After Insolvency of 123-Transporter: Restructuring Proceedings Opened

Claims can be registered until December 31. The restructuring plan will be voted on January 29, 2026. Numerous customers have not had their deposits refunded. The former fleet partner denied the allegations made against him on Tuesday.

20 Percent Quota Offered to Creditors of 123-Transporter

The insolvency administrator is Leeb & Weinwurm Rechtsanwälte GmbH. The first meeting will take place on January 15, 2026. 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 multitude 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. In recent years, thousands of complaints about debits have been received by the Chamber of Labor (AK). 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, the deduction of contractual penalties by 123-Transporter for speeding or smoking in the vehicle. Numerous customers are also still waiting for the refund of the deposit, which ranged from 500 to 1,000 euros depending on the rental period. If these amounts were not held 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 rental 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's claim. The fee for this is 31 euros.

VKI Sees Unlawful Clauses Regarding 123-Deposits

In the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) on the website of 123-Transporter, it is stated that the lessor "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, which were also reported by "Der Standard." According to Leupold, the GTC provisions regarding the free availability of this amount are "legally inadmissible and therefore ineffective, as 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 inadmissible GTC provisions. A separate application was necessary for this. In view of the transferable legislative valuations regarding 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, who had provided the 419 vehicles used in Austria. This partner had "withdrawn almost all vehicles from the system in breach of contract, both systemically and physically, without warning," 123-Transporter stated. WEBA GmbH, based in Bad Waltersdorf, Styria, rejected these allegations to the APA on Tuesday. All contractual obligations had been met, emphasized the company, which had been the exclusive fleet partner of 123-Transporter in Austria and Southern Germany since March 2022.

"On September 3, 2025, WEBA GmbH received a comprehensive 618-page protocol with numerous alleged vehicle defects from 123-Transporter instead of the contractually agreed monthly payments," it said. "At no time was there a physical deactivation of the vehicles - neither technical dismantling nor shutdown. Only internal maintenance entries were documented in the management system." According to the information, around 93 percent of the fleet was available for rentals in September, with the agreed obligation being 80 percent. "Even during maintenance phases, the contractual minimum availability was never undercut - the business basis of 123-Transporter was thus ensured at all times," stated WEBA GmbH. The company agreed to an early termination of the partnership "to prevent further economic and reputational damage." "Should further unfounded accusations follow, we will take legal action," declared WEBA Managing Director Kurt Wilfinger.

Recently, the DIY chains Obi and Hornbach reportedly 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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