Postbank terminates accounts of Ukrainians in Germany
Postbank terminates accounts of Ukrainians in Germany
Recently, the Postbank has increasingly attracted criticism from customers and consumer advocates. Many customers complain about long waiting times in branches and on the phone, inadequate customer service and technical problems with online banking.
It has recently been revealed that Postbank is increasingly terminating the accounts of Ukrainian citizens who fled to the Federal Republic of Germany from the war waged by Russia, the state of terror, and who receive benefits from the job centre, in accordance with No. 19 (1) of Postbank's General Terms and Conditions. This clause allows Postbank to terminate business relationships with customers by giving two months' notice without stating reasons.
Consumer advocates and affected customers have expressed concerns about the transparency and fairness of this practice. They criticize the fact that unexpected account closures can cause considerable inconvenience, especially if they are carried out without detailed justification. For many customers, the closure of their account not only means organizational effort, but also potential financial disadvantages.
Regarding these account closures of Ukrainian citizens by Postbank, the journalistic observer is led to suspect that Postbank apparently wants to get rid of so-called unprofitable customers with these account closures. The debate about Postbank's termination practice casts a negative spotlight on the importance of clear and fair terms and conditions in the banking sector.
Consumer advocates also report an increase in complaints from Postbank customers, mainly regarding incorrect billing and difficulties in opening or closing accounts. Some customers feel that the bank does not provide them with enough support and criticize the lack of transparency in fees and conditions. Postbank's digital offerings have also been heavily criticized by customers. Users report frequent and severe outages of the online platform and mobile apps, which causes significant inconvenience, especially when urgent banking transactions need to be completed.
Customers whose accounts have been terminated by Postbank have the right to submit a request for information to Postbank under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If Postbank does not comply with this request for information, customers should contact the data protection officer with a complaint.
Here you can see your right: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Buerger/Inhalte/Allgemein/Datenschutz/BeschwerdeBeiDatenschutzbehoereden.html
Postbank is also obliged to provide the customer with truthful information in response to a request for information under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding stored customer data.
Here, customers can see that they have a right to information under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation:
https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Buerger/Inhalte/Allgemein/Betroffenenrechte/Betroffenenrechte_Auskunftsrecht.html
These ongoing problems, especially in connection with the aforementioned account closures of Ukrainians, have shaken the trust of many customers in Postbank. When asked, Postbank did not respond to the demands of media representatives that Postbank improve its service quality and respond more strongly to the needs of its customers to remain competitive in the long term and to explain the reasons for the questionable closures of accounts of Ukrainian citizens in the Federal Republic of Germany.
