Anyone who is on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or TikTok often comes across offers that sound tempting: from weight loss powder to lucrative investments. In our series, reporter Judith Henke takes a look at these products. What is behind it, how serious are you?
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I’ll be honest: I didn’t actually intend to write about “AlleAktien” a third time. Twice I’ve dealt with the start-up that writes stock research and uploads it to its website. You can read it if you pay 29 euros per month.
“AlleAktien” is more aimed at a younger target group – which is actually a good thing, because it might encourage more young people to make provisions for their old age. But the company has advertised with statements that are sometimes only half true.
After my first report on the analysis company, several customers canceled their subscription – but that turned out to be more difficult than expected: Because many of them continued to be debited even after termination – and that is exactly the reason why I am now a third time about ” All shares” write.
I have received around fifty complaints from those affected. Many have sent me evidence: screenshots of cancellation receipts, chargebacks, and complaint emails they sent to customer service. Most tell me that the incident happened at the end of June. But there is also an ex-customer who was debited in September.
“I only noticed it because a direct debit appeared in my account overview,” writes one of the former customers to me. Most of them felt the same way: only because they looked at their account in good time did they notice that subscription fees were still being debited from them.
“Probably it was hoped that some customers would not notice this,” suspects another person affected. After all, the contribution was usually quickly reimbursed to the injured party after they had contacted “AlleAktien”.
Luckily – not only for the customers, but also for “AlleAktien”. Because when I asked Christian Solmecke, partner at the law firm Wilde Beuger Solmecke, I found out: “Provided that the subscription was effectively canceled by the customer, but subsequently continued Money is debited, then the former subscriber has a civil claim for repayment of the amount subsequently collected for unjust enrichment.”
A criminally relevant behavior is given, however, only if “AlleAktien” have acted intentionally, stresses Solmecke. He recommends those affected to ask the provider for repayment and to set a deadline of one week.
Niels Nauhauser from the Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center also points out that it is illegal to continue to debit money from previous customers without the existence of a contractual business relationship. He tells me something else: The Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center is currently suing the Munich Regional Court against “AlleAktien.”
The company did not issue a cease-and-desist declaration, although the consumer advice center “AlleAktien” had issued a warning.
Among other things, the consumer advice center warned that “AlleAktien” had temporarily labeled its order button with “Become a member now” – although the law stipulates that a button must clearly indicate any payment obligations that arise, for example with formulations such as “buy now”.
In the meantime, “AlleAktien” has changed that – but according to Nauhauser, this is irrelevant to the lawsuit, since only a declaration of discontinuance, which carries a penalty, can ensure that the company does not fall back into old patterns.
“AlleAktien” founder Michael Jakob emphasizes when asked that a button with the inscription “Become a member now” is an apt description of the fact that this is about the conclusion of a membership.
The button with which the customer completes his subscription is now labeled more clearly. But I had to make an unusual experience with the cancellation button. Because in order to unsubscribe, I had to click on a link labeled “Block Access.”
Then a page opened where I had to scroll all the way down. There I was asked what “AlleAktien” could improve. Below the input field I was able to click on another button labeled “Submit”. Then I was informed that my membership had been cancelled.
But what is the cancellation date? To be on the safe side, I sent an email to customer service and asked. The surprising answer: I had not received a cancellation of my membership.
A technical error? I ask “AlleAktien” founder Michael Jakob. He explains to me: This is the feedback form. However, why I am informed that my membership has been canceled after entering the feedback is still a mystery to me.
When I asked what he said about the allegations of previous customers who continued to be debited after termination, he responded rather cryptically and wrote: “Members can flexibly activate and pause their membership at any time. It is gratifying that, even as a young startup, we can now cope so well with the large number of customers. Termination is possible at any time on a monthly basis.”
Felix Meier, who actually has a different name, did not cancel his subscription, but his cooperation with “AlleAktien”. “AlleAktien” has owed him around 600 euros for more than two months. Meier came to “AlleAktien” at the end of 2021 and worked for the company on a freelance basis – without a written employment contract. “I wrote my bills myself,” he says. However, he had not worked for another client.
He hadn’t had any bad experiences during his time at “AlleAktien” – but it annoys him that he has to wait for his money. He wrote reminders several times, “sometimes in a friendly manner, sometimes with a deadline.” Meanwhile, he no longer believes that he will ever receive the 600 euros.
Another former employee tells me that he also worked freelance for “AlleAktien” – albeit as an intern. He had to submit an invoice for 450 euros every month, and he never received a contract. His working hours were at least 40 hours, often more.
A full-time intern employed on a freelance basis writing invoices? Sounds unusual – and it is, as lawyer Michael Felser explains to me. He is an employment lawyer and an expert on bogus self-employment. Anyone who is bogus self-employed is employed by a company as a freelancer, but is in fact dependent on this client and does not work for any other customers.
