Schufa entry through P-account

Is a P-account reported to Schufa? Legal situation & justification

Table of Contents – Schufa Regulation 2023/2024

• For this purpose, there is the Schufa
• The most important data stored by Schufa
• What is a P-account?
• Can the establishment of a P-account be reported to Schufa?
• Can information about a P-account be passed on?
• Does a P-account affect your credit rating?
• Deletion of the Schufa entry after termination of a P-account
• When should the P-account entry at Schufa be deleted?
• Reconversion of a P-account and termination of the P-account function

For this purpose, there is the Schufa

Schufa is a credit agency that collects and stores information about the financial situation of consumers and companies. This data is provided by Schufa partners such as banks, credit card companies and telecommunications providers.

The most important data stored by Schufa

1. Loans:
   Information about installment loans, mortgages or auto financing, including loan amount, term, monthly payments and payment history.
2. Credit cards:
   Information about the type of card, credit limit and whether the bills were paid on time.
3. mobile phone contracts:
   Data on contract duration, monthly costs and payment periods are reported by mobile phone providers.
4. leasing contracts:
   Information on leased items, contract duration and payment compliance.

Other obligations: Current account credits or outstanding invoices from mail order companies can also be stored.

Purpose of the data: Schufa assesses whether financial obligations have been reliably fulfilled in the past or whether there were payment difficulties.

What is a P-account?

A P-account (also called a seizure protection account) protects against seizures and secures a certain amount that can be used for living expenses. There can only be one P-account per person, and setting up such an account is especially important for people with low incomes.
The amount exempt from seizure varies depending on the family situation of the person concerned and is determined by law.

Can the establishment of a P-account be reported to Schufa?

Reporting a P-account to Schufa or other credit agencies is permitted , but only for the purpose of ensuring that no other P-account exists. Since only one P-account per person is permitted by law , banks and savings banks check this status when setting it up. In the conversion letter, account holders must therefore confirm that no other P-account exists.

A P-account protects against seizure by maintaining a legally determined exemption amount.

Important:
Setting up a P-account alone does not automatically lead to a negative Schufa entry. Schufa only stores relevant information that it receives from contractual partners , such as payment defaults or financial obligations - but not the blanket conversion of an account into a P-account.

The mere reporting of a P-account therefore has no direct influence on the creditworthiness of the person concerned.

Can information about a P-account be passed on?

The information that a P-account exists may only be passed on to another bank if a new P-account is to be opened there.

When concluding a contract, for example with an Internet or telephone provider, the passing on of this information is not permitted.

However, if an account is seized , credit institutions are legally obliged to inform creditors of the conversion of a seized account into a P-account in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) .

Does a P-account affect your credit rating?

Simply setting up a P-account is not automatically problematic and does not directly lead to a deterioration in your credit rating.

However, lenders or landlords could interpret a P-account as an indication of possible financial difficulties, which could indirectly affect your creditworthiness.

It is important to note that the decision about loans or rental agreements does not depend solely on Schufa entries . Factors such as your income, your professional situation and your general financial situation also play a role.

In the long term, a P-account should not affect your credit rating as long as you make your payments on time and meet your financial obligations.

Deletion of the Schufa entry after termination of a P-account

As soon as a P-account is closed or converted back into a normal account , the corresponding entry must be deleted from the Schufa within 14 days to one month in accordance with Section 909 Paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

If the bank overlooks the notification and does not delete the P-account, it is advisable to take action yourself and request deletion.

When should the P-account entry at Schufa be deleted?

The P-account entry at Schufa is usually only relevant for banks, especially if you want to open a new account. In such cases, the entry could lead to your request being rejected.

If you are planning to switch to another bank, you should ensure that your seizure protection is maintained seamlessly. Ask your current bank for written confirmation of the P-account deletion and present this to the new bank. This will enable you to complete the setup of a new P-account quickly.

Reconversion of a P-account and termination of the P-account function

A P-account is closed by converting it back into a normal checking account. According to Section 850k Paragraph 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, this conversion can be requested at any time with a notice period of 4 business days up to the end of the month , even if the account is still seized.

The original current account agreements then apply again.

Alternatively, you can cancel the P-account completely if you do not wish to continue maintaining the account with the bank in question.

Before terminating, however, you should check whether the protection of the P-account is still required. This is the case if:

• All seizures have been completed,
• smaller attachments can be paid,
• no insolvency proceedings are pending,
• no threat of offsetting by the bank.

Important: Once the P-account function has been terminated, the account balance will no longer be protected against seizure. Therefore, consider carefully whether reconversion makes sense in your situation.