Customers received reminders even though they had either not received the goods or had not returned them correctly, the VKI told APA. Klarna often insists on payment of the invoice even if the goods were not delivered or returned correctly, according to the Association for Consumer Information (VKI). This practice leads to unnecessary reminder fees.
Klarna acts as a payment service provider for online purchases on account in Austria. The VKI recommends that affected consumers contact the association if they have problems with the Swedish payment provider and consider legal action. The VKI calls on Klarna to comply with the legal regulations and to take customers’ legitimate objections into account.
Lawsuit in spring 2023
In spring 2023, the Vienna Commercial Court declared several clauses of the Swedish payment provider Klarna inadmissible following an AK lawsuit. According to the legally binding ruling, Klarna is no longer allowed to force users to contact them exclusively via app or website, nor can it specify different due dates for payments in its clauses – from the invoice date, from dispatch or from receipt of the goods. In 2020, the AK received around 2,000 complaints about Klarna across Austria.
The Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor (AK) has received numerous inquiries about Klarna, according to APA’s inquiry. The inquiries cover a wide range of problems related to sales law, including incorrectly processed cancellations, orders that were not delivered and reminders that were nevertheless received. According to AK, the number of problems is constant and there has been no recent increase. Consumers often have difficulty resolving problems with payment and order processing because it is unclear whether they should resolve these with the retailer or with Klarna. The payment provider often refers to the retailer, who in turn refers to Klarna. Since the payment service provider pursues the claims in its own name, it is legally difficult to refer to the retailer. Ultimately, however, solutions were always found in the interests of the consumer.
Problems in the area of payment
In one case, according to the VKI, a consumer had provided proof of the shipment status of her undelivered order, but Klarna still requested further information and did not charge the claim. In another case, a customer returned two smartwatches and provided proof of return, but Klarna continued to insist on payment for one of the watches and gave inadequate reasons for doing so.
“The AK Austria filed a lawsuit against Klarna a few years ago because of confusing and non-transparent terms and conditions,” said AK consumer advocate Gabriele Zgubic. Since the lawsuit was filed, the number of complaints has decreased significantly, but there are still complaints, especially when there are problems with payments.
