Man, aged 31 to 40 years, of Bucharest, holding a personal loan in RON, and submitting online an application with ABDRC seeking a solution for the problems occurred or reduced commissions and fees. This is the profile of the consumer who approaches the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre, according to the Center’s own statistics.

Nearly 65% of those who approach the Center are applicants from the active population, living in the urban area

In this consumer profiling survey, the coordinates sustain virtually no changes as compared to the data centralized in 2018. Men continue to submit most of the applications to ABDRC – approximately 58%, but the number of women who approach the center is slightly going up compared to the past year’s results (42% v 40% in 2018). Nearly 65% of those who approach the Center are applicants from the active population, living in a town or city, aged between 31 and 60 years.

Of the total 1,909 applications registered between January 2018 and April 2019, 35% come from the rural area, a percentage which is growing compared to the data reported for the period January 2017 – March 2018. During the reference period, ABDRC was prevailingly approached by Romanians living in towns or cities (88% v. 12% of the applications filed from the rural area).

This shows that the services of ABDRC are available to all Romanians, from all areas and municipalities of the country, as well as that the information about the existence and benefits of the Center has reached the rural area to a larger extent.

Most of the applications filed to ABDRC regard personal loans in RON

Most often, the applications filed to ABDRC regard personal loans (70%), while mortgage loans are called into question in 30% of the cases concerning bank loans.

Most of the times, consumers seek amicable solutions via the Center for their loans in RON (42% of the cases), EUR (28%), and CHF (25%). Only 5% of the cases concerns loans in US dollars.

The most frequent claims against the banks that are reported by consumers to the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre regard: finding solutions to problems (30%), fees and commissions (30%), loan conversion (10%), and situations in connection with the Credit Office (7%).

“The fact that one third of consumers asks the commercial banks and NBFIs to find a solution for their grievances is evidence of the trust consumers place in ABDRC and in off-court settlement of disputes. In other words, those who turn to the Center leave open the avenue of negotiations with the financial and banking institutions from the very beginning, and expect a fair proposal from them. Consumers are under no obligation to hold legal or financial and banking information, for which reason that are neither required to rely on legal regulations in their claims. Their grievances are addressed with the expertise mastered by the ABDRC’s conciliators, some of whom are the best experts in their fields”, declared Alexandru PĂUNESCU, member of the Steering Board of ABDRC.

The Capital City and the county of Ilfov report most of the applications

Urban consumers continue to generate most of the applications to ABDRC.

While, according to the survey ABDRC concluded in early 2018, the applications filed by consumers from Bucharest and county of Ilfov accounted for close to half of the total (48.98%), this share had now dropped to 36%.

On the other hand, the number of applications filed to ABDRC from counties visited by the Center’s Roadshow in 2018 and 2019 has increased: Cluj, Constanța, Iași or Craiova.

Means of communication preferred by consumers to approach ABDRC

More than 84% of the Romanians approach the Center online, by email, and via the mobile App launched by ABDRC in late July 2018, which is increasingly more popular.
For instance, 55% of the applications filed to ABDRC since the launch of the application are via the App, which proves how accessible this service is for consumers across the country.
Only 9.8% of the reports made to the Center are mailed, and 5.6% are submitted directly by consumers to the offices of ABDRC.

About ABDRC:
The Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC) is an independent non-governmental apolitical, not- for-profit legal entity of public interest established under the Government Ordinance no. 38/2015 on alternative resolution of disputes between consumers and traders, which transposes at domestic level Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) no. 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC.