COLLABORATION OF ABDRC WITH THE CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS

Subsequent to the endeavour it has been pursuing, meaning to continue deploying efforts to provide the consumers of financial services with information, the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Center (ABDRC) understood that one of the most efficient solutions in this respect is collaboration with the consumer associations.

• To this end, ABDRC sought and continues to seek the most pragmatic collaboration possible with the consumer associations, by executing protocols the subject matter of which is establishment of institutional partnerships aimed at enhancing the quality of the information provided to both consumers, and the banks and non-banking financial information (NBFIs) about out-of-court alternative financial and banking dispute resolution.
• Thus, as regards timing, the first such protocols were executed (early this year) with LIGA HABITAT (www.habitaturban.ro) and CASA PLUS (www.casa- plus.ro). LIGA HABITAT in a legal non-governmental, non-party, not-for-profit entity established as early as 1991. Liga Habitat has joined together more than 15,000 real estate owner associations from 31 counties. The Romanian Housing Association – CASA PLUS has as core business development of partnerships for construction of dwellings in which context, manifestly, the question of accessing the necessary funding for these projects and contracting mortgage loans for construction or acquisition of dwellings from banks and NBFIs pops up.
• In this context, with the direct support of Liga Habitat, through its President Mr. Mihai Mereuta, ABDRC delivered presentations about its work to consumers in a number of cities of Romania, as follows:
  • 9 March, Bucharest – meeting held with the members of real estate owner associations in the Capital City;
  • 17 March, Brasov – meeting held with the members of real estate owner associations in Brasov, in the Auditorium of Transilvania University;
  • 6 March, Constanța – meeting held with the members of real estate owner associations in the premises of the Prefect’s Office;
  • 12 May, Târgu Mureș – Annual conference of all Romanian real estate owner organizations.
• Recently, a cooperation partnership with the Association of Romanian Users of Financial Services/AURSF (www.aursf.ro), led by MR. Alin Iacob, President. The Association aims to protect Romanian consumers of financial services, advance and defend the rights and legitimate interests of the consumers of banking and insurance services who perform transactions on the stock markets, as well as those of the participants on the privately-managed pension funds.Both parties show fully available to work together in all areas of common interest, such as, for instance:
  • delivery of presentations on financial and banking topics by ABDRC and AURSF in meetings/seminars held for consumer associations, as well as for the financial industry associations and other stakeholders;
  • cooperation of the specialists of ABDRC and AURSF in definition/drawing up of projects intended to provide all the parties which can be involved in a financial or banking dispute (consumers, banks, NBFIs, etc.) with information about the work of the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Center, its operation procedures, and their rights and duties when turning to ABDRC, including the possibility that the consumers have to be represented by consumer associations in the ADR procedures
• ABDRC is fully available to cooperate also with other consumer associations, being convinced that such projects are beneficial first of all for thee consumers of financial services, who can access our services.
• We would like to remind you that ABDRC is an independent apolitical not-for-profit entity of public interest established under the Government Ordinance no. 38/2015. The purpose of ABDRC is to manage the infrastructure required for alternative resolution of the disputes between consumers and the banking and financial institutions in a balanced, reasonable, expeditious and out-of-court manner, working with experts in the banking and financial sector (conciliators) who, according to the procedure chosen by the parties, may propose/impose a resolution solution for the dispute.