Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd. appealed to Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) asking to extend the deadline for eliminating the violations of consumer rights related to consumer loans given by the bank.

The bank was ordered to deal with all the violations after the investigation conducted by Rospotrebnadzor at the request of dissatisfied borrowers. The investigation revealed a number of offenses connected with consumer loans. The legitimacy of the order has already been confirmed by Sverdlovsk Region Court of Arbitration and the Federal Court of Arbitration of Ural Federal District.

‘Home Credit and Finance Bank was trying to impugn Rospotrebnadzor’s decision in court, yet the Supreme Court of Arbitration has refused to accept their claim twice so far; in addition, the bank missed the deadlines for submitting their petition,’ said Elena Bogacheva of Rospotrebnadzor.

‘The bank has already offered us a new form of a consumer loan agreement to be agreed upon,’ she explained.

‘The document is now devoid of all the points regarding the connection between the issuance of a loan and the obligatory payments for opening and servicing an account. Should the borrower pay the debt off early, the bank is not allowed to take a commission any longer. Nor is it allowed to fine a client in case the latter misses the deadline for a loan payment,’ Ms Bogacheva noted.

‘Our experts are looking at the new agreement form at the moment, and the management is trying to decide whether it is possible to extend the deadline for fulfilling the order,’ she said.