2023-12-08 15:33:54
Targobank is no longer allowed to ask customers to agree to new prices and new terms and conditions via pop-up windows. A now published, now legally binding ruling by the Düsseldorf Regional Court (LG) from September 2023 prohibits the bank from taking such action.
That’s what it’s about: If Targobank customers wanted to log in to the bank online in summer 2021, immediate approval was required without any time for consideration or reflection. In the event of refusal, the bank threatened to terminate the contract. The procedure is an aggressive commercial act in the form of coercion. This is inadmissible under competition law, according to the regional court’s decision, which was fought for by the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers (vzbv) (case no. 12 O 78/22).
BGH requires express consent
The background is a landmark ruling by the Federal Court of Justice from April 2021. At that time, Karlsruhe had declared invalid clauses that were widespread in the banking industry and that allowed contract and price changes to be made without the express consent of customers. Since then, banks have had to obtain active consent in order to implement contract and price changes.
When asked, Targobank explained on Friday that the solution now accepted by the regional court concerns an isolated approach from the early phase after the BGH ruling in 2021. Targobank’s spokeswoman emphasized that if there was still a need for regulation in individual cases, it would be bilateral I continue to prefer finding solutions with customers and work on this. “In a long-term and permanent business relationship, there will always be reasons to adapt the terms and conditions due to the large number of legislative and regulatory activities.”
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 78 Hanno Mußler Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 190 Marcus Jung and Hanno Mußler Published/Updated: Recommendations: 48
The former Citibank, which was bought by Crédit Mutuel in 2008 and has been operating as Targobank since 2010, employs 7,000 people at 332 locations in Germany and claims to have 3.6 million customers.
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