diff --git a/R/check-input-helpers.R b/R/check-input-helpers.R
index 7abe0f331..16867581a 100644
--- a/R/check-input-helpers.R
+++ b/R/check-input-helpers.R
@@ -108,14 +108,3 @@ test_columns_present <- function(data, columns) {
   return(isTRUE(check))
 }
 
-#' Test whether column names are NOT present in a data.frame
-#' @description The function checks whether all column names are NOT present.
-#' If none of the columns are present, the function returns TRUE. If one or
-#' more columns are present, the function returns FALSE.
-#' @inheritParams document_check_functions
-#' @returns Returns TRUE if none of the columns are present and FALSE otherwise
-#' @importFrom checkmate test_names
-#' @keywords internal_input_check
-test_columns_not_present <- function(data, columns) {
-  test_names(colnames(data), disjunct.from = columns)
-}
diff --git a/R/class-forecast-binary.R b/R/class-forecast-binary.R
index bf4d0b835..ca2b66884 100644
--- a/R/class-forecast-binary.R
+++ b/R/class-forecast-binary.R
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ as_forecast_binary.default <- function(data,
 #' @export
 #' @rdname assert_forecast
 #' @importFrom cli cli_abort
+#' @importFrom checkmate test_names
 #' @keywords validate-forecast-object
 assert_forecast.forecast_binary <- function(
   forecast, forecast_type = NULL, verbose = TRUE, ...
@@ -65,8 +66,8 @@ assert_forecast.forecast_binary <- function(
   forecast <- assert_forecast_generic(forecast, verbose)
   assert_forecast_type(forecast, actual = "binary", desired = forecast_type)
 
-  columns_correct <- test_columns_not_present(
-    forecast, c("sample_id", "quantile_level")
+  columns_correct <- test_names(
+    colnames(forecast), disjunct.from = c("sample_id", "quantile_level")
   )
   if (!columns_correct) {
     #nolint start: keyword_quote_linter
diff --git a/man/test_columns_not_present.Rd b/man/test_columns_not_present.Rd
deleted file mode 100644
index 5f7b71994..000000000
--- a/man/test_columns_not_present.Rd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
-% Please edit documentation in R/check-input-helpers.R
-\name{test_columns_not_present}
-\alias{test_columns_not_present}
-\title{Test whether column names are NOT present in a data.frame}
-\usage{
-test_columns_not_present(data, columns)
-}
-\arguments{
-\item{data}{A data.frame or similar to be checked}
-
-\item{columns}{A character vector of column names to check}
-}
-\value{
-Returns TRUE if none of the columns are present and FALSE otherwise
-}
-\description{
-The function checks whether all column names are NOT present.
-If none of the columns are present, the function returns TRUE. If one or
-more columns are present, the function returns FALSE.
-}
-\keyword{internal_input_check}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-check-input-helpers.R b/tests/testthat/test-check-input-helpers.R
index 8e9465d35..03aa1185d 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-check-input-helpers.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-check-input-helpers.R
@@ -36,15 +36,6 @@ test_that("check_columns_present works", {
   )
 })
 
-test_that("test_columns_not_present works", {
-  expect_true(
-    test_columns_not_present(example_binary, "sample_id")
-  )
-  expect_false(
-    test_columns_not_present(example_binary, "location")
-  )
-})
-
 test_that("check_columns_present() works", {
   expect_identical(
     check_columns_present(example_quantile, c("observed", "predicted", "nop")),
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-class-forecast-binary.R b/tests/testthat/test-class-forecast-binary.R
index cb95e1d23..681842843 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-class-forecast-binary.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-class-forecast-binary.R
@@ -45,6 +45,25 @@ test_that("assert_forecast.forecast_binary works as expected", {
   )
 })
 
+test_that("assert_forecast.forecast_binary() rejects data with quantile_level column", {
+  test <- na.omit(as.data.table(example_binary))
+  test[, "quantile_level" := 0.5]
+  expect_error(
+    as_forecast_binary(test),
+    "Input looks like a binary forecast, but an additional column"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("assert_forecast.forecast_binary() accepts valid binary data without sample_id or quantile_level", {
+  expect_no_error(assert_forecast(example_binary))
+})
+
+test_that("test_columns_not_present() is no longer exported or defined", {
+  expect_false(
+    exists("test_columns_not_present",
+           where = asNamespace("scoringutils"), mode = "function")
+  )
+})
 
 
 # ==============================================================================