This is one thing which is quite ridiculous in Germany for all contracts - phone, Internet, electricity, gas etc. Once, I had a bike sharing company which charged me 3€ the next year after I forgot to cancel it the year previous. They sent me an e-mail saying "intimation is not needed". I told them, they sent me 100s of marketing e-mails which wasn't needed too. Couldn't they send one reminder before they continued the charge? They just didn't get it! Admittedly, 3€ was not a big amount but the business practice was purely unethical.

Unfortunately I think the German bad actors would continue with their business as usual.

German companies like this prefer to treat recurring billing to a cancelled credit card as a delinquent account. They'll keep the service 'active' nominally, but refer payment to a collections agency ("Inkasso"), who will then send bills, threatening letters from lawyers, and bills for the threatening letters from lawyers. Worst of all, it seems like German law is a-ok with this practice.

And may they rot in hell.