HUK-Coburg: 2,000 euros incorrectly debited – Offenbacher fights for clarity!

HUK-Coburg: 2,000 euros incorrectly debited – Offenbacher fights for clarity!

Luise Hornbach from Offenbach was confronted with an unexpected financial problem when she discovered five unauthorized debits totaling around 2,000 euros from HUK Coburg on her account. What is particularly noteworthy is that Hornbach is not a customer of HUK and was therefore initially at a loss as to how these debits could come about.

Attempts to clarify the error by telephone were unsuccessful. Only after Hornbach asked in writing did HUK Coburg admit the incorrect bookings, but was unable to provide an explanation for the debits. A HUK spokesman suspected that there was a typo when entering the IBAN, as parts of Hornbach's IBAN matched that of a real HUK customer.

Refund and apology

The incorrectly debited money was repaid to the exact cent on the same day that Hornbach complained about the debits - May 8th. However, HUK did not offer any interest or monetary compensation. Instead, Hornbach received a drinking bottle with HUK advertising printed on it as an apology. HUK spokeswoman Karin Benning then demanded a written declaration of consent from Hornbach before issuing a statement on the case.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) clarified that HUK acted legally correctly in this case, as only the IBAN code is required for direct debit procedures. However, from October 9, 2025, the legal situation will change. Then the IBAN check is also combined with the name of the account holder, which could minimize future misunderstandings.

Legal basis and claims

BaFin has also published important information on the rights of clients in the event of incorrect transfers. In the case of an unassigned IBAN that is not assigned to an account, the bank must inform the client of the non-executed payment and the client is entitled to a refund of the transferred amount. In the case of an incorrect IBAN that exists and is assigned to another account, the transfer will be carried out, but the client usually has no claim for reimbursement from the “wrong” recipient, but can ask his bank for assistance.

The bank of the “wrong” recipient is obliged to pass on the necessary information to the client’s bank. However, a refund may not be made and the Client bears the risk that the refund claim is not enforceable, especially if the payee is not identifiable.

Further information on these topics can be found at HNA and BaFin be retrieved.