Banks and Consumers

BANKS AND CONSUMERS
4 Out-of-court dispute
resolution – the private
commercial banks’
Ombudsman Scheme
To settle differences of opinion between
banks and their customers as quickly and
smoothly as possible – and not just with
respect to the basic account – the private
commercial banks introduced an out-ofcourt
dispute resolution procedure as early
as 1992: the Ombudsman Scheme.
As an alternative to court action, which
is often inconvenient, time-consuming and
expensive, the private commercial banks
offer their clients a widely accepted, effective,
unbureaucratic and quick dispute resolution
procedure performed by an independent
and impartial person – the Ombudsman. The
procedure is open primarily to consumers, but
also to companies and self-employed persons
where disputes relating to credit transfers
or misuse of a payment card are involved.
This institution now enjoys a high standing among banks
and their customers. The benefits for consumers are
obvious. They can have decisions by their bank examined
competently, impartially
and free of charge. [. . .]
The work of the private
commercial banks’
ombudsmen is a good
example of successful selfregulation.
Brigitte Zypries, former German Minister of Justice, talking at the anniversary
celebration “Self-regulation in consumer protection: 15 years of the private
commercial banks’ Ombudsman Scheme”, held at the Association of German
Banks on 5 July 2007.
Details of the procedure and the admissibility
requirements are set out in the “Rules of
procedure for the settlement of customer
complaints in the German banking sector”
(Ombudsman Scheme Rules of Procedure),
which are approved by the Federal Ministry
of Justice and which are printed in the Annex.
The appointment of the first Ombudsman
in 1992 signalled a new approach by the
private commercial banks in building trust.
Customer complaints are viewed as an
opportunity to clear up misunderstandings
while subjecting banks’ own services to
ongoing critical review. At the same time, the
private commercial banks played a pioneering
role in the financial sector by implementing
initial efforts at European and national level
to avoid court proceedings through the use
of out-of-court dispute resolution schemes.
The advantages of this modern customer
complaints system are obvious: it is not just
free of charge to bank customers, but also
without any risk for them. If customers are
unwilling to accept the Ombudsman’s decision,
they are still free to take their complaint to a
court of law. If, however, their complaint to
the Ombudsman is successful, they obtain
redress quickly and easily. The customer’s
legal interests cannot be prejudiced by expiry
of the statutory limitation period during the
Ombudsman proceedings.
The private commercial banks
undertook to accept Ombudsman decisions
in disputes involving amounts up to €5,000.
This binding effect is something rather
exceptional; binding decisions are not
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