r/LegalAdviceEurope

Location: Greece

I (F25) have been living in this neighborhood for 20 years now, and it was quiet. Then my neighbours returned from Germany and moved in here. The houses are joined, so there isn't a fence or anything, and we use a common gate. My neighbours have a loud dog, which when I said something about it, they said they'll get even more dogs to start barking, and that is a direct quote from them.

Now, I have been playing music on my TV at a low volume (6 - 10) everyday for the past month because I love music and I'm gonna listen to it. My neighbour (M38) came out today screaming for me to shut it off, telling me that he will kill me and my family if I didn't or if I put it on again. It was in the morning, around 9-9:30AM, well after the public hours of silence (idk the english name), and I generally put on music at 09-12PM in the mornings and 18:00-22:00 in the evenings at that same volume.

Of course, I have raised the volume a few days when I needed it (because I'm human and music is expressive), but still always within the allowed times.

I have had a fight with my neighbour twice before and he has always threatened violence such as stabbing, and once even pinning my dad to a wall and almost choking him. I don't have any physical evidence of these, but all my family members (and my cousin who is a cop) know about them.

My question is if I were to call the cops on him and cite all the threats he's made against mine and my family's lives, would anything other than a slap on the wrist be done? Or do I need to call them at the time these incidents occur, if I can?

If the cops wouldn't do anything about when I do call them, it'll probably just turn out worse for me. Even if I mention his use of marijuana (illegal here), he has claimed he has a doctor's note for it, so that's probably a useless thing to say. Anyway, any advice appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I’m dealing with a situation at work and wanted to see if anyone here has experience with something similar or knows what my rights are.

I’ve been working at this company for about 2 years, and over the past few months things have gotten really uncomfortable. After I brought up unpaid overtime, my manager started making comments like “maybe this job isn’t for you” and now I’m being excluded from meetings and treated differently from the rest of the team.

Lately it feels like they’re trying to push me into quitting voluntarily instead of firing me. I haven’t signed anything or agreed to leave, but the pressure is definitely there.

Is this something I should get legal advice for? And should I be saving emails/messages as proof?

Any advice would really help. Thanks.

I'm on my way from Ostend to Antwerp for a hospital appointment. In the train I realized I forgot my ID. The waiting lists for my appointment was really long so I don't want to miss this out.

I have clear pictures of my ID front and back which I took yesterday, would this be enough for registration? If not what are my options and what is going to happen?

I just sent them an email with the explanation and photos but reponse times are between 1-7 days.

I also don't have Itsme but I'm currently trying to get my hands on a kaartlezer so I can verify my ID through my bank.

What can I do?

Advice is appreciated

My 10-year Vinted account was permanently banned after I listed a CHILDREN’S TOY bow with suction-cup arrows.

Children toy from Decathlon

Vinted classified it as a weapon and permanently suspended my account. Their own notice literally says: “This content was detected automatically.”

I appealed multiple times and only received template responses with no meaningful explanation or evidence of proper human review.

The toy was a normal children’s product sold in retail stores.

I understand platforms need moderation rules, but permanently banning long-term users because an automated system incorrectly flags a toy as a weapon feels completely disproportionate.

I’ve now escalated the case to consumer protection institutions and I’m looking into Digital Services Act (DSA) protections regarding automated moderation and appeals.

Has anyone successfully reversed a permanent Vinted suspension after an obvious moderation mistake?

UK citizen, living in Germany for the last 5.5 years now marrying a German national in Baden-Württemberg in the Standesamt. We just got approval and an official date on 26th June! Now I need to know how to go about changing my surname in both countries.

I have my honeymoon September 14th 2026 in Asia with my new name and my hen do in London early July, with maybe some travel to Ireland in June/July for work (these flights aren’t booked)

I have taken a look at the gov.uk website and honestly they are so vague it doesn’t feel helpful. I contacted them and the reply was the same as the search results with the extra sprinkle of „the embassy doesn’t help with this.“ what they did say is that changing my passport with a new name will automatically change my name.

But how do I prove this? My marriage certificate? They also advised getting a lawyer for my name change, but what type of lawyer would I need and why do I need one? I read you can pre-order your new passport with the married name 3 months early but the document* is not in German and puts legal obligation on the person at the Standesamt to cancel said name change and passport of the wedding doesn’t go through for whatever reason. I can’t imagine someone from the Standesamt wanting to take on that legal responsibility.

Any advice on this would be helpful!

* https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a81530a40f0b62305b8e567/passportsnewlywedscivilpartnershipsPD2.pdf

I have recently (about 1 month ago) submitted to OLAF a report about what I consider a case of fraud, which is in this case the abuse of power of an executive agency within a public call for project proposals.

Notice that, in this case, the problem is a denial of funding. I still believe that this case meets OLAF's mandate, and specifically their definition of fraud: "An irregularity is an act which doesn’t comply with EU rules and which has a potentially negative impact on EU financial interests... If an irregularity is committed deliberately, however, it’s fraud. (See more in Article 1 of Council Regulation 2988/95)"

However, they also report:

"Please note that OLAF cannot investigate allegations of: fraud with no financial impact on EU public funds."

The case of a "denial of funding" creates some potential friction, as "no financial impact" may be argued since no money was given, still a "financial impact" can be argued as the undue denial of one project proposal due to inadequate reasoning (as reported in the EU page Complaints about Rejections of Project Proposals) affects the EU budget against the EU financial interests.

I now submitted the information to OLAF, but the organization reports that I may not be informed in case of dismissal: "If it is determined that the matter you have raised does not satisfy the criteria for opening an investigation, it will be dismissed. If this occurs, OLAF may inform you about this, but this is not done systematically."

I would like to be informed whether this occurs, as this information is important to me to understand how to develop my advocacy action in favor of research, innovation, and the defense of democratic processes.

From a legal perspective, have I a right to be informed about the status of my submission? Can I eventually submit a request to OLAF, and do you know who I can contact in such a case?

P.S. The matter does not involve a specific European country, as the funding agency was an executive agency for multi-country projects.

I’m currently living in Košice, Slovakia, and I have two work options.

The first one is an official warehouse/loading job with a salary around €1000/month.

The second option is a much more attractive online job from a Ukrainian company in the adult/18+ industry. The income could be around $500–3000/month, but the company seems “gray” and probably doesn’t pay taxes officially.

I’m worried about possible legal/tax issues because I live in Slovakia and would probably receive money through PayPal or crypto.

How risky is this realistically? Could it create problems with banks or taxes if I receive regular payments? Is it worth taking that risk compared to a normal official job?

I’m mainly looking for honest advice from people who understand taxes, banking, or international remote work in Slovakia.

Germany. 24-month DSL contract, currently in month 18. Six months ago I received a written notification that my monthly rate would increase by €4 starting the following billing cycle.

I only recently learned about § 56 TKG Abs. 4 (Sonderkündigungsrecht) — apparently this price increase should have given me a right to cancel immediately without penalty. But I didn't exercise it at the time because I didn't know about it.

My questions:

1. The law says the window is 3 months from receiving the price-change notification. Does that window run from when they notified me (6 months ago), or from when the price increase actually took effect?

2. Is there any argument that the window hasn't started yet, or is still running, given that the price increase is ongoing (I'm still being charged the higher rate)?

3. My contract ends naturally in 6 months anyway. Is there any value in trying to exercise the Sonderkündigungsrecht retroactively, or is it clearly time-barred?

The provider is a major national telco. I have the original notification email with the date. I'm not sure if the 3-month clock starts on the notification date or the effective date of the change.

Hi everyone, and thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this and give advice - I would really appreciate it.

I live in Barcelona and moved into my apartment in May 2024. The place used to be an office, but it was remodeled into an apartment. There are still offices in the building, and there is a concierge, but I live here full-time as my only residence. I do not use it for work at all.

I have a normal residential rental contract. I am not autónoma/self-employed, I do not own a business, and my company does not pay for the apartment. I am simply an employee working at a separate office elsewhere.

