After Insolvency of 123-Transporter: Restructuring Proceedings Opened

Claims can be submitted until December 31. The first meeting is scheduled for January 15, 2026, while the restructuring plan meeting is set for January 29, 2026. Many 123 customers have not had their deposits refunded.

20 Percent Quota Offered to Creditors of 123-Transporter

The insolvency administrator is Leeb & Weinwurm Rechtsanwälte GmbH. Creditors are offered a quota of 20 percent, payable within two years from the acceptance of the restructuring plan, informed the Alpine Creditors' Association (AKV). According to Creditreform, around 70 creditors and "a large number of customers" as well as five employees are affected. The liabilities amount to 4.7 million euros, the majority of which arises from claims for deposit refunds. Thousands of complaints about debits have been received by the Chamber of Labor (AK) in recent years. The Consumer Information Association (VKI) filed three class actions on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2024 and 2025 due to contract clauses, with no decisions yet made.

In the weeks leading up to the insolvency, affected parties reported, according to the VKI, that 123-Transporter was debiting contract penalties for speeding or smoking in the vehicle. Numerous customers are also still waiting for the return of their deposits, which ranged from 500 to 1,000 euros depending on the rental period. If these amounts were not kept by the company in a separate trust or special account, there is no right of segregation or separation, said Petra Leupold, Head of Legal at VKI, in response to an APA inquiry. Unlike apartment deposits under the Tenancy Act, which are secured in the event of insolvency, in this case, the deposit would have to be registered as a creditor claim. The fee for this is 31 euros.

VKI Sees Unlawful Clauses Regarding 123 Deposits

The General Terms and Conditions (GTC) on the 123-Transporter website state that the landlord "may freely dispose of the deposit amount until repayment." "He is not obliged to keep the deposit in a special deposit account or to separate it from his other assets in any other way," the regulations state, as also reported by the "Standard." According to Leupold, the GTC provisions on the free availability of this amount are "legally inadmissible and therefore ineffective because they ultimately oblige consumers to grant unsecured credit."

The repayment of deposits by 123-Transporter was also, according to VKI, not automatically after the return of the vehicle, but partly only after about 60 days, according to - also inadmissible - GTC provisions. A separate application was necessary for this. In view of the transferable legislative valuations for deposits in rental and home contracts, it is assumed that deposits should have been kept in a separate client or trust account and should have been refunded immediately after the return of the transporter, explained Leupold.

The company justified the insolvency with the withdrawal of the fleet partner, which had provided the 419 vehicles used in Austria. Recently, according to media reports, the DIY chains Obi and Hornbach announced that they would end their cooperation with 123-Transporter. The public prosecutor's office in Wiener Neustadt is investigating the managing director of 123 Shared Mobility GmbH for serious commercial fraud and embezzlement.

(APA/Red)

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