Marketing Portal : TelDaFax takes over adstep call center in Berlin Schönefeld threatened by closure  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 23, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.eu-marketingportal.de  
  15. ↑ Energy supplier Teldafax files for bankruptcy. In: The West of June 14, 2011
  16. ↑ Teldafax suspends energy supplies In: Focus online from June 17, 2011
  17. ↑ Other TelDaFax companies insolvent.
  18. ↑ Petra Blum: 700,000 believers - and hardly any hope ( Memento from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) WDR , November 8, 2011, 6:15 am
  19. ^ Cheap electricity provider: charges against former Teldafax board members.
  20. ↑ Teldafax criminal case is suspended.
  21. ↑ Strom Magazin: TelDaFax Gas now available everywhere in Germany , July 10, 2008
  22. ↑ Verivox: TelDaFax builds landfill gas power plant in Belarus , November 2, 2009
  23. ↑ bayer04.de: TelDaFax no longer a Bayer 04 main sponsor from 2011/2012 ( memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 3, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bayer04.de
  24. ↑ Der Spiegel, bankruptcy sponsor Teldafax: Bayer Leverkusen to repay 16 million euros , October 22, 2014, accessed on November 18, 2014
  25. ↑ a b Between megalomania and amateurism. In: sueddeutsche.de. September 2, 2011, accessed June 29, 2018 .
  26. ↑ www.spiegel.de: Authorities already knew in 2009 of the impending Teldafax bankruptcy on September 20, 2011
  27. ↑ Handelsblatt: Bayer sponsor Teldafax overindebted , October 20, 2010
  28. ↑ Handelsblatt: Teldafax denies report: “We are not threatened with insolvency” ( memento of October 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), October 20, 2010
  29. ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Teldafax becomes Russian , October 19, 2010
  30. ↑ Financial Times: Teldafax takes action against ex-board member ( memento of October 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), October 20, 2010
  31. ↑ Greenpeace Magazine: Teldafax receives loan from Russian investor , November 4, 2010
  32. ↑ Manager Magazin: If only Frau Tausendfreund can help , February 10, 2010
  33. ↑ LG Bonn 1 O 85/08, judgment of 17 December 2008, confirmed by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne 6 U 09/05 Uv July 10th 2009, legally
  34. ↑ Stiftung Warentest : test issue 1/2010: District Court Göppingen Az. 7 C 1508/09, reader wins in court (accessed online on February 15, 2013).
  35. ↑ Incorrect utility bill , WDR
  36. ↑ Trouble with the electricity provider Teldafax: Consumer Center Saxony criticizes the company's approach to billing  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.verbüberszentrale-sachsen.de  
  37. ↑ Energy message from the consumer portal StromAuskunft.de, Teldafax removes prepayment tariffs ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stromauskunft.de
  38. ↑ Message from the consumer advice center NRW  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vz-nrw.de  
  39. ↑ [1]
  40. ↑ TelDaFax: criminal complaint against verivox ( memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sw-unna.de
  41. ↑ Press release 01/2014 of the LG Bonn from January 10, 2014 ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lg-bonn.nrw.de
  42. ↑ Press release 09/2014 of the LG Bonn from March 7, 2014 ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lg-bonn.nrw.de

Coordinates: 50 ° 48 '40.98 "  N , 7 ° 7' 50.8"  E