Consumer Advice
The consumer advice services ("Verbraucherberatungen") are independent information centres for all consumers. They are mainly found in larger cities. Many everyday questions on consumer products and financial services can be answered here. The consumer organisations constantly test the quality of products, services and financial offers. They are a good indicator of "value for money" and give advice on the reliability of contracts on offer.
Here are some of the most well known:
Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände, Verbraucherzentrale
www.vzbv.de
Stiftung Warentest
www.stiftung-warentest.de
Öko-Test
www.oeko-test.de
Address and telephone numbers of these consumer counselling services can be found in the chapter 
Organisations and Contacts.