Information about protection attachment accounts (P-Konto)
General information on the new Act on the Attachment of Bank Accounts
If you have debts which you cannot pay, your account may be attached. You are entitled to demand that your current account is converted into a P-account. In order to do this you must apply to your bank which will then convert the account within 4 days. Your account number will not change. You may convert your account even if it is overdrawn. The P-account is managed as a credit account. However, the debts owed to the bank remain unpaid You can apply for your current account to be converted into a P-account even if it has already been attached. If the account is converted into a P-account within one month from the date on which the writ of attachment was served, the P-account applies retrospectively from the date on which the writ of attachment was served. You may only have one P-account. It is forbidden to have more than one P-account A P-account may only be held as a single account and not as a joint account (e.g. by a married couple). You are, however, entitled to ask for your joint account to be closed and a separate account to be set up for each spouse. The credit balance on the joint account is then distributed equally between the two new accounts. The bank will inform SCHUFA if an account is converted into a P-account. Banks may also request information from SCHUFA about whether the account holder or holders already has or have a P-account with another bank. This exchange of information is intended to prevent abuse. It has no effect on credit information about the account holder held by SCHUFA or any other credit agency. You may convert your P-account back into a normal account at any time. |
How much is protected? From the basic allowance to the increased allowance
The basic allowance
If the P-account is attached, currently an amount of EUR 1,340 per calendar month is automaticallyprotected against attachment (basic allowance). However, if a lower amount is paid into the account in any one month, you may only withdraw this amount.
You may use the basic allowance even after attachments have been served, i.e. transfers and direct debits can be carried out. The type of income (wages, social benefits, tax refund etc.) and the date of receipt of payment are irrelevant. Higher allowance subject to written confirmation The automatic basic allowance can be increased if you present the appropriate confirmation. This applies if you
In this case the following allowances apply: |
- EUR 1,840.62 if you support one person
- EUR 2,119.52 if you support two people
- EUR 2,398.42 if you support three people
- EUR 2,677.32 if you support four people
- EUR 2,956.22 if you support five or more people.
The following payment receipts may also be declared exempt from attachment:
- child benefit
- one-off social welfare benefits pursuant to Book II and Book XII of the German Social Code and the Asylum Seekers Benefits Law, e.g. for initial purchases for a home, baby etc. or subsidies for school trips as well as a range of other benefits,
- single payments due to illness/disability, e.g. nursing care subsidy, allowance for the blind and similar benefits
- regular payments pursuant to Book II and Book XII of the German Social Code and the Asylum Seekers Benefits Law if these are higher than the basic or higher allowance
- assistance from the German “Mother and Child” foundation (Bundesstiftung Mutter und Kind”) as well as other assistance,
- back-payments pursuant to Book II and Book XII of the German Social Code and the Asylum Seekers Benefits Law in the full amount
back-payments of other social welfare benefits (e.g. pensions, unemployment benefit) or wages up to a maximum amount of EUR 500.
Who can issue this confirmation? Local addresses and support centres
Lawyers, social services providers, family welfare offices, employers and debt counselling agencies that are authorised to give counsel on insolvency may issue a confirmation about the higher allowance. Note: Some banks only require you to present the statement of benefits as proof of the number of persons for whom you receive benefits in your household. Bank statements should be presented as proof of additional child benefit. |
Note: Some debt counselling offices no longer issue confirmations since they have too much other work and insufficient financing. It is therefore advisable to phone beforehand to see whether the office responsible for you can issue a confirmation. If not, you will be told where you can obtain one.
If your bank does not accept the documents you submit or if you cannot find anyone locally who will issue a confirmation, then you should apply to the Local Court in your area (Vollstreckungsgericht). If a public creditor attaches your account (e.g. tax office or city treasury), their own enforcement office (Vollstreckungsstelle) is responsible.
What do I need in order to apply for a confirmation/decision to unblock account?
The following documents are required in order to prove your eligibility for a one-off or permanently higher allowance:
- Proof of maintenance payments actually made (e.g. receipts, bank statements, confirmations,)
- Notices of payment of regular social welfare benefits (e.g. Book II and Book XII of the German Social Code)
- Notices of payment of one-off social welfare benefits (e.g. costs for a school trip, initial purchases for home, baby etc.)
- Proof of receipt of child benefit (e.g. bank statement)
- Proof of receipt of back-payments
You can find a specimen confirmation under:
www.schuldnerberatung-hessen.de/infoblaetter/p-konto_bescheinigung.pdf
Individual unblocking of accounts based on the table of attachable amounts
If wages, payments in lieu of wages (e.g. pensions, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit) or income from self-employed work are paid into your attached account that exceed the automatically protected basic allowance or your confirmed higher allowance, you must contact the local court (Vollstreckungsgericht) or the enforcement office in the town or city where the public creditor is based in order to apply for the account to be unblocked individually in line with the table of attachable amounts. Example: Ms G. (single) earns EUR 1600. Her wages are not attached. She can then request that only EUR 243.15 of the credit balance in the account is attached. She is then left with EUR 1,346.85 and not just the basic allowance of EUR 1,260. You may also apply for special protection if you have extra costs for health or occupational reasons (e.g. high commuting expenses). |
What happens if my account is overdrawn?
Can my bank retain money or continue to debit loan instalments? From the date on which you apply for conversion of your account into a P-account, your bank is obliged to pay out that part of your income which is not attached (i.e. the basic allowance and confirmed higher allowance). If you have authorised your bank to debit loan instalments, you may revoke this authorisation. The bank is then no longer allowed to debit the loan instalments from your account.
If the credit balance protected against attachment has not been used up by the end of the month, the remaining balance can be transferred to the next month on three successive occasions and can be accessed in addition to the credit balance protected for that month. In the third month you must spend the excess amount; otherwise the bank may transfer the amount to the creditor. |
Does the P-account cost more than my previous account?
No. Your bank is not entitled to increase the charges. This has been clearly decided by the courts. |