Hi guys,
Hope you have some time to help me out.
So, 2 things with my bank that are bothering me (I have an account with Commerzbank).
**1. Banking fees**
Recently, I received some funds (~10 EUR) on my account. When I wanted to check, what is it, description of the payment says following:
*aufgrund des BGH-Urteils vom 27.04.2021 koennen aktuell unwirksame Vereinbarungen zugrunde liegen.
Die Pruefung Ihrer Entgeltabrechnungen haben wir vorgenommen. In Folge erhalten Sie hiermit den ermittelten Erstattungsbetrag als Gutschrift auf Ihr Konto.*
I went to google it, and apparently they gave me back some money, because new law was imposed on 27.04.2021, and that is the reason. OK.
So googling some more, I stumbled upon [this thread](https://community.comdirect.de/t5/Konto-Depot-Karte/BGH-Urteil-und-R%C3%BCckerstattung-der-Geb%C3%BChren/td-p/211839/page/2). And if I understood it correctly, theoretically I would have the right to ask for more fees to be refunded, but I need to explicitly ask for it.
Is that correct?
If yes, how should I ask for it?
**2. Change of terms and conditions**
I got some book with a million pages where they are informing me about changes, and also they are reminding me via email that they need my consent. I read that all banks (or most of them) are doing something similar, and changing conditions.
Does anyone have any concrete & summarized info on this?
What does that mean for a standard end user like me?
Thanks!
1 comment
1. In recent years many banks introduced or increased fees for account management simply by changing their terms of condition. They notified their customers but didn’t ask for consent. Germany highest court (BGH) ruled that this was unlawful. (This is the BGH-Urteil you are refering to.) Banks are now repaying wrongly charged fees to their customers. (This is why you got back some money.) In many cases, banks are a bit reluctant and might be in need of a freindly reminder by their customers.
2. In order to be able to charge increased fees in the future, banks are changing their terms and conditions again. This time they are asking for your consent. If you don’t consent, they will probably terminate your account. But they can’t do that without additional notice.
I usually accept terms and conditions without reading everything in detail. It’s just not possible. Try to understand how the fees are structured. Maybe you can find a summary of all changes — but this will be specifically for your bank.