The National Authority for the Protection of Consumer Rights (ANPC) announces on Saturday that it has finally won in court before OTP Bank Romania SA the process of challenging the control act by which the institution imposed sanctions on the bank due to improper commercial practices, writes news.ro

“As part of the thematic control carried out in 2021 at OTP Bank Romania SA, the ANPC team of commissioners found that the bank presented an offer for individuals regarding the LeZero package under the slogan “Get your package Le zero/Zero words extra”. Reset them. “Lejer zero” is a combination product and the product has led consumers to the idea that they can get a potential benefit of reducing the price to zero,” ANPC said in a press release on Saturday.

The institution claims that this is an unfair commercial practice because it does not provide, in the context, professional prudence, respectively “the component and care that the consumer reasonably expects from traders, in accordance with unfair market practices and the general principle of good faith”.

“Therefore, ANPC commissioners proposed at that time to stop the improper commercial practice by eliminating the phrase LeZero, which may mislead consumers. In this regard, on August 24, 2021, an order of the ANPK was issued regarding the economic financial and banking operator, which provides for the measure provided for by the administrative act – the removal of the LeZero phrase from the LeZero package,” the institution notes.

According to her, OTP Bank România SA challenged this order in court, which, however, was finally upheld by the Bucharest Court of Appeal in Decision 428/2022 after issuing arguments, and the bank had to comply with it.