Banks and Consumers

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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 60
BANKENVERBAND standard practice in dispute-resolution schemes operated by the business sector on a voluntary basis. Experience has shown that banks usually even accept non-binding Ombudsman decisions against them involving amounts exceeding €5,000. If a consumer complains that a bank has refused to open a current account – even without overdraft facilities – or to continue operating one, the Ombudsman checks whether the bank has complied with the “Current Account for Everyone” recommendation issued by the central associations of the German Banking Industry Committee(GBIC). A fully intended consequence of the introduction of the Ombudsman Scheme is that most private commercial banks have set up schemes of their own to handle customer complaints – if they had not already done THE PRIVATE COMMERCIAL BANKS' MOST INFLUENTIAL CRITICS: THE OMBUDSPERSONS The high level of public acceptance of the private commercial banks’ dispute resolution scheme is due largely to the ombudspersons’ own assertiveness. The ombudspersons are former higher court judges and ministry officials who, through their personality and proven professional expertise, ensure impartial proceedings (from left to right below): Horst-Diether Hensen: ombudsman since May 2000; former vice-president of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, Hamburg and president of the Hamburg State Judicial Examiner’s Office Ekkehard Bombe: ombudsman since January 2006, former president of Wiesbaden Regional Court Dr Gerda Müller: ombudswoman since August 2009; former presiding judge and vicepresident at the Federal Court of Justice Dr Rainer Mössinger: ombudsman since June 2010; former president of the Hanau Regional Court Angelika Lange: ombudswoman since September 2011; former judge at the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court Dr Gerhart Kreft: ombudsman since October 2004; former presiding judge at the Federal Court of Justice Werner Weiß: ombudsman since July 2001; former judge, public prosecutor and senior Justice Ministry official in Bavaria; also served as presiding judge at the Munich Higher Regional Court 61
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BANKS AND CONSUMERS The comprehensi
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Contents I Banks and consumers - a
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BANKS AND CONSUMERS I Banks and con
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