20 January, Bucharest. We alert consumers of financial and banking services that they have been seriously misinformed by ANPC’s latest press release. According to ANPC’s public statement on January 16, 2025, “until the situation regarding CSALB’s functionality as an ADR entity is clarified, consumers facing difficulties with financial-banking operators may contact the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directorate (DSAL) within ANPC, by filing a complaint through its special platform.”

The Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Center (CSALB) has warned ANPC about the severity of this misinformation in a letter dated January 17, the contents of which can be read here: 

https://csalb.ro/transparenta/scrisoare-csalb-catre-anpc-17-ianuarie-2025/

We urge consumers to distinguish between complaints they may file with ANPC (which they have always been able to submit) and the alternative dispute resolution process, which is the exclusive responsibility of CSALB for financial and banking disputes between consumers and banks or non-banking financial institutions (NFIs).

To ensure consumers receive accurate information, we summarize the history of the lawsuit filed by CSALB in 2018 against the Ministry of Economy, which was concluded by the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ÎCCJ) ruling on December 10, 2024.

Although the court’s reasoning in this administrative litigation case has not yet been issued, we believe it is necessary to clarify the situation as a counterbalance to the misinformation and accusations already circulating in the public space: 

1. CSALB was established under Government Ordinance no. 38/2015, following the transposition of Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on alternative consumer dispute resolution into Romanian law.
2. The banking system funds CSALB to provide consumers with a free, faster, and expert-managed alternative to court litigation, enabling the resolution of individual banking disputes through specialized financial-banking conciliators. Similar ADR entities can be established in other sectors (based on the same EU Directive) to assist consumers with commercial disputes outside the judicial system.
3. Under GO no. 38/2015, requests for alternative dispute resolution between consumers and financial-banking institutions can only be handled by CSALB, as per the national regulatory framework for financial-banking ADR.
4. The method of funding CSALB by the banking sector is explicitly stipulated in Point 46 of the Directive’s explanatory memorandum and has been transposed into GO no. 38/2015 accordingly.
5. To ensure impartiality and fairness, CSALB was designed as an autonomous, non-governmental, non-political, and non-profit legal entity, with a five-member governing body consisting of:
   • One representative from ANPC,
   • One from the National Bank of Romania,
   • One from the Romanian Banking Association,
   • One from consumer protection associations meeting specific legal criteria,
   • An independent representative elected by the other members.

Additionally, CSALB has an operational team that facilitates the resolution of disputes between consumers and banks/NFIs.

1. Between 2015 and 2018, CSALB repeatedly requested the Ministry of Economy to register the entity and open the national ADR entities list. In May 2018, Minister Dănuț Andrușcă refused the request, citing the absence of a consumer associations’ representative on the Governing Board as the reason.
2. CSALB filed a lawsuit demanding the Ministry of Economy open the ADR entities list, register CSALB, and notify the European Commission to integrate CSALB into the EU-wide list of financial-banking ADR entities, thus allowing it to handle cross-border disputes.
3. CSALB is the only ADR entity whose establishment, organization, and functioning are explicitly regulated under Articles 21–24 of GO no. 38/2015.
4. Between 2015 and 2025, CSALB has processed over 5,000 cases between consumers and financial institutions, resolving approximately 5,100 disputes and generating financial benefits of around €14 million.
5. Due to unclear reasoning by the first-instance court (Bucharest Court of Appeal), CSALB filed an appeal with the High Court (ÎCCJ). After six and a half years, the High Court rejected CSALB’s appeal, leading to misuse of the case by ANPC and InfoCons to mislead the public and falsely encourage consumers to turn to ANPC for financial dispute resolution, despite this being CSALB’s legally assigned role.
6. Once the High Court issues its reasoning, CSALB will formally request the competent authorities to resolve this issue and ensure CSALB’s registration on the ADR entities list under the Ministry of Economy.

Clarifications Regarding the Consumer Associations’ Representative in CSALB’s Governing Board

According to Article 22(1)(d) of GO no. 38/2015, the consumer associations’ representative on the CSALB Governing Board must be designated by associations meeting the legal criteria under Articles 32 and 33 of GO no. 21/1992 on consumer protection.

• Article 32 of GO no. 21/1992 states that national consumer associations must have at least 3,000 members and branches in at least 10 counties, while local/judicial-level associations must have operated in consumer protection for at least three years.
• Article 33 requires consumer associations formed to protect only their members’ interests to have at least 800 members to gain representation in consultative bodies.

Thus, only consumer associations meeting these legal conditions can appoint a representative to CSALB’s Governing Board.

Attempts to Resolve the Consumer Representative Issue CSALB consistently sought solutions to facilitate the appointment of a consumer representative and overcome the issue used by the Ministry of Economy to justify its refusal in 2018:

• In 2020, ANPC confirmed that no consumer association met the legal conditions to appoint a representative.
• In May 2024, following OECD recommendations, CSALB again requested an updated list of eligible consumer associations from ANPC, but ANPC failed to provide it.
• In July 2024, CSALB sent another request, which ANPC also ignored.

Conclusion

In 2015, consumer associations had a representative in CSALB’s Governing Board, but InfoCons later requested their withdrawal.

Afterward, InfoCons exploited the absence of a representative to justify its intervention in CSALB’s legal case, creating a paradoxical situation:

• The refusal to register CSALB as an ADR entity was based on the absence of a consumer representative,
• Yet this absence was wrongly blamed on CSALB, even though CSALB has no legal authority to appoint representatives.

Over the years, CSALB actively engaged with consumer associations to facilitate a new appointment, receiving multiple nominations, which were later blocked due to ANPC’s failure to act.

We call on consumers to seek accurate information and avoid being misled by ANPC’s and InfoCons’ false narratives. CSALB remains the only legally designated ADR entity for financial-banking disputes.

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 About ABDRC: ABDRC is an entity set up under a European Directive, and intermediates, free of charge and in not more than three months, negotiations between consumers and banks or NBFIs, for contracts/agreements in progress. Consumers from any county of the country may file applications with the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC) filling-in an online form directly on the website www.csalb.ro. Once the bank accepts to enter the conciliation/negotiation procedure, a conciliator is appointed. ABDRC works with 17 conciliators, of the best specialists in law and with relevant experience also in the financial and banking field. Everything is settled amicably, and the understanding between the parties has the power of court judgment. More information about the work of the Centre is available by phone at 021 9414 (charged a normal rate).