The number of unhappy bank customers on the internet exceeds 12,000

Newsroom 20/09/2010 | 16:22

There are more than 12,000 unhappy bank customers on the internet. This number is still at a low end compared to the total number of clients who have contracted bank loans, but it is increasing rapidly.

The term of 90 days in which banks were asked to comply with emergency ordinance 50/2010 has passed. OUG 50/2010 was approved in June. It concerns loans taken by the population and stipulates the elimination of the commission for anticipated reimbursement for loans with variable interest. It also stipulates that the interest is calculated function of a transparent reference index, plus a fixed margin, that cannot be modified compared to the initial contract.

Currently, clients of 16 banks got organized in groups on the internet in order to be better informed regarding issues with the banks but also to sue the banks in an organized manner. These banks are Volksbank, BCR, Bancpost, BRD, Alpha Bank, OTP Bank, Raiffeisen, Banca Transilvania, Banca Romaneasca, Piraeus Bank, RBS Bank Romania, Credit Europe Bank, ING, CEC Bank, Millennium Bank and UniCredit Ţiriac Bank

The president of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiritoiu, told the media last week that banks prefer to go to court rather than offer interest for old loans that are at most equal with rates for new loans because they anticipate a relatively low number of clients who will sue.

Thousands of clients have already decided to sue the banks for violating stipulations of this ordinance but also older stipulations.

Data from the National Bank of Romania show that approximately 4.5 million people have at least one loan, which surpasses the total number of people who are employed. The ordinance targets approximately 8 million loans.

Otilia Haraga