Since moving in, I have been paying 21% VAT (IVA) on top of my rent every month. At first I did not question it because I am not very familiar with Spanish rental law, but recently my landlord sent me a 2.8% rent increase with only around 10 days’ notice before the next payment, which made me start looking into everything more carefully.

When I previously asked my landlord why I was paying IVA, she replied (translated from Spanish):

“Residential rent does not have VAT, but this is an office area that does have it. If you were self-employed, it could be deducted.”

Original Spanish:
“el alquiler residencial no tiene IVA pero esta es una zona de despachos que si lo tienen si fueras autónoma se podría descontar”

My questions are:

• Is it legal for me to be charged 21% IVA if I am using the property purely as my home and have a residential contract?
• Does the fact that the building/zone was originally offices change things legally?
• Could I potentially stop paying IVA?
• Is there any possibility I could reclaim the IVA I have already paid?
• Also, is a 2.8% rent increase with such short notice legal in Barcelona/Spain?

Thank you again for any help or guidance.

Hi, I made a bid on a lot with Troostwijk - an auction site in the Netherlands as soon as I discovered the site in good faith and excitement.

It turned out too good to be true as I contacted the logistics delivery partner recommended on their site and it would cost 50% of the total cost of the goods to deliver to me.

Still, I thought I might be able to win the bid at a low price and make it worth my while, and swallow the delivery costs. But when I won the lot, I then noticed that the lot was immediately reposted in multiple places on the site.

My alarm bells rang, and I researched them a little more and found on here multiple bad experiences and scams people had fallen for. Considering this was now a 6,000 Euro endeavour for the flooring + delivery to my country of residence - Czechia, I sent them a really nice note saying I couldn't take receipt of it due to the cost of delivery - the exact same day I was to pay for it. And I sent along screenshots of the same item being reposted immediately after the "bid was won", So I could assume the seller was okay with not selling it to me .

I never got a response for 10 days, until I asked for the cancellation of my account, and then got a note that I had to pay, I referred them back with my reference number and cancellation request, and got one sentence response - you have to pay.

By now the scam was real in my eyes, there were these multiple postings and bids for the same item in these locations and I sent it back to the customer service to say - hey, can you confirm this item is real since the exact same auction keeps happening over and over again at different locations - four different postings last week - two weeks later in Belgium, Netherlands . Please assure me that this transaction is real. Same image, same weird number of items.

No response, but an email today that "my debt will be sent to collections", since I agreed with their T&C's by registering on the site.

Here are those T&C's https://www.troostwijkauctions.com/en/general-terms-and-conditions?srsltid=AfmBOooGA9iX2\_w3JrecWU\_\_k-Dl7lMf7R-C3vh19120Ed0U52-0vWHP

Chat gpt says I need to get a lawyer or I will have a severe collection risk.

Does anyone have advice or experience with reporting these folks to an ombudsman or getting them to back off. It is the worst customer service and interaction for a site that claims to be "legal" and professional. And I am convinced I'd be losing 6,000 euros to a scam. Can they claim collections between the Netherlands and Czech Republic?

Hi, I’m looking for advice regarding a potential probate proceeding in Poland, and I’m feeling quite overwhelmed by it.

I recently received letters suggesting that probate proceedings are underway regarding my late father. The documents mention a potential asset (land), but I’m not even sure if it actually belonged to him or if this information is accurate.

I contacted the Polish Consulate in London, where I was told that I could fill out a form to renounce the inheritance, have it certified at the Consulate in Manchester, and then send it to a Polish court. However, the Polish translator I spoke with suggested that it would be worth seeking brief legal advice, as the situation might be more complicated due to the mention of the land. I contacted a Polish lawyer, who replied that my legal situation might be more complex than I initially thought, which caused me considerable anxiety.

It appears to be a probate proceeding in which I may be considered a potential heir. I likely have the option to renounce the inheritance.

I’m not sure if I need to formally hire a lawyer or if I can handle this matter on my own through the consulate.My main concerns are:

Is it safe to renounce the inheritance without a lawyer’s help?

Do I need legal representation in Poland, or is the consular procedure sufficient?

