"We have been observing a trend of residents taking an increasingly active interest in financial services and agreements. Settlement of disputes often not only helps resolve individual disputes, but also detect and fill systemic gaps. It is also important that market participants take a constructive approach towards our recommendations", said Mindaugas SALCIUS, Director of the Financial Services and Market Supervision Department.
According to the Bank of Lithuania, disagreements within the field of insurance would mostly arise over MTPL contracts: they accounted for 30% of total disputes within this field. In most cases, the dispute over this issue was the amount of compensation for damage. Quite a lot of disputes within the field of insurance would also arise over property insurance and motor hull insurance.
Disputes of residents with banks declined in number, over housing credit agreements in particular. The Law on Real Estate Related Credit came into force as of 1 July 2017, which clearly defined interest and other issues over which there had been most disagreement until now. Most complaints in disputes with banks are now received over payment services, specifically the soundness of fee application.
Compared to 2016, last year decisions adopted by the Bank of Lithuania in favour of consumers grew by a third. There have been cases when the amount paid out to a consumer following the settlement of a dispute equated to EUR 8,000. Last year financial market participants implemented 83% of Bank of Lithuania recommendations on decisions taken in favour of consumers (in 2016 - 75%).
A total of 76 amicable agreements were reached in 2017, of which three-fourths - when the Bank of Lithuania undertook to settle a dispute. In a fourth of cases, the parties arrived at an amicable agreement after the Bank of Lithuania transferred a consumer's claim to a financial market participant who revised the decision the consumer was dissatisfied with.
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