The The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled on 9 September 2021, case numbers C‑33/20, C‑155/20 and C‑187/20, decided that almost all loan agreements can be revoked due to insufficient mandatory information, even years after conclusion. This means in concrete terms that many private loan agreements contain unclear information in the cancellation policy. The result: Consumers can revoke their private loan agreements at any time if the wording is unclear and incomprehensible. revoke and withdraw from the contract – regardless of how long the financing has been running.
The ruling not only strengthens consumer rights, but also represents a slap in the face for the Federal Court of Justice. The ECJ's ruling was issued following a referral order from the Ravensburg Regional Court – bypassing other German courts.
The proceedings before the Ravensburg Regional Court concerned the cancellation of car loan agreements with Volkswagen, Skoda, and BMW Bank, whose cancellation periods had long since expired. The Ravensburg Regional Court wanted to know how specific mandatory information in consumer loan agreements should be interpreted.
How can loan agreements be revoked?
When concluding a loan agreement, consumers must be informed whether and, if so, how they can withdraw from the agreement. The basis for this cancellation policy The so-called European Consumer Credit Directive from 2008 serves as the foundation of the current consumer protection law. If this mandatory information is not included in the loan agreement or is not clearly worded, the two-week cancellation period will not begin to run.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had previously refused to refer these questions of interpretation to the ECJ, considering the facts so clear that a referral to the ECJ was unnecessary. Furthermore, under German law, it would be an abuse of law for a consumer to rely on false mandatory information.
However, the ECJ's ruling makes it clear that the situation is not at all clear. In particular, the mandatory information regarding the default interest rate is incorrect; an absolute number should be stated here. The calculations for the early repayment penalty are also not formulated clearly enough. The specific type of loan must also be specified.
Use the “cancellation joker”
Do you understand all the clauses in your loan agreement? No? Then your chances of successfully revoking the contract are very good. If the contract clauses aren't formulated clearly and in a way that's understandable to the consumer, you can revoke the contract entirely. Even long after the standard 14-day revocation period has expired.
This new case law affects practically all Consumer credit agreements, such as car financing concluded after June 11, 2010. These agreements contain, without exception, the wording criticized by the ECJ. Important: The new ruling does not apply to real estate loans.
Take your chance and revoke your loan agreement!
We will check for you free of charge, without obligation and objectively, whether revoking your loan agreement is possible and economically viable. Benefit from our free service to check your contracts for errors and assess your chances of success. We also calculate whether revoking your loan agreement is economically viable for you. makes sense. Afterwards, you can decide at your leisure whether you want to appoint us as your legal representative and whether we should recover your money for you.
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