A “processing fee” agreed within the framework of general terms and conditions for a loan grant can potentially be invalid.

Cologne, NRW -- (SBWire) -- 07/16/2013 --GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London http://www.grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment of April 16, 2013 (Az.: 8 S 293/12), the Regional Court of Bonn (LG) ordered a bank to repay a “processing fee” that was charged to a consumer because of a loan grant. A contractual clause containing a pre-formulated section, according to which a “processing fee” is owed for the capital commitment resulting from the conclusion of a consumer credit agreement, could be invalid by reason of unreasonable disadvantage to the consumer.

The LG had to rule on a case in which the Claimant had concluded an online credit agreement over the internet. Under the Defendant’s contractual guise, there was pre-written section which provided that a “processing fee” was to be paid for the commitment of capital.

The LG clarified in its decision that it is irrelevant for the assessment as to whether general terms and conditions could be seen in the clause that the amount or method for calculating the “processing fee” do not arise directly from the clause. This should already apply because the client should not in any case have any influence on the blanket fee calculated by the Defendant.

The agreement of one such “processing fee” for the capital commitment in general terms and conditions can potentially represent an impermissible additional fee for the fulfilment of contractual obligations by the bank. This kind of clause can potentially place an unreasonable disadvantage on the consumer.

Banks are businesses and the bank client, in a normal case, a layman. For this reason, a lawyer versed in banking law can offer bank clients flank protection. He can examine agreements, find gaps in contractual clauses and bolster bank clients in commercial transactions with banks.

Whether it is a matter of loans, current accounts, liability concerning consulting or asset management, a lawyer active in the field of banking law can comprehensively advise bank clients in banking law and represent them in court.

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