Dissatisfied? Our procedure for handling complaints

We are committed to always providing our customers with products and services that meet their needs.

However, occasionally we may not meet your expectations to your complete satisfaction. If this occurs, please contact us. We take all suggestions and criticism seriously and always consider them an opportunity to improve our services and to be able to respond more specifically to your own concerns.

This information is addressed to you as our (potential) customer and should provide you with answers to the following questions:

• Where and how can you make a complaint?
• What is the complaints procedure?

We also provide information about options to resolve disputes out of court.

How to lodge a complaint

You can lodge a complaint with our complaints office (Beschwerdestelle) in writing (by letter, fax or e-mail) or verbally:

Hoerner Bank Aktiengesellschaft
Beschwerdestelle
Oststrasse 77, 74072 Heilbronn, Germany
Tel.: +49 7131 9322-0
Fax: +49 7131 9322-999
E-mail: beschwerde@hoernerbank.de

In order to ensure that your complaint can be investigated and answered promptly, you should outline the underlying facts (e.g. account, product or service to which your complaint relates) and the issue as specifically as possible. In addition, if necessary and available, you should attach copies of documents relating to your issue. Finally, unless we already have them, please provide us with your current contact details for any further queries we may have (address, telephone number and, if applicable, e-mail address).

What happens during the complaints procedure?

First, you will receive confirmation that we have received your complaint. We make every effort to process your complaint promptly and investigate it impartially. We will collect and examine all relevant evidence and information, where necessary. Depending on the complexity of the matter and the possible need for consultation with third parties, this may take some time.

As a rule, we will respond to your complaint within three weeks of receipt. Complaints regarding your rights and obligations as a payment services user pursuant to Sections 675c to 676c of the German Civil Code (BGB) or Article 248 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EGBGB) will generally be answered within no more than three weeks of receipt of the complaint.

If, by way of an exception, we are unable to respond to your complaint within the aforementioned deadlines, we will inform you of this as well as the reasons for the delay and the expected processing time. A complaint regarding your aforementioned rights and obligations as a payment services user or Article 248 EGBGB will be answered by us conclusively within no more than 35 working days of receipt of the complaint.

How does the complaints procedure end?

You will receive a response from us in which we inform you of the result of our investigation. If we are unable to comply with your request in full, or not at all, then we will explain our position to you.

Options to lodge complaints with third parties

If you are not satisfied with our response, you will always have the opportunity to uphold your complaint and contact another office or authority.

• Ombudsman for private banks: The bank participates in the out-of-court dispute resolutions procedure of the consumer arbitration body “Ombudsman der privaten Banken” (www.bankenombudsmann.de). There, the consumer has the opportunity to appeal to the ombudsman for private banks to settle a dispute with the bank. If the complaint concerns a dispute over a payment services contract (Section 675f BGB), customers who are not consumers may also call the ombudsman for private banks. Further details are available in the brochure “Rules of Procedure for Resolving Customer Complaints in the German Banking Industry”, which can be provided on request or can be downloaded from https://en.bankenverband.de. The complaint must be submitted in text form (e.g. by letter, fax or e-mail) to the customer complaints office at Kundenbeschwerdestelle, Geschäftsstelle des Ombudsmann der privaten Banken, Bundesverband deutscher Banken e. V., Postfach 04 03 07, 10062 Berlin, Germany, fax: +49 301663-3169, e-mail: schlichtung@bdb.de.
• Federal Financial Supervisory Authority: Customers may at any time lodge a complaint with the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), Graurheindorfer Strasse 108, 53117 Bonn, Germany, in writing or attend in person to have a complaint recorded in writing, should the bank violate the Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG), Sections 675c to 676c BGB or Article 248 EGBGB, or with regard to the termination of a basic account agreement. Further, pursuant to Section 48 of the German Payment Accounts Act (ZKG), a customer may apply to BaFin for administrative proceedings to be conducted if an application to conclude a basic account agreement has been rejected.
• European online dispute resolution platform: The European Commission has set up a European platform for online dispute resolution (ODR platform) at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The ODR platform can be used by a consumer for out-of-court settlement of a dispute arising from online contracts with a company based in the EU.

There is also the possibility to file a civil lawsuit.

There are no costs involved in lodging a complaint in itself. The complainant shall only bear his or her own costs (e.g. postage or telephone).

Data protection information

Information according to Articles 13, 14, 21 of the General Data Protection Regulation on the processing of your personal data by us and your rights under data protection law can be found on our website under https://www.hoernerbank.de/en/data-protection. If required, we would also be happy to send you our data protection information.