Hoist Finance AB – Court Ruling (Netherlands, 2020)

The appellant asked Hoist, the defendant, to remove data concerning him from the Stichting Bureau Kredietregistratie (BKR register). The appellant had taken a loan out in 1998 for his house, which was increased various times. The appellant got divorced in 2009, he was the one that paid the interest charge on the loan and mortgage charge for the house. The appellant then sold the house with a residual debt which was eventually waived in 2016. The appellant was then admitted on a municipal debt relief program for 10 months. There was a backlog in the appellant's payment of credit (loan) recorded in the Central Credit Information System (CKI) of the Stichting Bureau Kredietregistratie (BKR). The appellant was admitted to the debt scheduling scheme for natural persons (WSNP) where Hoist was one of the listed creditors (debt of € 38244.74). The debt rescheduling scheme ended with a clean slate in February 2018. Hoist reported in the CKI that the credit ended in January 2018. CKI stated that the registration with regard to the credit will be removed in January 2023. The appellant asked for Hoist to remove data concerning him from the Stichting Bureau Kredietregistratie (BKR) by July 2018, which Hoist refused to do. Hoist refused again after another request from the appellant in March 2019. The appellant went to court to request that Hoist be ordered to remove the BKR registration in his name so that he would be able to buy his current rental home and replace his old car. Hoist refused. The appellant lodged an appeal against a decision of 13 December 2019 from the District Court of The Hague (Rb. Den Haag). The District Court's judgement rejected the appellant's request to order Hoist to remove the appellant's name from the BKR. This was on the basis that there was a legitimate interest for processing the appellant's personal data in the BKR. The processing was necessary for BKR and its business customers, such as Hoist, and was therefore lawful under Article 6(1)(