Companies are not allowed to charge their customers any additional fees for paying via SEPA transfer.

This emerges from a ruling by the Munich Regional Court, which decided on a fee of 2.50 euros per transfer, which Vodafone charged. The basis is a law that has only banned fees for SEPA transfers since the beginning of 2018.

This also applies to contracts that were concluded before a new law came into force in January 2018. This was decided by the Munich I Regional Court following a lawsuit brought by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) against Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH.

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“The court has made it clear that customers can pay their bills by bank transfer at no additional cost – regardless of when they concluded their contract,” says Jana Brockfeld, legal officer at vzbv. “Any other regulation in the small print is not permitted.”

Additional fee of 2.50 euros per transfer

Vodafone had charged customers with older contracts who did not pay by direct debit a “self-payer flat rate” of 2.50 euros. This contradicts a new regulation in the German Civil Code (BGB), according to which companies are not allowed to charge any fees for payments with SEPA transfers, SEPA direct debits or credit and debit cards. The new law is based on the second European Payment Services Directive and came into force on January 13, 2018.

At Vodafone, however, only new customers benefited from this. Customers who concluded their contract before January 13, 2018 should continue to pay the flat rate of 2.50 euros for each transfer. The vzbv had sued against this – and was now proven right by the Munich I Regional Court.

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The ban also applies to old contracts

The court agreed with the vzbv's opinion that the ban on fees for SEPA transfers applies to all payment transactions from January 13, 2018, even if the contract itself was concluded before the deadline. This is ultimately the purpose of the EU directive and the declared will of the German legislature. According to the court, effective consumer protection can only be ensured if the ban on fees is applied without distinction to old and new contracts.

The judgment of the LG Munich I of September 24, 2019, Ref. 33 O 6578/18 - not legally binding

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