Since the beginning of the year, more than 650 consumers of financial services and products in Romania have invoked certain problems in their contracts/services with traders in the financial and banking sector and have asked banks/NBFIs for an amicable settlement, within the framework of the Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC). By mid-March, the banks had accepted 175 negotiation requests (out of a total of 420 requests to the banks). Since the beginning of the year, 140 negotiations between consumers and banks have been concluded by reconciliation of the parties. In 98% of the negotiations this year, the parties reconciled. In 2023, the average value of benefits obtained by a consumer after negotiations with the bank within ABDRC was around €5,000. World Consumer Rights Day (“World Consumer Rights Day”) is marked every year on the 15th of March! This day promotes the rights and needs of consumers worldwide.

“The settlement I obtained has helped me a lot!“

Vereș Tibor, Timiș county: I went to the bank’s office to fill out a request for loan restructuring because starting next month I can no longer make the loan payments. My mortgage is RON 1,850, but I also have a consumer loan at RON 550, plus rent and current expenses. I asked them to restructure my loan because I don’t want to be enrolled in the Credit Bureau, and after a week I got the answer that they have no solution for me.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: The bank offers a grace period of two months, during which the mortgage payment will be RON 500. After this period the loan will be restructured as follows: fixed interest will be introduced and the monthly loan payment will be reduced to RON 1,480.

The settlement I obtained has helped me a lot! I found out about ABDRC on the internet after I started looking for solutions to my situation. I was anticipating a tough time ahead and I looked for information. Initially I didn’t think it was going to work, because I had received a rejection from the bank employees I spoke to. However, in less than three weeks everything was ready, with the help of the conciliator. I couldn’t believe it when he called to tell me the result. I have already recommended you to other people because the settlement I obtained was very useful for me.

Albert Mărăndescu, Vaslui county: I am unable to make the monthly payment of RON 2,012 for the personal loan, because the company I was managing went insolvent and as a result of this procedure there is an outstanding debt of RON 60,000. So ANAF has put a lien on my salary and is stopping a third of my net income every month. I am asking for an extension of the loan payment period and a recalculation of the monthly payment so that it is lower than what I am currently paying. 

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: The bank proposes to increase the repayment period by 14 months. In the first 36 months of the restructured loan, the consumer will have to make monthly payments of RON 1,010 (about half the current payment) and the interest rate will be 0%. After this period the monthly payment will be RON 1,900 and the applicable interest rate will be the current one (fixed interest of 9.7%). 

I am very pleased, everything went unexpectedly well. The first time, when I approached the bank directly, I was refused and I was sceptical that my problem could be solved. But it all worked out very quickly. One can always do better, but at the same time I could have achieved nothing. It is said that beggars can’t be choosers. Considering that for three years I will be paying half of what I had paid so far, I say that’s very good. 

Fixed interest, deferral of monthly payments and grace periods

Bogdan P: I would like to adjust the loan agreement for the outstanding payments by recalculating the interest on the CHF loan. I want to make fixed payments until the end of the loan.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: Restructuring the loan by converting it into RON, with a 30% discount applied to the balance. After conversion, for 3 years, the consumer benefits from a fixed interest rate of 5.9%, with a monthly payment of approximately RON 812. Subsequently, the interest becomes variable interest calculated by the formula IRCC + 2.5% bank margin.

David M: I have applied for a deferment of my loan payments for 6 months. By phone, I received assurances that the deferment would be possible for one month, but I later found that the monthly payments had been charged from my account. I went to the bank branch in Timisoara where I was told that it was not possible to defer the loan even for one month.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: The consumer loan will be restructured by maintaining the fixed interest rate of 6.5% for the duration of the loan. The consumer will also be granted a grace period of 6 months during which he will make monthly payments of RON 50. After the grace period and with the new interest rate, the monthly payment will be RON 570.

Elena T: Due to the increase in IRCC and prices, it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to cover my expenses. My husband is retired on sick leave and the baby expenses are higher every month. My parents, who live in the studio I contracted this mortgage for, also have health problems and it’s hard for me to help them. I have two loans, for 2 different properties and I would like to restructure them. At least recalculate the interest. I would benefit from a fixed monthly payment.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: The bank offers the client the possibility to switch from variable to fixed interest for a period of 60 months, after which the loan will be reverted to variable interest, consisting of the contractually agreed margin plus IRCC. The fixed interest rate will be 5.9%.

Management fee: refunds and removal from the loan

Dan B: I have an outstanding consumer loan secured by mortgage, taken out in September 2008, in the amount of EUR 105,000 for a period of 25 years. I am charged a monthly management fee applied to the loan balance. Please let me know what the bank’s proposal is for this management fee, both for future payments and for those already made.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: In the future, the bank will remove the loan management fee (approx. EUR 2,775) and will make available to the consumer the amount of EUR 3,000, representing a partial refund of the management fee. By accepting the settlement note, an agreement to settle the dispute between the parties has been reached.

Antoneta V: After taking out a mortgage loan I noticed that the monthly payment was increasing without justification. There is a discrepancy between the amounts on the schedule and the amounts the bank tells me. Given that my monthly payment is €183 (according to the schedule), I have had €186 withdrawn over several months. I would like to recover the overpayment and, if possible, I would like an interest adjustment and a rescheduling of the loan.

Solution accepted by the parties within ABDRC: The merchant refunded the amounts claimed by the consumer and offered her the removal of the outstanding loan management fee (EUR 725) and a refund of part of the loan management fee charged after the 2015 rescheduling (EUR 1,000).

Aurel C: I request the repayment of the amounts charged by the bank as loan management fee, amounting to RON 15,000.

Solution accepted by the parties within the ABDRC: The bank approved the removal of the outstanding loan management fee of €4,020 and the partial refund of the fee already collected, of €2,000.

Alexandru Păunescu, representative of the National Bank of Romania in the ABDRC’s Steering Board: “Analysing the requests received by ABDRC and the results of the negotiations, we see a better understanding by consumers of the financial situation they are facing. In addition, they have developed a more pragmatic approach to the offers banks make in negotiations. We see that people have given up having unrealistic expectations about the final outcome of the conciliation. This is also driven by the approach of banks, which come to the negotiation table with one-off solutions that are designed to solve the consumer’s immediate problem, but also have a long-term beneficial effect. 

We can say that we have moved beyond the period when consumers tried to negotiate until a deadlock was reached or until the bank exited the amicable procedure when it met an inflexible consumer. For example, this year we have only 2 cases where negotiations failed, and in 2023 only 8 out of 100 negotiations where the parties did not agree. Consumers have now taken the advice of conciliators, who have said on several occasions that winning in a negotiation is not just about the money benefit. This is compounded by a very short turnaround time, the certainty of a favourable response, unlike in court, where there is a risk of an unfavourable judgement, and the modification of the contract in order to continue it under conditions adapted to current needs.”

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 requests 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).