This is practical for the company – after all, it saves on social security contributions. For the bogus self-employed, however, this often creates a precarious situation. Felser emphasizes that there are many legal gray areas when it comes to bogus self-employment. “But an intern who writes invoices – that’s a very striking construct.”
The legal situation is clear for an employee who has had to wait two months for his fee. Christian Michels, specialist lawyer for labor law, explains to me: “If more than 30 days have passed since the due date and receipt of the invoice, the freelancer is not only entitled to his fee, but also to interest on arrears.” If the client still does not pay, he has to the person concerned enforce his claim in court.
I speak to “AlleAktien” boss Michael Jakob about the allegations made by his former freelancers. “We pay all bills on time and employees get their wages,” he emphasizes.
When I asked about the unusual construct that an intern would have had to write invoices for, he replied by criticizing my wording. “Sorry, I’m confused here,” he writes. “Is it about employees or freelancers? Employees get paid, freelancers write invoices.”
But apart from the debits and missing fees – what else has happened at “AlleAktien”? Marketing on Instagram has become a bit more offensive again – and I also find the well-known company logos again. “Analysts from the best companies trust in AlleAktien Premium” according to an Instagram story. Below are the logos of JP Morgan Chase
In my first article I had already examined this advertising with well-known company names and asked the companies whether they knew how lucky they were to be mentioned by “AlleAktien”. The tenor of the answers at the time: There is no official cooperation, at most individual employees would use “AlleAktien Premium”.
The analysis start-up now points this out in slightly smaller letters: “Employees of these companies use AlleAktien Premium privately. We’re proud of that.” At least some transparency.
The company’s pricing strategy, on the other hand, is unfathomable: In the general terms and conditions as of June 21, 2022, the costs for the monthly subscription are 35 euros – previously, premium access had cost 29 euros per month. In June, however, “AlleAktien” announced that it would increase subscription costs to 34 euros. But the subscription now costs 29 euros a month again – despite contradictory information in the terms and conditions.
Maybe “AlleAktien” wants to imitate the volatility of the stock market with its prices? After all, the start-up wants to inform its customers regularly about how the courses are developing, not only in the short term but also in the long term, and is therefore always scrutinizing individual companies.
Such as Porsche. The automaker went public at the end of September. That was the largest German IPO since Deutsche Telekom – and it ventured onto the trading floor as early as 1996. Excitement and anticipation among many investors were correspondingly high.
But “AlleAktien” founder Michael Jakob remained suspicious. “And while the media world is hyping the Porsche IPO rather blindly and bluntly, I’m becoming increasingly skeptical,” he writes in an Instagram story from “AlleAktien.”
A chat history can also be seen in the picture, in which Jakob writes that the price-earnings ratio (P/E) is 30. No argument in favor of Porsche, because the following applies: the lower the P / E, the more attractive the share.
As the basis for his calculation, in which the share price is divided by the earnings per share, Jakob takes last year’s profit, as he himself writes in the chat history. That would be 2.5 billion euros.
But a look at the company’s figures shows that the 2.5 billion was the profit that Porsche made within the first half of 2022. The financial blogger Björn Beier was the first to point out this error – which is quite unusual.
Because “AlleAktien” advertised in the past by reporting on the Porsche IPO “first-hand”. According to an Instagram story, “AlleAktien” was already in contact with an employee of the investment banks who accompanied the IPO around a year before the IPO. So much exclusive knowledge – and then call a wrong price-earnings ratio?
Not the only contradiction I notice when scrolling through “AlleAktien” Instagram stories. In another story I was able to admire a tattered chemistry book.
In the text overlaid, Michael Jakob writes: “I also bought this book. About 6 months ago. When we analyzed Brenntag as a stock.” He was “probably the only stock analyst who buys a chemistry book when he analyzes stocks like Brenntag.”
That sounds exciting – then I’ll take a look at the analysis of the world market leader for the distribution of chemicals. What strikes me immediately: Michael Jakob is not listed there as an author.
And although the analysis itself comprehensively illuminates all the opportunities and risks that affect the company’s business, it is not clear to me where exactly the knowledge from the chemistry book was applied.
Maybe Michael Jakob will tell me that? “AlleAktien is all about understanding companies and the business models behind them holistically – instead of just repeating key figures,” he explains.
When asked about the incorrect Porsche P/E ratio, he pointed out that he had also explained in the Instagram story that he saw little room for improvement at Porsche. “As you can see so far, we were pretty much right with this assessment of the Porsche IPO,” emphasizes Jakob – whose latest project called “Kallang” is already in the starting blocks. What it is about: Investments in real estate.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s lucrative investments, dental splints or coaching offers: anyone who uses social media is overwhelmed with product recommendations. What’s behind it? How serous are they? You can find out in our podcast “Die Netz-Checkerin”. Subscribe to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.
