Alternative dispute resolution operational activity report as at 31.12.2017

The Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre started its alternative dispute resolution operational activity on 01.03.2016, with the receipt of the first application from a consumer.

In 2017, we received as many as 1,165 written applications, and more than 7,000 requests by phone from consumers:

• 505 of the written applications were found compliant;
• 16 of them were found non-compliant;
• 644 were applications for various information (about the ADR procedures).

Distribution of the complete casefiles to conciliators is random, term of the availability and workload of each conciliator.

Means of filing compliant applications:

• 384 were filed by email (preferred by consumers);
• 64 were mailed;
• 57 were brought to, and registered by consumers in the office of ABDRC.

The applications received from consumers targeted the following types of claims:

• return of the management fee, the monitoring fee or other categories of fees – perceived by consumers as unlawfully charged;
• rescheduling of loans;
• reduction of the monthly instalments, when the consumer assesses that the monthly instalments have been abusively increased by the business;
• return of the amount resulted from the excessive increase of the interest rate, as perceived by consumers;
• reduction of the interest rate, and freezing of exchange rate at the rate applied at execution of the loan agreement (in CHF);
• declaring the load early due, in disregard of the contractual conditions;
• calculation and payment of the instalments in lei, at the rate of exchange applied at the time when the agreement was concluded;
• removal of clauses qualified by consumers are abusive, regarding application of default interests;
• deregistrations from the credit register, etc.

Qualification of the 505 compliant applications:

• 214 were turned into casefiles;
• 67 are currently screened (as at 31.12.2017);
• 224 were closed.

The main reasons for closing compliant applications are:

• businesses refused settlement of the disputes by ADR procedures:
  • due to pending court actions;
  • because forced execution procedures have already been initiated;
  • attempts to contact the consumer directly;
• business put forward a number of offers, but all of them were turned down by consumers (before the consumers approaching ABDRC);
• more than 90 days have passed since filing of the applications, and the consumers failed to supplement the applications with the data/documents required for due settlement.

As many as 67 applications are in the screening phase (reviews of completeness of the documentation, requests for information and supporting documents).

Qualification of the 214 casefiles in the procedure with proposed solution (as at 31.12.2017):

• 20 preliminary casefiles;
• 48 casefiles in the phase of discussions with the parties;
• 115 resolutions;
• 24 closures;
• 2 inadmissibility resolutions;
• 3 casefiles in which one party withdrew from the procedure;