Estonia: Coop Bank takes consumer protection decision to court over €17 interest payment
NordenBladet – Coop Bank (CPA1T.TL), an Estonian stock-listed company, has challenged a consumer protection decision and taken it to court instead of paying out €17 in interest to a customer. Last year, a Coop Bank customer complained to the Consumer Dispute Committee, stating that they had entered into a children’s savings account agreement with the bank. However, after the agreement was terminated and the bank changed the interest rate to be less favourable to the customer, the bank only transferred the principal sum to the customer, but not the accumulated interest of €17.21.
The bank argued to the Consumer Dispute Committee (Tarbijavaidluste komisjon) that, under its standard terms and conditions, the premium interest accumulated on the children’s savings account and the interest calculated on a daily basis during the validity of the agreement were not payable if the customer terminated the agreement before the deadline. However, the bank did not provide any explanation to the committee as to why it had changed the interest rate. This turned out to be harmful to the depositor, as the monthly interest calculated on the same deposit amount was smaller than before.
The Consumer Dispute Committee ruled that the agreement should be fulfilled based on the principles of good faith and reasonableness, taking into account practices and norms. The committee did not accept the unilateral change of essential terms of the agreement, especially regarding the interest rate. According to the committee, the infringement of the rights of the child (on whose behalf the savings account was opened) compared to other depositors is contrary to the principle of good faith and unacceptable.
The committee also pointed out that the deposited money belonged to the depositor (the child), so the debit of the savings account in favour of the bank for €17.21 was done without legal basis and to the detriment of the depositor’s rights. As a result, the committee decided that the customer’s claim should be satisfied.
According to the Consumer Protection Act, parties have the right to go to court if they disagree with a decision. Coop Bank has exercised this right and decided to appeal the decision of the Consumer Dispute Committee. The bank’s communications manager, Katre Tatrik, stated that Coop Bank does not agree with the committee’s conclusions and wants the court to decide on the validity of the disputed term. As a result of the bank’s decision to go to court, it has not paid out interest to the customer, as the decision of the Consumer Dispute Committee has not yet been enforced.
Photo: Excerpt from the promotional video
Source: NordenBladet.ee
High quality & nature friendly luxury cosmetics from Scandinavia - ElishevaShoshana.com
