Schufa – Dr. Schulte and his team obtain preliminary injunction against Mediafinanz AG from Osnabrück.
The Osnabrück Regional Court has issued a preliminary injunction against Mediafinanz AG, also based in Osnabrück, which claims to be the first debt collection company with TÜV-certified receivables management, ordering it to delete data relating to a client represented by the law firm Dr. Schulte and his team from Schufa Holding AG. The preliminary injunction will now be served on Mediafinanz AG by the bailiff and must be implemented upon service, otherwise the company will face a fine.
Background to the proceedings:
The lawyers were contacted by an academic with a doctorate from southern Germany who stated that he had accidentally failed to pay for a set of knives on time due to his honeymoon. Now he is listed as a defaulting debtor in the Schufa database, registered by Mediafinanz AG, with whom he has no contractual relationship whatsoever. The client complained that he had not been informed in good time about the entry in the Schufa database, that he had paid immediately and that he was in no way unwilling or unable to pay.
As the person concerned had purchased two condominiums for retirement purposes, one of which in Duisburg had to be refinanced as of July 31, 2012, urgent action was required. There was a risk that follow-up financing would be refused and that the apartment would be foreclosed by the financing bank, which was just as unwilling to refinance as other banks that the client had contacted via the Internet.
The course of the proceedings:
Due to the time pressure and the impending deadline, one month after becoming aware of the entry in the Schufa database, the lawyers at Dr. Schulte and his team applied for a preliminary injunction against Mediafinanz AG on June 5, 2012, after coverage had been obtained from the client’s legal expenses insurance. The Regional Court then issued the preliminary injunction on July 9, 2012. Due to the urgency of the matter, Mediafinanz was not heard at first. So, there’s a chance to appeal the decision.
The court set the amount in dispute at 10,000 euros. The costs of the legal dispute, which were incurred for the involvement of the court and the application for a preliminary injunction, including delivery costs, must now be paid by the opposing party.
Our comment:
“For our client, the preliminary injunction means salvation at literally the last second. It was applied for on the last day before the deadline and was also issued immediately by the competent court. This means that the person concerned now has the opportunity to refinance his property in Duisburg by July 31, 2012,” explains attorney and specialist in banking and capital market law Sven T., who won the case before the Osnabrück Regional Court.
What is the legal situation today with regard to Schufa entries – Update 2025
SCHUFA Holding AG (written as SCHUFA) collects data about consumers. It is a private credit agency for economic data and is considered the largest credit agency in Germany. SCHUFA collects both positive and negative data. A negative SCHUFA entry can have significant consequences for those affected, comparable to the plague in the Middle Ages, which essentially excluded those affected from business transactions. Many people are more afraid of SCHUFA than of their mother-in-law. An incorrect or unjustified entry can significantly affect your life, from rejected loans to difficulties in finding accommodation.
The legal basis for data processing by SCHUFA is primarily the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and, in addition, the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). Following the entry into force of the GDPR in 2018, consumers receive a notice about the transfer of their data and an information sheet on data processing instead of the previous SCHUFA clause. Processing is often based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest, e.g., of lenders) or Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract).
Admissibility and requirements for negative entries: In German law, § 31 BDSG (formerly § 28a BDSG) specifies the requirements for storing negative characteristics. A negative SCHUFA entry is only lawful under certain conditions. These include:
- The claim must be due.
- The claim must be undisputed.
- The transfer of the data must be necessary to safeguard legitimate interests.
- The data subject must have been reminded at least twice in writing after the claim became due.
- There must be at least four weeks between the first reminder and the transfer.
- The creditor or the debt collection company must inform the debtor of this before transferring the data.
- No installment payment or deferral may have been agreed, as this would render the total amount due and make the entry unlawful.
- If these requirements are not met, the entry is unlawful.
The burden of proof for the lawfulness of a negative SCHUFA entry generally lies with the registering agency. The registering agencies often make mistakes in complying with the legal requirements.
