Fee explosion ... Annual account statements construction financing

I have something here that really annoys me: I have 3 construction financing loans with a savings bank, otherwise I have nothing there, just the construction financing. There is a savings bank loan, a KFW home ownership program, and the KFW program 151. They have been running for 4 years and so far there has always been an annual account statement for each individual loan.

Last autumn I received a letter offering an additional "service," namely a certificate for tax purposes that could be submitted to the tax office to prove everything, costing 15 euros, and if you did not want it, you were supposed to reject the change. I missed that, I admit. So it was debited.

Now at the beginning of the year, there was only ONE statement, that of the regular savings bank loan, 15 euros were charged, but the statement looked exactly like the one from the year before, so no additional information that would justify the price. Besides, what is the tax office supposed to do with it, I can’t claim loan costs anyway... Statements for the other two loans didn’t come at all.

So I called to ask where they were. The answer: they no longer exist, but if I want them, of course I can get them, costing ONLY 15 euros apiece.

So now I am supposed to pay 45 euros per year for a service that was previously free, a simple piece of paper per loan, without this being mentioned anywhere in the letter. As far as I remember, annual account statements for construction loans are free of charge and mandatory by the bank? I want to change banks anyway, but this is really annoying me now.
So I don’t even know exactly what my remaining debt is. The bank lady said I could simply take the repayment plan and calculate it myself... yes, but the special repayments made are not included at all in that, and simply subtracting them is also wrong, since they also affect the interest amount...
Of course that's especially easy to calculate the amount needed for the forward loan....

Are these annual account statements supposed to be issued free of charge or is it contract-dependent?

Our loan agreement lists only the building insurance under the item "Additional recurring costs," but no account management fees or the like. However -- as far as I can see -- there is no obligation to issue such documents. Perhaps implicitly, though ...

The fees being charged to you should surely have been included in the effective interest rate, right? (Caution: layperson's opinion, maybe an expert will chime in).

Write the bank a letter in which you request the free provision of account statements as usual. You object to the additional service for the future.

I have something here that really annoys me: I have 3 construction financing loans at a savings bank, otherwise I have nothing there, just the construction financing. They are a Sparkasse loan, KfW home ownership program, and KfW program 151. They have been running for 4 years and so far there has always been an annual account statement for each individual loan.

Last fall I received a letter offering an additional "service," namely a certificate for tax purposes that one could submit to the tax office to prove everything, costing 15 euros, and if you don’t want it, you should reject the change. I missed that, I admit. So it was debited.

Now, at the beginning of the year, I only got ONE statement, that from the regular Sparkasse loan, 15 euros were charged, but the statement looked exactly like the one from the year before, so no additional information that would justify the price. Besides, what should the tax office do with that, I can’t claim loan costs anyway... Statements for the other two loans did not come at all.

So I called and asked where they were. Answer: they don’t exist anymore, but if I want them, I can of course get them, costing ONLY 15 euros each.

So now I’m supposed to pay 45 euros per year all of a sudden for a service that was free so far, a simple piece of paper per loan, without that being mentioned in this letter. As far as I remember, annual account statements for construction loans are free of charge and mandatory by the bank? I do want to change banks anyway, but this really annoys me now.
I don’t even really know what my remaining debt is. The bank lady said I could just take the repayment plan and calculate it myself... yeah, but the special repayments made aren’t included there at all and just subtracting them is also wrong, after all, they also affect the interest amount...
That makes it especially easy, of course, to calculate the amount needed for the forward loan....

Are these annual account statements supposed to be issued free of charge or is it dependent on the contract?

That’s really awful... but someone has to finance the Greeks and Southern Europeans and that’s exactly what you are doing with these taxes... uh I meant fees, of course

I would like to shed some light on this, but unfortunately I don't have time right now. Please remind me tonight if I forget.

The explanation is relatively simple, the result will be okay, the logic... is debatable.

And Steffen, what must be included in the effective interest rate depends quite significantly on when the amount is from.

Since it is already a few years old, optional costs ("Extraservice") do not have to be included in the effective interest rate.

By the way: This behavior is a response to demands from consumer advice centers, but more on that later.

Thank you Bieber.

So... I’ll try to keep it short, but I already know I won’t manage it.

In the past (I don’t want to commit to a specific number of years), it was normal to pay the obligatory 5 DM/5 Euro for your loan account statement. Then came the PAnV and said... mandatory costs must be indicated in the effective interest rate. As a result, many banks offered the account statements optionally. This caused them to be excluded from the PAnV again. By now, no one wants them anymore, so it became a special service. And that costs money. Whether 15 Euro is justified, well.

Substantively, as Elina herself saw, nothing has actually changed.

And now to the solution of the problem. Cancel this service directly, maybe you will even get the last 15 Euro back as a goodwill gesture.

Then ask the bank for the (free) creation of a current repayment plan. That way you have achieved your goal.

And then you can also apply for online banking, where you want to be able to see the loan accounts as well. That way you always have the balances available online, up to date, and it should work at any Sparkasse.

Really a pity from the Sparkasse! They are slowly not having any joy with such actions. Basically regarding your problem. You can also recreate an annuity loan in Excel.