The conciliators of the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC) will advise Romanian consumers of financial services in the largest cities of the country on how to file their applications and what they need to do to have a successful negotiation with the bank or NBFI. The information campaign will run for five months and will target consumers in Arad, Timiș, Cluj, Galați, Iași, Constanța, Bihor, Dolj, Brașov, Argeș and Prahova. Because of the pandemic, the Caravan organized by ABDRC by way of regular meetings with consumers, representatives of commercial banks, journalists and local authorities was no longer possible since the end of 2019. At the same time, conciliations were organized online or by phone only. Under such circumstances, we believe that we need to organize an online information campaign, also supported by local media, which should guide consumers on how to draft their applications to enter into negotiations with the credit institution, but also covering the rigors, limitations and requirements of a distance negotiation.

Bucharest, May 17^th. The conciliators of the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC) will advise Romanian consumers of financial services in the largest cities of the country on how to file their applications and what they need to do to have a successful negotiation with the bank or NBFI. The information campaign will run for five months and will target consumers in Arad, Timiș, Cluj, Galați, Iași, Constanța, Bihor, Dolj, Brașov, Argeș and Prahova. Because of the pandemic, the Caravan organized by ABDRC by way of regular meetings with consumers, representatives of commercial banks, journalists and local authorities was no longer possible since the end of 2019. At the same time, conciliations were organized online or by phone only. Under such circumstances, we believe that we need to organize an online information campaign, also supported by local media, which should guide consumers on how to draft their applications to enter into negotiations with the credit institution, but also covering the rigors, limitations and requirements of a distance negotiation.

CHANGES IN CONSUMER AND BANK BEHAVIOURS

“During this period marked by transformations caused by the pandemic, we noticed changes in both consumer and bank behaviours. On the part of consumers, we noticed a decrease in interest in how to fill in the application submitted to ABDRC and addressed to the bank. Often, people omit to include the motivation of their application, but have high hopes that it would be successful. Many consumers probably believe that the challenging times we are all facing will make financial institutions accept to enter into negotiations under any circumstances. We would like to remind them that this procedure is different from that of legal moratoria, in which payments were postponed automatically, upon a simple request. Our procedure involves the negotiation of contractual terms and conditions, and consumers should know their loan agreements well in order to know what to claim and be helped in this process by both conciliators and bank representatives. This is why conciliation should not be taken for a “jukebox”, where you insert an application and automatically receive the benefits of negotiation. The European Directive underlying the establishment of the ABDRC provides that this procedure is voluntary, i.e. it does not imply an obligation on the part of any party to enter into negotiations. Beyond this aspect, banks take into account several variables when accepting the claim and, implicitly, when entering into conciliation with the consumer. These include: the history of the relationship with the consumer, his good faith, the evidence he brings when he invokes the deterioration of his financial situation or how he complied with his contract until the submission of the request for conciliation.

On the other hand, bank representatives must show more empathy for the people with whom they enter into negotiations, receive a relevant mandate to propose actual solutions tailored to the consumer circumstances and not make an already problematic relationship more vulnerable, by lacking flexibility. We noticed that the way of negotiation between the parties, as it is organized through ABDRC, has become a standard of good practices adopted by more and more commercial banks in their direct relationship with consumers. We are happy to see this, because it shows us that ABDRC has become a good example to follow for the banking system, in terms of solving the problems that consumers have. However, we draw attention to the fact that, without the expertise of a conciliator, of an expert in financial-banking law, who would propose an impartial solution, it is more difficult to carry out a fair negotiation, from which both parties will benefit”, says Alexandru Păunescu, President of ABDRC Steering Board.

RECOMMENDATIONS BY CONCILIATORS

Valentin Cocean: Wrongly, some consumers focus their claims on the idea of abusive clauses, somehow starting from what they hear from the court. We try to explain to them that we do not judge here from the perspective of the court, because in conciliation the emphasis falls on their personal reasons, on their problems. In addition, there were solutions within ABDRC that benefited the consumer in a way that I doubt could have been achieved in court. Many times, even if certain clauses were found to be abusive, the consumer would certainly not achieve a reduction of the principal at the same level as that obtained in our procedure.

Nela Petrișor: Many people come to ABDRC out of a need to receive justice, or the first step I take in discussing with consumers is exactly this: you are not in court! Compromise! Accept a discussion that can ultimately lead you to a much better contract than the one you had and the one you could have theoretically or hypothetically obtained in court.

 Camelia Popa: Consumers should, first of all, know their contract and what they want to get from the bank. For example, some consumers say they want to decrease their contractual instalments by decreasing their interest rate, even though their current interest rate is well below market conditions. I would recommend consumers to submit requests motivated and adapted to their real needs, to pursue their own goals and not the goals that other consumers have pursued. And I would recommend banks to be more open to a number of solutions to be identified for each consumer. And a greater adaptability to what the consumer needs so as to bring a contract to maturity.

COUNTIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF NEGOTIATION APPLICATIONS ARE BUCHAREST AND ARGEȘ

In 2020 and 2021 ABDRC received approximately 3,400 consumer applications to negotiate with banks and NBFIs. Since the beginning of 2021, consumers have sent over 900 applications.

Most negotiation applications are sent by consumers in Bucharest (22% of the total number of requests), Argeș, Ilfov, Prahova and Cluj. The lowest number of applications come from Sălaj, Satu-Mare, Covasna, Caraș-Severin and Harghita. The last five counties together account for less than 1% of the total number of applications.

In the past 5 years (from March 2016 until now), consumers have obtained benefits of over 4.4 million euros from negotiations with banks within the ABDRC. Last year, the average value of the benefits obtained from negotiations was 3,700 euros / case resolved.

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. When the bank accepts to enter the conciliation/negotiation procedure, a conciliator is appointed. ABDRC works with 19 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).