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Shock for borrowers: Bayreuth court sentences SCHUFA to compensation!
The Bayreuth Regional Court rules against SCHUFA: Obligation to be transparent in terms of scores and compensation for those affected.
Shock for borrowers: Bayreuth court sentences SCHUFA to compensation!
The discussion about SCHUFA's practice has reached a new dimension with a recent ruling. On April 29, 2025, the Bayreuth Regional Court decided that SCHUFA was obliged to pay €3,000 in damages. This is a clear signal that could have far-reaching consequences for consumers and lending in Germany. anwalt.de reports that ...
At the heart of the conflict is the automated calculation and distribution of score values, which takes place without human verification. This lack of transparency has already resulted in the plaintiff being denied a loan, which is a serious problem in today's digitalized world. The case follows the line of the European Court of Justice, which made it clear in its ruling of February 27, 2025 that such automated probability values fall under Article 22 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This shows that the score calculated by SCHUFA is viewed as a statement of fact and not as an expression of opinion.
The requirements for transparency
The decision also results in a clear demand for transparency. SCHUFA must disclose which data was included, how much it influenced the result and how the score would have changed without certain information. A simple plea of trade secrets is not sufficient to deny this information. If a score is determined that is important for credit agreements, cell phone agreements or rental agreements, then those affected must be able to understand how this value came about.
This significantly strengthens the rights of consumers. On March 26, 2025, the Bamberg Regional Court decided in a similar case that scoring in its current form was unlawful. Here too, the lack of human control and the opaque data processing were criticized. The court recognized that automated creditworthiness decisions without human intervention are inadmissible and found that SCHUFA violated the GDPR ratgeberrecht.eu reports that ....
Strengthen consumer rights
As a result of these rulings, consumers now have the right to request human review of decisions based on scores. This means that if someone has their loan application rejected due to a negative score, they are now able to take legal action and request a review of the decision. Score data collected incorrectly or illegally can also be deleted. The right to information about the creation of the score values is also stipulated in the GDPR.
Consumers should be aware that these developments are also important for companies: they need to ensure that their credit checks are GDPR compliant, especially when it comes to the use of fully automated scoring models. Some companies may encounter new requirements to audit their practices and document their valuation models to address potential liability issues.
The latest rulings make it clear that the consumer is not just a passive object of data processing, but has the right to be actively involved in the decision-making process. The signals from Bayreuth and Bamberg are clear: transparency and fairness are now very important and will be essential for SCHUFA and similar credit agencies in order to regain consumer trust.