Since the Federal Court of Justice ruled against Postbank, bank customers have had to expressly agree to a price increase.
(Photo: imago images / Cord)
Frankfurt Consumer advocates reject the suggestion of the banks to abolish the approval requirement for fee increases by changing the law. “There is no need for the proposed serious interventions in contract law,” said Heiko Dünkel from the Federation of Consumer Organizations (VZBV) to the Handelsblatt.
As it became known on Thursday, the German savings banks and banks are aiming for an amendment to the German Civil Code, according to which price increases for current accounts would be possible without the explicit consent of customers – as was the case two years ago.
From the point of view of the financial institutions, the current situation requires action by the legislator. According to a paper by the German banking industry, which represents several industry associations, a model of express consent to contract changes is not suitable for the masses and “for customers it is more of an unnecessary impertinence than an improvement”.
The background to the initiative is a judgment by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in April 2021. According to this, financial institutions must obtain the express consent of their customers for changes to the general terms and conditions, for example price increases (Az. XI ZR 26/20). At the time, VZBV had sued Postbank, which had raised prices several times in recent years.
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Up until this judgment, banks and savings banks had usually increased the fees via the existing terms and conditions clauses. They assumed tacit approval – in technical jargon “approval fiction” – from customers if they did not object to a change within two months. Since very similar general terms and conditions are used in the German banking industry, the BGH decision is considered to be decisive for the entire industry.
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Regarding the change in the law sought by the banks, Dünkel said: “Unfortunately, the reason we hear again and again is the distorted presentation of the legal situation after the fundamental judgment against Postbank obtained by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations.” Amendment clause in Postbank’s General Terms and Conditions declared invalid.
New terms and conditions are “not rocket science”
“However, the fundamental possibility of agreeing a fictitious consent itself is still in the law and remains possible. But that requires an effective amendment clause in the small print. Some people still have to do their homework,” said the head of the enforcement team.
Dünkel pointed out that some financial institutions had reformulated their terms and conditions accordingly. “The contracts of some credit institutions that were changed after the judgment show that the implementation of the requirements is not rocket science.”
For financial institutions, the 2021 judgment means that they are obliged to obtain nationwide approval from their customers for recently announced fee increases. They also need customer consent for all price increases implemented within three years prior to the verdict.
>> Read here: Banks and savings banks want to be able to raise prices more easily again
Approval is also relevant for future price adjustments, which worries the banks. In view of the high inflation and rising material costs at many financial institutions, they would actually like to further adjust the prices for their checking accounts.
However, some of the customers – usually three to ten percent – do not agree to the terms and conditions, even after numerous requests from the banks. More and more banks and savings banks are now canceling their checking accounts.
On Wednesday it was announced that the Sparkasse Köln-Bonn, one of the five largest savings banks in the country, had sent termination letters to 38,000 customers. The Sparkasse Nürnberg sent around 10,000 cancellations at the end of last year. The VZBV expert regards the high return rates for approval as a sign that there is no acute need for action because of this.
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