Facts
The complainant [S.] filed a complaint with the Federal Complaints Commission for Occupational Old-Age, Survivors' and Disability Insurance against a ruling by the BVG (OPA) Guarantee Fund. The Complaints Commission requested an advance payment of CHF 900.-- by January 3, 2001. The complainant transferred the amount on December 27, 2000, with a value date of December 29, 2000, to the account of the federal appeals commissions. However, the credit was not made until January 4, 2001. The Complaints Commission did not consider the complaint because the advance payment had not been made in time.
The complainant appealed this decision to the Federal Court and requested that the Complaints Commission's decision be overturned and the complaint procedure continued. He argued that the deadline for paying the advance payment was too short and that the Complaints Commission had not explicitly pointed out the special features in the case of using the collective payment service.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the Complaints Commission was justified in not considering the complaint. It found that the practice of the Federal Court and the Federal Insurance Court regarding the observance of deadlines for paying the advance payment through a bank is also followed by the federal appeals commissions.
The Federal Court recognized that the advance payment was not made in time in this case, as the data carrier was handed over to the post on time, but contained a late due date. It held that the complainant must be charged with the behavior of the bank, on whose initiative the late due date was created, as that of an auxiliary person.
The Federal Court also rejected the complainant's objection that the deadline for payment was unreasonably short in view of the court…