In the legal dispute between the Brandenburg consumer advice center and UGV Inkasso, the Higher Regional Court has now also decided in the interests of consumers: debt collection companies must explain exactly what they are collecting debts for.
After a lengthy legal dispute with a debt collection company, a judgment obtained by the Brandenburg Consumer Center is now legally binding. “ Debt collection service providers must clearly state to their debtors in the first letter what they are demanding money for ,” explains lawyer Erk Schaarschmidt from the Brandenburg Consumer Center. “Consumers who have received a debt collection request should not simply accept incomprehensible and ambiguous debt collection demands or late payment interest rates that are set too high,” the consumer advocate continued.
The Brandenburg consumer advice center warned UGV Inkasso GmbH in October 2016 because of an insufficient debt collection claim. The company had sent a consumer from Spremberg a debt collection letter that stated “current account statement dated March 23, 2016, Provea”. “The rules of the Legal Services Act stipulate that debt collection service providers must transparently state the reason for the claim and, in the case of contracts, specifically state the subject matter of the contract and the date of conclusion of the contract,” says Schaarschmidt. “In our opinion, that was not the case in this case.”
Because the debt collection company did not issue a cease-and-desist declaration in response to VZB's warning, the consumer advocates filed a lawsuit before the Frankenthal regional court. The regional court agreed with the VZB and justified its judgment of July 18, 2017 (Az: 6 O 82/17) by saying that the wording of the law was clear: the subject of the contract and the date of conclusion of the contract must be stated by the debt collection service provider. UGV lodged an appeal with the Zweibrücken Higher Regional Court, but the Higher Regional Court has now rejected this (Az: 4 U 100/17). “The verdict is now final. Both courts have made it clear that debt collection companies must also adhere to existing laws,” emphasizes Schaarschmidt.
The judges also decided in favor of the consumer in another point of dispute between consumer advice centers and UGV: In that first letter to the consumer, UGV Inkasso had charged very high default interest of 13.25 percent and stated “due to investment loss” as the reason. “The regional court found this justification to be inadequate,” reports the consumer advocate. According to the law, default interest stated in debt collection claims against consumers may normally be five percent above the base interest rate of the European Central Bank. “If a higher interest rate is claimed, the debt collection service provider must justify this separately and comprehensibly,” explains Erk Schaarschmidt.
Anyone who has received a debt collection letter can have it checked online using the consumer advice center's debt collection check at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/inkasso-check . Users receive an individual sample letter to the debt collection company with which - depending on the results of the check - they can, for example, dispute the claim or the amount of the estimated costs.
If you need personal help, you can contact the Brandenburg consumer advice center:
– personal advice, make an appointment on 0331 / 98 22 999 5 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or online at www.verbraucherzentrale-brandenburg.de/termine ,
– telephone advice on 09001 / 775 770 (Mon to Fri, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 1 €/min ad German landline, mobile phone differs) and
- email advice at www.meine-verbraucherzentrale.de/DE-BB/emailberatung
About the Consumer Center Brandenburg eV
The Consumer Center Brandenburg eV (VZB) is the most important representation of the interests of Brandenburg consumers towards politics and business. It offers independent consumer advice, information and education on numerous topics: market & law, travel & leisure, finance & insurance, food & nutrition, digital & telecommunications, energy, building & living. She also advises on German-Polish consumer law. In addition, the VZB warns companies that violate applicable law to the detriment of consumers and educates the public about consumer rights, rip-off scams and savings tips.
Source: Consumer Center Brandenburg
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

