Blocked bank ID - difficult for the customer to pursue a process against the bank

DN has previously written about the fact that those who have their bank ID blocked do not have the opportunity to appeal the measure to an independent body.

Having your bank ID blocked is a very common complaint to the Consumers' Banking and Finance Agency, which provides guidance in banking matters, among other things. Many who contact them about blocked bank IDs are frustrated that it is not possible to review such cases with the General Claims Board, ARN. It is an authority that will try disputes between consumers and companies.

ARN can only try cases with banks in accordance with its instructions regarding access to a payment account with basic functions. But bank ID is not seen as a basic function according to the provisions of the Payment Services Act.

In cases where bank customers have tried to pursue the issue with ARN, the matter has not been taken up. DN reported on a 78-year-old woman who had her bank ID blocked by Länsförsäkringar. She realized when contacting ARN that there was no possibility of pushing the issue there.

When DN asks the industry's cooperation organization Bankföreningen about the problem, they leave only a short written comment:

"We cannot comment on the banks' individual products and services. Just as ARN points out in your article, bank ID is not seen as a basic function according to the provisions of the Payment Services Act. There is always an option to go to court if you want a legal review."

However, the latter advice is not entirely easy, according to experts that DN spoke to.

Fredrik Jörgensen, lawyer at the company Rättsakuten, states that in such a case a customer must start a civil legal process against the bank himself.

- Such a claim could be based on the bank's lack of support in the agreement for the block or for refusing a new bank ID. That the bank made too standard an assessment or that the decision was unreasonably far-reaching in relation to what actually happened, he says.

At the same time, Fredrik Jörgensen states that the banks have quite a lot of room to block bank IDs in case of suspicion of fraud, abuse or security risk.

- The customer therefore does not need to win just by showing that he or she has been a victim of crime. The question is rather what basis the bank had, whether the assessment was individual and whether it is still justified as time goes by, he says.

He believes that if a person has been the victim of a fraud and is then in practice excluded from bank-id for a long time, it should be possible to require the bank to be able to explain why the person still poses a risk.

- A blocked bank ID cannot normally be restored. A legal process would therefore probably be about the bank's obligation to grant a new bank ID rather than about lifting the old block, says Fredrik Jörgensen.

But a lawsuit against a bank can become an expensive story.

- The financial risk should not be underestimated. In an ordinary civil case, the general rule is that the loser must pay both his own and the other party's reasonable legal costs. Against a bank, it can be significant amounts, says Fredrik Jörgensen.

He finds it strange that a decision that can affect a person's ability to use banks, government services and other central social functions lacks an independent review.

Fredrik Nordquist, lawyer and deputy head of the Consumer Banking and Finance Agency, also points to the uncertainty for a consumer to pursue the matter legally.

- Consumers are generally very restrictive about going to court. Many do not see it as a realistic way to try disputes. This is mainly because it is associated with a financial risk if you lose the civil case, he says.