ING Bank N.V. – Court Ruling (Netherlands, 2020)

A special code (“A”) registration was made at the Central Credit Information System (CKI) on 21 March 2018 in connection with the balance deficit on an ING payment account of the complainant that took place in 2016. On 19 November 2018 code A was changed to code H, which remains visible for the period of five years from that date. The Court considered four complaints behind the appeal. Complaint 4 is challenging the proportionality of the registration in the Central Credit Information System (CKI), claiming that it should be deleted because it disproportionately affects his business. For example, the complaint was denied a business loan necessary to continue his business operations. The Court must assess necessity and proportionality of the processing the complainant has objected to and decide whether the interests, rights and freedoms of the complainant prevailed in this case. The Court considered that ING’s interest in this processing was to prevent a debt problem and to inform lender about possible risks. ING was able to show evidence that the complainant’s financial situation was not stable. The Court has agreed with the complainant that the code registration at the CKI may indeed constitute an obstacle to receiving credit. However, it has also considered that it was not possible to ascertain from the letters of loan refusal that this registration was among of the reasons of the credit denial. Complainant’s financial situation may as well have been considered insufficient by the potential lender. In the view of the above, the Court ruled that there are compelling legitimate interests in maintaining the registration; the processing was necessary and proportionate.