To execute payment orders, banks normally requires their customers’ consent in the form of an authorisation (section 675j (1) sentence 1 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB). Payments may be authorised in advance with a mandate or – if this has been agreed between the consumer (as the payer) and their bank – payments may be authorised afterwards with a mandate (section 675j (1) sentence 2 of the BGB). If there is no mandate, the direct debit is unauthorised.

In the case of SEPA core direct debits, consumers may request a refund up to eight weeks after the direct debit date. The debited amount is then credited back to the customer’s account. However, a refund cannot be given if the customer gave their express consent to the bank for the direct debit payment.

If a customer’s account was unlawfully debited (i.e. unauthorised or erroneously executed payments), the customer must inform their bank once they become aware of this without undue delay (section 676b (1) of the BGB). In such cases, the bank is required to reimburse the debited amount within a day after it has been informed by the customer. But if the bank has reasons to suspect that the request is a case of fraud, it may refuse to refund the amount (section 675u of the BGB). Unauthorised or erroneously executed direct debit payments are not refunded if the customer does not request the refund within 13 months after the direct debit date (section 676b (2) of the BGB). However, this period only begins once the customer has received the information to be provided with direct debits under sections 7, 10 or 14 of Article 248 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuche – EGBGB). The purpose of this information is to ensure that all payment orders can be reliably identified.