Consumer advocates have warned the housing portal Immobilienscout24 because of misleading advice when looking for an apartment. The reason lies in the recommendation of an early Schufa credit report. The housing portal is misleading consumers.
Immobilienscout24 is the market leader for housing portals. Consumer advocates have now warned the portal about misleading advice when looking for an apartment. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the Central Consumer Association (vzbv) argues that recommending apartment seekers to present a Schufa credit report when they first visit an apartment is problematic in terms of data protection law.
According to information from “SZ”, NDR and WDR, the vzbz warned the Berlin housing portal on several points on Wednesday. According to the report, Immobilienscout suggests that Schufa information is an absolute must in an application folder. In cities with a tight rental market, such an application folder is often requested when arranging a viewing appointment.
Immobilienscout24 earns money from practices that have been criticized
However, the federal and state data protection supervisory authorities had repeatedly classified this practice as illegal. According to “SZ”, they laid down in writing in 2009 and again in 2018 that sensitive documents such as Schufa information may only be requested once a rental agreement has been signed.
In addition, Immobilienscout earns money from the practices criticized: the portal offers the compilation of the application folder as an additional service that is subject to a fee. For a further surcharge, the Schufa information is also applied for directly. At the request of NDR and WDR, the Hamburg Tenants’ Association criticized that this was “profiteering with the housing shortage”.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
