Bank statement charge
What is the DB VERTRIEB GMBH charge on my bank statement?
Who charged you
Deutsche Bahn German railway: train tickets, BahnCard and Deutschland-Ticket
DB VERTRIEB GMBH is Deutsche Bahn, the German railway: DB Vertrieb is the Deutsche Bahn company that collects its passenger payments. On a card it is usually a train ticket, seat reservation or BahnCard bought online or in DB Navigator. A monthly Deutschland-Ticket is taken only by direct debit from a bank account.
How it can show on a statement
DB VERTRIEB GMBHDB VERTRIEB GMBH [subscription number]DB BAHN A-NR [order number]DB FERNVERKEHR AG
Find out what it was
- 1
Sign in to your Deutsche Bahn account on the website or in DB Navigator and look under My trips for a booking on that date.
- 2
Search your inbox and spam folder for Deutsche Bahn booking confirmations and BahnCard or Deutschland-Ticket emails with the same amount.
- 3
In the subscription area of your Deutsche Bahn account, check whether a BahnCard or Deutschland-Ticket is still running and when it renews.
- 4
Compare the date with a trip to Germany by you or anyone who uses your card, keeping in mind that the amount was converted from euros.
- 5
If a number follows the name, look for the same number in your Deutsche Bahn emails or on the mobile ticket, where it shows as the order or subscription number.
- 6
Still a charge you did not agree to? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to Deutsche Bahn, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
Not in any of your accounts? If nobody in your household made it, someone else may have used your card details. Your card issuer can stop the card, so the charges do not continue.
Why does it say “DB VERTRIEB GMBH”?
DB Vertrieb GmbH is one of three Deutsche Bahn companies behind the Deutsche Bahn website and the DB Navigator app, next to the train companies DB Fernverkehr and DB Regio, and it is the one in charge of collecting payments for Deutsche Bahn passenger travel. That is why the statement shows its legal name rather than Deutsche Bahn, the train or the route. Vertrieb is German for sales, and GmbH is the German short form for a limited company.
Deutsche Bahn charges in euros, so a card from outside the euro area shows the amount converted into your own currency, and it will not match the euro price exactly. Older card lines read DB BAHN A-NR followed by a code: A-NR most likely stands for Auftrags-Nr., the order number Deutsche Bahn prints on its tickets. On a bank account in the euro area, a direct debit from DB Vertrieb GmbH carries the subscription number in its reference; that is how the Deutschland-Ticket shows, because Deutsche Bahn takes it only by direct debit.
Why you might see this charge
- A train ticket, seat reservation or BahnCard bought on the Deutsche Bahn website or in the DB Navigator app, often for a trip in Germany.
- A trial BahnCard was not cancelled weeks before it ran out, so it turned into a yearly BahnCard with a yearly price.
- A BahnCard renewed for another year on its own, as it does unless it is cancelled in time.
- A Deutschland-Ticket, the monthly ticket for local transport across Germany, renewed for another month: it is a subscription that runs until it is cancelled, and Deutsche Bahn takes it by direct debit from a bank account on the first of each month, not from a card.
- A booking that failed: the money was taken but no ticket arrived, and Deutsche Bahn pays it back by itself within 45 minutes to a few days, depending on how you paid.
- Someone else booked with your payment details: Deutsche Bahn says it sees more fraud that starts with phishing emails and has limited some ways to pay because of it.
Is DB VERTRIEB GMBH legit?
Yes. DB Vertrieb GmbH is part of Deutsche Bahn, and Deutsche Bahn's own pages name it as the company that handles payments for its passenger trains and as the sender of the debits for its subscriptions. A DB VERTRIEB GMBH line is normally a real payment for a ticket, a BahnCard or a Deutschland-Ticket.
Deutsche Bahn also reports fraud attempts that start with phishing emails, and tickets can be bought with payment details taken that way. If nobody who uses your card has travelled or booked with Deutsche Bahn, treat the charge as unrecognised, and do not act on links in emails or texts about it.
Other charges people look up
| On your statement | Who charged you | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| AWX*PAY DEAL UK | PayDeal | AWX*PAY DEAL UK is PayDeal, an online shop selling low-priced clothing, shoes and home items, paid through Airwallex. |
| BKG*HOTEL AT BOOKING.C | Booking.com | BKG*HOTEL AT BOOKING.C is Booking.com, the hotel and travel booking site. |
| YOUR-SAVING.COM | Reward Gateway | YOUR-SAVING.COM is Reward Gateway, which runs the voucher shops of employee perks and discount schemes. |
| EBAY COMMERCE INC | eBay | EBAY COMMERCE INC is eBay's own payments company, which takes the payment for purchases on eBay in the US and pays the… |
| TESCO PFS | Tesco petrol stations | TESCO PFS is a Tesco petrol filling station; PFS is short for petrol filling station. |
| CLKBANK* | ClickBank | CLKBANK* is ClickBank, a US online retailer that sells supplements, e-books, courses, software and other products made… |
| WM SUPERCENTER | Walmart | WM SUPERCENTER is Walmart: WM stands for Walmart, and a Supercenter is its largest kind of store, selling groceries as… |
| MFG | Motor Fuel Group | MFG is Motor Fuel Group, a UK petrol station operator that runs forecourts under BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco, JET and… |
Questions about DB VERTRIEB GMBH
What is DB VERTRIEB GMBH on my credit card?
It is Deutsche Bahn, the German railway. DB Vertrieb GmbH is the Deutsche Bahn company that collects payments for train tickets, BahnCards and the Deutschland-Ticket, so its name shows instead of the trip.
Why do I have a DB VERTRIEB GMBH charge months after my trip?
Usually a subscription carried on. A trial BahnCard becomes a yearly BahnCard unless it is cancelled weeks before the trial ends, and a BahnCard renews every year. A Deutschland-Ticket renews every month by direct debit from a bank account, not on a card; one cancelled after the 10th of a month runs, and is paid, for one more month.
Why does the DB VERTRIEB GMBH amount not match the ticket price?
Deutsche Bahn charges in euros. A card from outside the euro area shows the amount converted by your bank, sometimes with a fee for a payment in another currency, so it differs a little from the price you saw.
What is DB FERNVERKEHR AG on my statement?
It is also Deutsche Bahn. DB Fernverkehr AG is the Deutsche Bahn company for long-distance trains and publishes the Deutsche Bahn website. Public card records show its name on a small purchase filed under restaurants, which fits food or drink bought on board.
What if I did not agree to a DB VERTRIEB GMBH charge?
File a complaint on Complain.biz. We write it with you and send it to Deutsche Bahn, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
Based on
- Data protection notice: DB Vertrieb GmbH handles payments for Deutsche Bahn passenger travel (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- How can I report subscription orders I did not make? Debits from DB Vertrieb GmbH (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- Abo-Center questions: subscription number in the debit reference, Deutschland-Ticket collected on the first of the month (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- Subscription orders: the Deutschland-Ticket renews automatically, cancellation by the 10th for the end of the month (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- Payment options: refunds for failed bookings and fraud attempts with phishing emails (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- Deutschland-Ticket purchase and payment: paid only by direct debit (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- Deutschland-Ticket: a subscription you can cancel monthly (Deutsche Bahn)
- Trial BahnCard 25: becomes a yearly subscription unless cancelled (Deutsche Bahn)
- BahnCard 25: extended by one year unless cancelled (Deutsche Bahn)
- Site notice: DB Fernverkehr AG (Deutsche Bahn, in German)
- State of Delaware open data: state card transactions with DB VERTRIEB GMBH, DB BAHN A-NR and DB FERNVERKEHR AG lines