Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt: judgment: bank must inform about illegal negative interest rate

Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt: judgment: bank must inform about illegal negative interest rate

Higher Regional Court Frankfurt
Judgment: Bank must inform about illegal negative interest rate






The Federal Court of Justice has banned negative interest rates for savings deposits. Banks must now inform their customers individually about corresponding changes to the terms and conditions.

Anyone who has paid so -called negative interest rates in the low interest rate phase may soon receive mail from their credit institution. Banks have to inform affected customers about how the relevant terms and conditions have been changed, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt decided in an incontestable manner.



The judgment against a German commercial bank goes back to the highest judicial ban on negative interest rates to savings and overnight deposits that the Federal Court of Justice pronounced in February. The mere change in the general terms and conditions or the setting of the information on the online banking page was not enough, the OLG Frankfurt decided on the lawsuit of consumer advocates (file number: 3 U 286/22).

Protection for older customers


Rather, customers who have conducted the corresponding accounts, for example by letter or email, would have to be informed about the ineffectiveness of the changed clause. The court expressly wants to protect older customers who may not be versed in online banking. The information is also necessary to correct incorrect legal ideas to consumers.




In the last instance, Karlsruhe had decided that, unlike many checking accounts, banks are not allowed to charge any dukes on savings and call money accounts. Many institutes had received these so -called negative interest rates from their customers in the low interest rate phase because they were obliged to pay corresponding payments even at the European Central Bank.


No automatic repayment


However, there should not be an automatic repayment of the illegally raised fees according to the BGH judgment (Az. XI ZR 61/23 etc.). Rather, customers must individually assert their claims against their bank. A corresponding letter from the institute could definitely give an impetus here. The defendant bank now has two months to send the letters.

dpa

Source: Stern

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