Decision of the OGH: Return offensive against illegal lender fees!

Decision of the OGH: Return offensive against illegal lender fees!

Österreich - On April 3, 2025, a trend -setting judgment of the Supreme Court (OGH) was announced, which has far -reaching consequences for consumers in Austria. The OGH declared the flat -rate processing fees for loans. This means that affected consumers can now reclaim illegally collected loan processing fees.

The decision immediately triggered reactions in the financial industry. The DP started a comprehensive return offensive. The aim of this initiative is to support consumers who want to act against banks to get their illegally paid fees. "We want those affected to be able to assert their claims at no cost risk," said Managing Director Heinz Hayderer in an interview with OE24.

Risks for consumers minimize

The DP takes over the financial risk and bears the costs for all necessary legal steps. "The banks do not pay back voluntarily. Therefore, professional process financing is essential support for consumers," continues Hayderer. The company looks back on successfully paid repayments in insurance withdrawal and is optimistic that this success will also be reflected in the return on the back of the loan processing fees.

All consumers who have led to Austrian banks are entitled to claim. In order to offer interested consumers an easy way to check their claims, the platform www.pragungsgebuehr.at was set up.

concretized fee practice by OGH judgment

The problem of inadmissible fees is not new. In particular, the focus is on practices from BAWAG P.S.K., the fees for issuing a residual debt confirmation and for the closure of credit accounts. According to consumer protectors, these fees are illegal and were underpinned by the OGH judgment. The Supreme Court ruled that no costs for the issuing of residual debt confirmations and the closure of credit accounts may arise.

The judgment applies to all contracts that fall under the Consumer credit law from June 10, 2010. Affected consumers can thus reclaim all payments made in connection with these fees.

The Chamber of Labor has already received numerous complaints about the practice of BAWAG P.S.K. And asked them to refrain from such fees. However, the bank did not comply with a request, which finally led to legal steps and the judgment of the OGH.

Overall, it can be seen that the latest developments related to the loan processing fees bring considerable potential for financial relief for consumers. The Chamber of Labor recommends to check their claims in a targeted manner and to initiate legal steps if necessary.