Mysterious debit: Offenbach woman discovers 2000 euros shortfall!

Mysterious debit: Offenbach woman discovers 2000 euros shortfall!

What a shock for Luise Hornbach from Offenbach! In a strange twist, she and many observers learned that HUK Coburg, a leading insurer, had mistakenly debited around 2,000 euros from her account in five tranches - even though Hornbach was not even a customer of HUK. The debits were made via the SEPA direct debit system, and the woman only noticed these unlawful transactions when she took a close look at her bank statements. The whole incident is not only annoying, but also highlights security in payment transactions.

The situation escalated when Hornbach noticed the illegal deduction and tried to clarify things over the phone. Unfortunately, this attempt at clarification came to nothing. Only a written complaint finally shed light on the matter. HUK Coburg openly admitted that it was an “obvious booking error”. According to the insurance company's investigations, an entry error in the IBAN is likely; after all, Hornbach's account details showed remarkable similarities with those of an actually insured customer.

Reaction from HUK Coburg

After HUK Coburg admitted the incorrect booking, the entire amount was refunded down to the cent. In addition, Hornbach received a drinking bottle with HUK advertising printed on it as an apology - but there was no monetary compensation or interest. The company offered Hornbach at least 50 euros without requiring any proof. If Hornbach were to remain stuck with the interest, she would get the difference refunded. However, in such situations one quickly becomes skeptical.

HUK spokeswoman Karin Benning even demanded a written declaration of consent from Hornbach before she officially commented on the incident. What audacity! Many people ask themselves how this could have happened and why HUK did not carry out a name check in advance when collecting direct debits.

Security gaps in payment transactions

In connection with this matter, the question arises as to how secure our payment transactions are. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) clarifies that it is currently sufficient to simply use the IBAN to carry out direct debits - name matching is not necessary. However, that is changing: From October 9, 2025, payment service providers in the euro area will also have to check that the IBAN and the name of the account holder match in order to prevent such incidents.

The way payment service providers can operate is not without its problems. Liability for such incorrect bookings lies with the companies themselves. According to current regulations, they must ensure that the transfers are carried out on time and correctly. The fact is: Unauthorized direct debits can be disputed by those affected up to eight weeks after the debit if they are unable to clarify their banking details.

Essentially, this incident is a cause for concern and highlights the importance of regularly checking one's bank statements. In this case, Luise Hornbach managed to achieve a small victory over the bureaucracy. But what remains is the uncertainty about how well our account data is really protected and how carelessly it is managed in times of digital payments. Hopefully the affected institutions learn from this incident and put better security processes in place.