I would be very grateful for any advice on what my next steps should be and whether I am overcomplicating this matter or if I am right to be cautious. Thank you in advance.

Hey all! I'm based in an EU country (Romania) that taxes worldwide income and participates in CRS/FATCA. I set up a single-member Wyoming LLC for a SaaS product I'm building. No US employees, no office there, not targeting the US market specifically. I'm using a UK-based Merchant of Record so customers are invoiced by the MoR, not my LLC.

From what I've gathered so far: the LLC is disregarded for US federal tax purposes, no ECI means no US tax, but my home country still sees all the income because of CRS/FATCA automatic exchange. I'm not under any illusion that I can just not report - I know the data flows.

My plan once it starts making real money is to open a local company here that invoices the LLC monthly for dev work at a reasonable rate (~€65/h, engineering). Local company pays local taxes. Whatever's left in the LLC gets reinvested.

A few things I'm not sure about:

1. Does using a non-US MoR change anything about the "no effectively connected income" analysis? The MoR handles everything customer-facing, but the money still ends up in my US bank account.
2. If I keep profits in the LLC and reinvest them (don't distribute), am I still on the hook for home-country taxes on that money? I think yes, because the LLC is disregarded so it all flows through to me personally - but I'd like to hear if anyone sees it differently.
3. Assuming I'm filing correctly through the local company invoicing setup, could my home country come back later and retroactively reassess taxes on LLC income from earlier years? Or is that only a risk if you straight up don't report?
4. On the US side, I'm filing Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 annually. Anything else I should be doing?

If anyone's dealt with a similar setup as an EU-based founder, I'd really appreciate hearing how it went. Thanks.

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice about my travel situation.
I am a Tunisian student who previously held a German Type D student visa. My visa has now expired, but I currently have a **valid Fiktionsbescheinigung under §81 Abs. 4**, valid until October.
I have:
Completed a German language course in Germany
A university admission (Zulassung) for October
An ongoing residence process in Germany (Aachen)
I plan to travel from a non-Schengen country → Brussels → then continue to Germany.
At Brussels airport, a border officer told me that I “cannot enter with this document” and that it is only valid in Germany.
I am now confused about my situation and would like clarification:
Is entry into Schengen via Brussels possible with a Fiktionsbescheinigung?
Is there a real risk of refusal even if the document is valid?
Is entering directly through Germany the safer option?

Individual freelancer in Italy here, my business is registered in Italy as a sole proprietorship. The other party is a B2B SaaS platform registered in Belgium. Their T&Cs designate Belgian law and exclusive jurisdiction in Walloon Brabant. Amount in dispute: €1,097.98.

Quick timeline:

- 2 April: signed up for a 30-day free trial of the platform's premium plan. Activated their "pay-per-click" advertising module. Their public help center repeats four times that I "will never be invoiced more than the maximum monthly budget set."
- Throughout April: dashboard displayed "Current Total: €190.24" as the projected final invoice, and "Term Balance: €0.00." Campaign metrics showed 234 clicks at 3.8 credits CPC avg = ~889 credits actual consumption. I have screenshots.
- I cancelled the subscription during the trial period.
- 2 May: invoice issued for €1,097.98 (89,998 credits charged, ~100x both the dashboard projection and the actual click-based consumption).
- No spending alerts or warnings sent to me at any point during consumption.
- Their support thread admits in writing a known platform bug whereby the €200 free trial credits get "blocked" if user's profile quality index is below a certain threshold (a condition not disclosed at activation).
- 18 May: case handed to a Belgian debt collection platform with a deadline of 24 May to pay.

What I'm considering:

Sending a formal written dispute ("contestation formelle") on multiple grounds: breach of published billing terms, UI misrepresentation, undisclosed condition on trial credits, absence of mandatory spending notifications, free trial cancellation. Cite Belgian Code of Economic Law Book VI (misleading commercial practices), Article 1134 Civil Code (good faith), and reserve right to file with SPF Économie and the Italian AGCM.

