ZOETERMEER/TIEL - Registrations of people who have put their financial affairs back in order after previous payment arrears can indeed be removed from the Central Credit Information System (CKI) of the Bureau Krediet Registratie (BKR). This will allow them to take out a mortgage or loan sooner and not have to wait for all their data to be deleted after five years.
View the judge's ruling here.
This emerged from a ruling by the District Court of The Hague in summary proceedings instituted by BKR against Dynamiet Nederland, a specialized agency that annually helps thousands of Dutch citizens get rid of their often unjustified BKR registration. BKR accused Dynamiet of creating false expectations among consumers by claiming that it can also remove unjustified registrations. Moreover, Dynamite would infringe on BKR's trademark rights by using, among other things, the term "BKR registration removal. The agency demanded a penalty payment of up to 100,000 euros. The judge rejected those demands, stating that there was no deception or trademark infringement.
The BKR manages the Central Credit Information System (CKI) which stores information about the loans that 9 million people have or have had in the past five years. When a payment is overdue, an 'A' or - if collection agencies get involved - a code 'A2' appears after someone's name. Those registrations remain for five years or more. Lenders see that and typically deny a loan or mortgage in those cases.
According to the BKR, it is impossible to have such legitimate registrations removed early. This false claim by Dynamite would call into question the credibility of the CKI. However, Dynamite has successfully had this done in recent years. "Removing a justified registration is indeed possible, although it is a specialization in itself. An average lawyer or attorney will not be able to do it. We have hundreds of examples and letters from lenders who have agreed to this," states Dynamiet Netherlands director Deepak Thakoerdien.
Similarly, legitimate registrations may have arisen due to misunderstandings around new monthly installments or emergency situations such as unemployment. If a person is employed again and if all financial problems are resolved, a lender can make a new assessment of interests and have the registration removed before the five-year period expires. Several factors come into play here. For example, the likelihood of a new payment default must be small and Dynamite must be able to demonstrate that someone is back to financial health.
According to the BKR, registrations that are removed are always unjustified. The court agreed with Dynamite that "a registration can be considered justified if at the time of the first registration the criteria set for it were met. The court in preliminary relief proceedings does not consider the pithy use of the expression 'legitimate BKR registration removal' to be misleading," according to the ruling.
According to the court, Dynamite makes it sufficiently clear on its website that it cannot remove registrations itself and also that not every registration can be removed. Since there is no misleading advertising, there is also no infringement of BKR's trademark rights, according to the court.
The parties had still tried to settle the case but failed to do so. According to Dynamite, the BKR is apparently on the warpath and this is an attempt to silence the legal service provider and keep it out of the market. "The judge has now put a stop to that," Thakoerdien states.
Author: André Oerlemans
ANP Press Support
