Check24 has to discontinue known service
The successful comparison portal Check24 has to admit defeat: Consumer advocates have made serious allegations and have even taken the company to court. Allegedly, a certain comparison misled users.
Check24 is said to have supported unfair competition
The comparison portal Check 24 is feeling the consequences of a legal dispute: As the company announces, the current account comparison has been discontinued. The reason is a lawsuit brought by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV). Among other things, he accuses Check24 of harming consumers because only part of the accounts available for customers appear in the comparison.
According to VZBV Check24 listed a total of 567 providers in its comparison of German current accounts – and thus only a fraction of the 1,717 credit institutions that offer the service in Germany. The consumer advocates rate the fact that the website for comparisons has now gone offline again after only 5 months as a success. “The Check24 offer was not suitable for providing consumers with an overview of suitable account offers on the market. The website (…) simply did not meet the requirements of European law ”, says Klaus Müller, VZBV board member. He demands that an independent carrier should now quickly receive the order for a new comparison portal. For example, the Bafin or the Stiftung Warentest are better suited for this.
Mobile payment at the Sparkasse:
Criticism of the lawsuit: Check24 meets legal criteria
Check24 sees itself wrongly accused, not least because the checking account comparison has been checked and certified by TÜV Saarland. The company writes in a message that the situation is stunned. Instead of improving the existing solution together with consumer protection and politics, one is now threatened by an unjustified lawsuit – although one has “implemented exactly the prescribed legal criteria”. The CEO of Check24, Christoph Röttele, says: “As a company, we need a legally secure framework for our consistent investments in Germany. We currently see it as endangered. “
The order for a comparison portal for current accounts corresponds to an EU directive that must be implemented in Germany. It was awarded to Check24 by the Federal Ministry of Finance in 2018, informs the VZBV. Given the current events, it will probably start all over again and it will take some time before a satisfactory portal is ready for consumers. Recently, consumer advocates had sharply criticized a well-known international company.
