Referreport
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) urgently advises consumers to check their premium savings contracts for possible claims for additional payments. This recommendation follows two current judgments from the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) from Julysaid the Bafin. For the first time, the BGH confirmed a possible reference interest rate for the subsequent calculation of interest in the event of an ineffective interest rate adjustment clause. In particular, owners of older premium savings contracts could be entitled to additional payments.
Ineffective clauses
Many of the contracts in question contain clauses that allow credit institutions to adjust interest rates unilaterally and without restriction. The BGH declared these clauses invalid in 2004. In July, the BGH confirmed that the reference interest rate “current yields on listed federal bonds with a remaining term of over 8 to 15 years” can be a possible basis for the recalculation of interest on premium savings contracts.
Credit institutions should explain the contract structure
“Affected people should check their contracts as soon as possible and ask their credit institution to explain the individual contract structure,” recommends Christian Bock, head of the consumer protection department at Bafin: “Consumers whose contracts have already been terminated may also be entitled to additional interest payments.” The three-year limitation period must be taken into account. Consumer advice centers and lawyers could support affected consumers in legally examining their claims.
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Source: German