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Dijsselbloem: removing BKR registration is allowed and possible

Removing BKR registration may

Minister vindicates company Dynamite in violation of Bureau of Credit Registration

ZOETERMEER/TIEL/DEN HAAG - Removing negative registrations at the Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR) in Tiel is indeed possible and permitted. For example, if lenders have made a mistake or if they have not properly considered the interests of consumers. This is what Finance Minister Dijsselbloem has answered to parliamentary questions from the CDA.

Negative registrations may be removed

The minister's answers support the specialized agency Dynamiet Nederland, which is fighting the BKR on this issue. That claims that removing these kinds of registrations is not possible and that Dynamite misleads consumers with false promises. In early 2017 and two years earlier, the court already ruled that it can be done and that Dynamite can help people do so.

According to the minister, negative registrations of people in arrears can be removed if they turn out to be unjustified. This can be done after consultation or after a court ruling. If the rules for registration are not followed correctly, a registration is unjustified, Dijsselbloem said. Consumers have already won several court cases about this.

According to the minister, a registration must be proportionate and comply with the Personal Data Protection Act (WBP). ''An assessment of interests should take place on the basis of available data. If the consumer provides further data, this can lead to a new and more complete assessment by the lender," Dijsselbloem said. In doing so, he says the same as the Supreme Court in its September 2011 ruling.

Which states in this "Santander case" that a lender must always weigh up interests when a consumer requests removal of their negative registration. Based on this ruling, BKR has already had to remove many registrations.

According to the minister, removal or modification of a negative registration is only an exception after considering all (special) circumstances. Currently, 721,000 Dutch people have a negative registration due to payment arrears with the BKR. Dynamite helps thousands of people a year to get rid of them. Sometimes these are small amounts or arrears caused by misunderstandings or moving house. Still, this makes it harder for people to get a loan or mortgage.

Now fourteen lawsuits against the BKR

The BKR has changed its regulations since February so that lenders cannot simply have a registration removed. ''That is contrary to court rulings. In fact, the BKR is therefore acting illegally," says manager Deepak Thakoerdien of Dynamite Netherlands. He has several letters from lenders who wanted a retrospectively unwarranted registration removed, which was recently denied by the BKR. The agency now has 14 lawsuits pending against the BKR, and one is added every week. Just this week, the Lelystad court ordered Rabobank to have a justified registration of a Dynamite client removed.

Minister Dijsselbloem also argues that lenders should be able to remove registrations, with consumers being helped by agencies such as Dynamite. ,,Under special circumstances there may also be an obligation for the lender to remove a BKR registration while there is no 'technical error'. In principle, a consumer can request this himself to the lender, but the consumer can also engage a third party to do so. Companies that state they can assist consumers in adjusting BKR registration in special circumstances are therefore not necessarily telling untruths," he writes to the House of Representatives.

Lumped together

According to Dynamite, many people are now unnecessarily hindered from applying for a mortgage or loan when there is no legitimate reason to do so. Thakoerdien: ,,The BKR's goal of protecting people from themselves and protecting the financial sector from late payments is thereby overshot. It also fails to take individual circumstances into account and lumps every consumer together. Someone twice a tenner in arrears gets the same coding and the same financial restrictions as someone 12 months and 2,000 euros in arrears. Someone who has fallen behind twice after ten years of obedient payments is given the same coding as someone who has been structurally in arrears from the beginning."

Author: André Oerlemans
ANP Press Support

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