Retail bank customers to have small-claims judge
The Association of Polish Banks (ZBP), a non-governmental organization grouping together about 100 banks and banking institutions, is to hire an arbitrator to investigate complaints for retail banking customers.
The arbitrator will head the Banking Consumer Arbitration Office (BAK), which will include representatives from the banking sector, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) and consumer organizations, and will rule on cases involving claims from zl. 500 to zl. 8,000.
While the arbitrator's verdict will be binding for the bank, customers will still have the right to question the decision and pursue legal action. In case of disputes involving claims of higher amounts, the arbitrator will issue an opinion, but the bank will not be obliged to accept it. The position will last four years and only professional legal advisers or solicitors with 10 years professional experience will be considered for the job.
The costs of arbitration ranging from zl. 40 to zl. 50 will be covered by consumers if their claims are found to be groundless, otherwise the bank will have to pay these expenses. ZBP member banks will cover BAK's maintenance costs.
ZBP's head, Andrzej Topinski, said the fee for arbitration services will hopefully discourage permanently disgruntled consumers from filing unreasonable claims.
"The idea of the banking arbitrator is very good as it's a step toward greater openness of banks for clients' needs," said Henryka Pieronkiewwicz, president of Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski (PKO BP). "It may help to change the appearance that banks are remote institutions. It can also improve transparency in client-bank relations."
Andrzej Podsiadlo, president of Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK), also stressed the importance of ZBP's initiative. "The Polish banking system needed an arbitration office as Polish clients did not have anybody to complain to," he said. "Legal actions are expensive and take a lot of time. It is also important from the banks' perspective as they will not be engaged in long-lasting and time-consuming lawsuits."
Asked if the monetary range of claims to be settled by the arbitrator is too small, Podsiadlo said: "It's just a beginning if it works we may consider raising the limit."
Podsiadlo also said that BAK will not provide anything for institutional clients as companies' claims involve large amounts of money and they prefer legal action.
The Polish Consumers' Federation (PFK) also supports ZBP's initiative. "We have helped in setting up the arbitration office and we hope we will have a seat (in BAK) in order to have some influence on what is going on with customers' claims," said PFK President Malgorzata Niepokulczycka. "There is a fad in the European Union for out-of-court settlements. Therefore, (this) initiative comes in line with changes in European Union standards."
Niepokulczycka also expressed her hope that non-ZBP members would join the group and respect BAK's decisions.
