Construction of a new house in Schwerin. The Federal Court of Justice ruled that anyone who has opted for a home savings contract to finance their property in Germany can reclaim account fees.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt It is a judgment with a signal effect. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled a few days ago that building societies are not allowed to charge their customers a flat fee such as an annual fee during the savings phase.
The lawyers argued that such a fee puts savers at an unreasonable disadvantage because it would pass on the costs of administrative activities to them.
The highest civil judges in Karlsruhe declared a clause in the building society savings conditions of BHW Bausparkasse to be invalid, according to which twelve euros a year are due for each account during the savings phase.
The consequences of the decision could be far-reaching. There are almost 24 million home loan and savings contracts in Germany, and mathematically every second household has such a contract – and many building societies, according to consumer advocates, recently demanded similar fees to the BHW building society.
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