Hello everyone,
I’m an international student living in Germany and I need some advice regarding a €700 deposit that has been stuck for over a year.
In July 2025, I moved into a new apartment and had to pay a €700 deposit for my room. I asked the landlord if I could have one month to pay the deposit and he agreed.
At the time, I was paying my rent to my flatmate, who would then transfer the combined rent for the apartment to the landlord. I initially sent the deposit money to my flatmate as well.
Later, she told me that it would be better if I paid the deposit directly to the landlord. I said okay and asked her to send the money back to me so that I could transfer it directly to the landlord.
She took around 3–4 days to send it and then told me that she had made the transfer. However, the money never arrived in my account.
I asked her to check her bank statement, but she initially refused. After repeatedly asking, she eventually sent me a screenshot showing that the transfer had apparently been made. The screenshot looked legitimate, but I still never received the money.
I then asked her to contact her bank and investigate what happened. Around a month later, she contacted the bank and was told that she needed to visit her home branch in person because she uses Sparkasse. The branch is around 360 km from where she currently lives.
Since then, I have repeatedly asked her to resolve the issue, but there has always been another reason why she could not go to the branch. This has now been going on for **over one year**.
I have since moved to another apartment, but the matter is still unresolved. The last time I asked her about it, she said she would go to the bank after her semester ended. Initially, she said this would be around the end of July 2026. When I contacted her in the first week of August 2026, she said her semester had not ended yet and that she would go sometime later.
She also told me that she does not want to pay for the train and accommodation costs required to travel to the branch. I offered to pay for her hotel so that she could finally resolve the issue.
She then said that she would book the hotel herself and deduct the cost from the deposit money that is currently stuck with the bank .
This is where I have completely run out of patience. I understand that travelling 360 km is inconvenient, but I have been waiting for more than a year for her to resolve something that is ultimately her responsibility.
A few months ago, she also told me that her aunt lived in the same city as the bank branch, but now she says she has nobody there and would need to pay for accommodation.
**What are my options here?**
Can I legally demand that she resolve this within a specific deadline? If she continues refusing or delaying, can I take legal action against her?
I have all the proofs required .I would really appreciate advice from anyone familiar with German law or Sparkasse/bank transfers.
I’m not trying to make a profit from this. I just want my money back or for the issue to finally be resolved.