Flood of complaints because many banks and savings banks are playing for time when it comes to refunding fees

Created: 02/17/2022 05:21

The fee ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) is causing trouble for bank customers.

© Uli Deck/dpa

The behavior of some credit institutions after the BGH fee judgment causes frustration among bank customers.

Many credit institutions thwart requests for refunds - to the annoyance of many customers.

Berlin - The arbitration boards of the banks and savings banks received significantly more complaints from consumers last year.

Above all, the behavior of some banks after the most recent judgment of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on unjustly charged bank fees caused dissatisfaction among customers.

According to the annual report, the arbitration board of the Federal Association of German Banks (BdB) received 6059 applications against member institutions, which was 45 percent more than in the previous year.

1758 cases involved fees in connection with the BGH judgment.

BGH judgment: arbitration boards record record rush

The arbitration board of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association recorded an increase of 53 percent to 6002 cases under its own responsibility, around 3300 revolved around the fee judgment.

According to the Federal Association of German Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken (BVR), the number of applications to the ombudsman for the cooperative banks increased from 1421 in 2020 to 3270, 1968 of which were due to the BGH decision.

The Berlin “Tagesspiegel” had previously reported on it.

Arbitration is free for consumers.

At the end of April 2021, the BGH decided that banks must obtain the consent of their customers when changing general terms and conditions*.

Credit institutions must therefore subsequently ask for approval of current fees.

In addition, bank customers can reclaim fees that institutes have charged without their explicit consent.

BGH judgment: Almost 2000 complaints to the Bafin

The financial regulator Bafin also counted significantly more complaints from bank customers last year.

The agency recorded 12,383 cases, down from 9,409 a year earlier.

Around 1980 complaints were related to the BGH judgment.

The main issue was the reimbursement of account management fees.

However, consumers also complained about the approach taken by some institutions when agreeing new terms and conditions.

In some cases, customers felt pressured and forced to give their consent.

more on the subject

Consumer advocates and Volksbank are arguing in court

Account fees: The tricks of the banks

Setback for consumer advocates

Consumer centers and the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) went to court because of the behavior of some institutes.

In the legal dispute with a Swabian Volksbank for the reimbursement of account fees, however, consumer advocates suffered a setback this week.

The Stuttgart regional court ruled in favor of Volksbank Welzheim.

A representative of the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg announced that after examining the verdict, they wanted to appeal (Az 34 O 98/21 KfH).

According to consumer advocates, this was the first judgment after the BGH's fundamental decision.