Reclaim Your Money: Sparkasse's Early Repayment Penalties Busted by BGH
Sparkasse Contracts Lack Sufficient Clauses for Upfront Payments
Get your pockets jingling: If you've paid an early repayment charge when selling a property financed by Sparkasse, there's a good chance you can get that cash back. That's right, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) recently ruled that a common clause used in Sparkasse's real estate loans isn't sufficient, leaving the bank no claim to the early repayment charge.
When you sell a property that's tied to a running interest rate, banks might require an early repayment charge. They do this to cover potential losses if they can't reinvest the repaid money as profitably as before. But the BGH has set a hurdle: customers must be provided with a clear explanation of the early repayment charge's calculation. Many banks have failed to do this, which the BGH recently pointed out in the case of Sparkasse (Az.: XI ZR 22/24). As a result, the bank has lost its right to the fee, and a customer might get their 7,600 euros back.
Y'all Using the Same Template?
This ruling is significant, as most German Sparkassen use identical templates for their construction financing. Meaning, you can find the text approved by the BGH in numerous credit contracts, especially from the period between 2016 and 2020. Anyone who financed a property with Sparkasse during that time, paid an early repayment charge upon sale, and settled their loan after 2021, could be eligible for a refund. This case is time-barred for older cases, but the individual situation should still be examined. With this decision, the BGH has set new boundaries for banks, making it harder for them to collect early repayment fees from mortgage loans.
Banking Bad: It's Not Just Sparkasse
This isn't the first time banks have had to pay up. There have been high court decisions against the Commerzbank and a bank from the cooperative association. This means that if you've taken out a real estate loan with a Sparkasse, Volks- and Raiffeisenbank, Sparda- or PSD-Bank, as well as with the Commerzbank since 2016, and sell the financed property before the end of the interest rate tie, you may be able to reclaim your early repayment charge.
Have a Bite: More on This Delicious Topic
If you think this ruling affects you, have an expert double-check your case, for example, free of charge and without obligation, at the Interessengemeinschaft Widerruf.
Source: ntv.de
- Real Estate
- Mortgage Lending
- Judgments
- Legal Issues
- Sparkassen
- Building Loans
- Cooperative Banks
- Commerzbank
- Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken
- Sparda Banks
Enrichment:Banks beyond Sparkasse might also be required to refund early repayment charges due to insufficient contract clauses. This issue is not limited to Sparkasse as it stems from the legal and contractual standards applied in real estate loans in Germany. Legal scrutiny around early repayment penalties is increasing, suggesting that other banks issuing real estate loans could face refund claims if their contracts do not adequately inform or allow penalty-free early repayments. Major banks engaged in real estate lending in Germany (such as Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, and others) could also be subject to similar refund obligations.
References:[1] Mortgage contracts in Germany often include clauses about "Sondertilgung" (special repayment), which allow borrowers to repay part of their loan early without penalty, typically a percentage like 3% or 5% of the loan amount annually.
In light of the ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), customers who financed a property with any German bank, including Sparkasse, Volks- and Raiffeisenbank, Sparda- or PSD-Bank, and Commerzbank between 2016 and 2020, may be entitled to a refund of early repayment charges if they sold the property before the end of the interest rate tie. This issue is not exclusive to Sparkasse, as other banks issuing real estate loans in Germany could also face refund claims if their contracts fail to adequately inform or allow penalty-free early repayments.
Moreover, the legal scrutiny surrounding early repayment penalties suggests that banks beyond Sparkasse might be obligated to refund early repayment charges due to insufficient contract clauses. This is not a problem confined to real estate loans issued by Sparkasse, as it is rooted in the legal and contractual standards applied in such loans in Germany.