My understanding is that under Belgian law, a formally disputed B2B claim cannot use the cheap IOS/simplified bailiff procedure for undisputed claims under €1,860, and forces the creditor into full court proceedings.

My questions:

1. Are these dispute grounds legally meaningful under Belgian law, or am I overestimating their weight?
2. What's the realistic risk of escalation to European Order for Payment / European Small Claims Procedure at this debt size, given documented dispute on record?
3. Is there real risk of negative reporting to commercial credit bureaus (CRIF Italy, equivalent in Belgium) for a formally contested debt?
4. Should I send the dispute letter myself, or is it worth paying a Belgian commercial lawyer to send it on letterhead for higher impact? Cost-benefit at €1,097?
5. Any specific Belgian case law on B2B unfair contract terms (Article VI.91/3-7 Code of Economic Law) that addresses platform UI misrepresentation vs. invoice issued?

Not looking for hand-holding, just a sanity check before sending the letter. Happy to share more detail in DMs if needed.

Thanks in advance.

I want to double-barrel my surname by adding in my Italian mother’s name to my current one.

I’ve read online that the Italian government doesn’t allow surname changes unless it’s an ‘exceptional’ circumstance. I only want to change my name to distance myself from my English father who I don’t have a relationship with, and to feel a greater connection with my Italian side.

Has anyone had any success changing their surname with the Italian government in the UK? Were you required to evidence your ‘exceptional’ reasoning for the change? And would it make a difference that I’m still keeping my original surname, not completely changing the whole thing?

Thanks!

Good morning, I’ll be 18 in a few months. I would like to know if my mental issues can block my access to the gun port.

I have generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder (OCD), and unspecified mood disorder (NAS).

I’ve never been aggressive towards anyone, myself included. I have no records of anything, I go to a highly respected school in my area and I have no behavioral problems/etc. I take medication (fluoxetine) to manage these disorders. And thanks to therapy I’m much better.

I’m not sure if in Italy, mental disorders can disqualify me.

Please reply, thank you.

Hello everyone, and thanks for your help.

First of all I am the bf of the person involved, in the legal actions. And I am quite stressed about it as we have a kid.

So, it all happened last winter 2025, before Christmas. My gf got caught driving drunk, very drunk, but she opposed resistance to the officers, which didn’t even run a test.
So her license got taken away, in the 10 days waiting for the decision. She drove the car and got caught again, lucky for her the officer didn’t want to arrest her, because she was whit our son.

The second problem is that she got caught drunk driving in 2022, and for what I know was good the situation, as she got detention for a night.
So this means is the second time being caught in the 5 years time period of the Dutch law.

Third thing in 2023, I didn’t know, but she went in therapy for cocaine use in the past. Which was before us.

Now, she is not stopping drinking, almost 5/6 bottle a week, plus I found out she is smoking weed, and I also found twice a bag whit white powder residue in it (so I think is cocaine). Speaking with her is impossible, as she keep lying and denying
She is not listening my advice, and keep acting as a child. I don’t know what to do, and I am very worried on what will happen in court in a month.

As she doesn’t tell me everything, and I think that also her lawyer don’t know all the story.

Can someone tell me, what can happen? What the CBR will do on her?
I am thinking to get a lawyer, but I would like to know as much as I can.

Sorry but I am from Italy, and I don’t know much of the Dutch law.

Thank you soo much for your help. 🙏

The airline KLM managed to delay our bags for 3 days, which led to expenses >2k USD as there were 4 individuals affected. We've opened a Property Irregularity Report and a refund claim like we're supposed to and have not received a reaction since the creation, 08 April 2026.

KLM also managed to lose one bag completely. Regarding the Montreal Convention it's considered "lost" after 21 or more days. I've opened a second refund claim for this bag on 08 April 2026.

Is there some kind of international law that an airline has to react in a certain timeframe?

Location: Germany / Netherlands / UK (depending on the flight route)

Hi, i am taking estrogen enanthate for my hormone therapy and will soon travel to greece. I live in germany and its legal (i think?) to own the mefication. So: can i bring the vial and syringes to greece and back to germany?