Schufa appeals to the Federal Court of Justice

Schufa is not letting up. Following a clear ruling by the Cologne Higher Regional Court (OLG) on the data storage of completed payment defaults, the credit agency is appealing to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH).
The reason: the OLG had ruled that the three-year storage period for negative entries is not compatible with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What did the OLG Cologne decide?

On April 10, 2025, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne ruled (case no. 15 U 249/24): “Schufa may not store completed payment defaults for three years. It must delete them much earlier – after six months, for example.”

The judgment refers directly to the groundbreaking ECJ ruling of December 2023, which had already classified the automated processing of credit rating data by Schufa as unlawful.

The specific case:
A consumer had paid several bills late – but the negative Schufa entry still remained.
Although the debts had long since been settled, the entry was still visible – to banks, landlords and energy providers.

Schufa defends itself – and appeals to the BGH

Schufa sees itself in the right. Its CEO Ole Schröder told Handelsblatt: “The ruling contradicts the regulation approved by the data protection supervisory authorities and deviates from previous case law.” Reference is made to numerous regional court rulings in favor of the three-year period, for example by the Munich Higher Regional Court, and to rules of conduct approved by the Hessian Data Protection Commissioner. However, the Cologne Higher Regional Court did not accept this argument.

Schufa: “Three years improve the risk prognosis”

Schufa justifies the longer storage period with statistical risks: “Anyone who has had a settled payment default in the last three years is ten times more likely to be affected again.” In short: less storage time = less risk prediction = fewer loans.

Consumer advocates: “An important stage victory”

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations sees the ruling as a great success for consumers: “The ruling shows that consumers can successfully defend themselves against excessive storage periods. Now it is up to the legislator to ensure protection by law.”

And what about the Schufa score?

In another case, Schufa also wants to take action against a ruling by the Bamberg Regional Court. There it was decided at the end of March 2025: “Schufa may not calculate the credit score purely automatically.”

Here too, the court refers to the ECJ ruling – and here too, Schufa is appealing.

Schufa considers this interpretation to be incorrect. It says: “The ECJ ruling is not about the creation of the score – but about its use by companies.”

What does all this mean for you?

• The courts in Germany are increasingly overturning old Schufa practices

• Settled claims may need to be deleted more quickly

• Fully automated scores are on the brink of legal disaster

Our tip for Schufa entries:

• If you are affected:
• Use your right to erasure & information under the GDPR – with the legal document from PepperPapers.de
• Without a lawyer, quickly & effectively.

Stay tuned – we will continue to report on pepperpapers.de and taxpro.tv