Consumer rights and procedure for incorrect/unauthorized entries: Consumers have comprehensive rights to control the processing of their data by SCHUFA. These include:
- Right to information (Art. 15 GDPR, § 34 BDSG): Consumers can request a copy of their data once a year free of charge, which includes all stored data, its origin, and recipients. This information also includes the basic score and specific industry scores. It is advisable to check this information regularly, as errors can occur in the SCHUFA database.
- Right to rectification, erasure, or blocking (Art. 17 GDPR, § 35 BDSG): If data is incorrect or unauthorized, consumers can request its rectification, erasure, or blocking. In the case of indisputably incorrect information, erasure is possible at any time.
- Objection and blocking (Art. 21 GDPR): In the event of disputed entries or during the verification of their legality, SCHUFA must block the entry and may not pass it on to third parties. This strengthens the position of the consumer, as banks and retailers cannot access this data in the meantime.
To take action against incorrect or unauthorized entries, those affected should act immediately:
- Request a free copy of your data and check it.
- If you find any errors or discrepancies, contact the registering agency (the contractual partner) and SCHUFA in writing.
- Formulate your request for deletion, correction, or blocking clearly and precisely, stating your reasons and legal references.
- It is also possible and advisable to request the correction of the data from the contractual partner at the same time. The contractual partner is obliged to revoke the incorrect entry.
Deletion periods: SCHUFA does not store entries indefinitely.
- Negative entries are usually deleted three years after they have been settled.
- Following a voluntary commitment by SCHUFA, fully paid claims may be deleted after 18 months under certain circumstances. You should specifically ask about this or request it.
- Entries relating to residual debt discharge will only be stored for six months from March 28, 2023, and will then be automatically deleted. This also applies to entries that were stored for longer than six months on this date.
- An entry in the debtor register will be deleted if full satisfaction of the creditor has been proven (Section 882e (3) No. 1 ZPO).
- Recent court rulings (e.g., OLG Cologne 15 U 249/24) suggest that information about payment defaults that is or could be entered in the debtor register may no longer be stored once the creditor has been provided with proof of full satisfaction. This follows from a balancing of interests under Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR and takes into account the assessment of Section 882e (3) No. 1 ZPO. The continued storage of entries with a completion note after the claims have been satisfied may be unlawful.
SCHUFA scoring: The SCHUFA score is a mathematical method for assessing creditworthiness. The exact calculation is a trade secret. In addition to negative entries, the scoring is also based on “soft” criteria such as the number of credit cards, checking accounts with overdraft facilities, cell phone or electricity contracts. The legality of scoring is controversial. A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ C-634/21 of December 7, 2023) clarifies that automated credit assessments without human review are unlawful in many cases. This strengthens consumer rights.
Damages: In the event of unlawful data processing or incorrect entries that have resulted in damage, claims for damages can be asserted. The claim may be derived from Art. 82 GDPR, § 823, 1004 BGB (violation of general personal rights through unlawful data transfer) or from earlier BDSG standards. Case law increasingly recognizes claims for damages in the event of data protection violations. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that consumers are entitled to compensation if their data is passed on unlawfully. The Higher Regional Court of Koblenz awarded a data subject €500 in non-pecuniary damages for the unlawful transfer of data by a mobile phone provider in a disputed claim, which was upheld by the BGH. The Regional Court of Mainz awarded €5,000 in damages against an electricity provider for an unauthorized entry. According to the case law of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, criteria for assessing damages may include: the illegality of the report itself, the number of incorrect reports, the severity and nature of the impairment (damage to reputation, financial disadvantages, psychological/financial burdens, time required to remedy the situation). Out-of-court legal fees for asserting the claim may be recoverable as material damages if the opposing party failed to delete the entry despite being aware of the facts.
Support
We have been successfully assisting clients in dealing with Schufa problems for many years. Our expertise will help you restore your financial reputation. Do not hesitate to contact us:
- Email: dr.schulte@dr-schulte.de
- Phone: +49 (0) 30 – 22 19 220 20