“After taking out a mortgage loan, I noticed that the monthly rate is increasing unnecessarily. There is a discrepancy between the amounts entered in the payment term and those that the bank told me. At the exchange rate of 183 euros (corresponding to the maturity date), 186 euros were withdrawn from me over several months,” says Antoineta V. The client wanted to return the overpaid amounts and adjust the interest, as well as pay off the loan.

She appealed to the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Banking Sector (CSALB), receiving a few days later the refund of the sums demanded by the consumers and the cancellation for the future of the loan administration fee (€725) and a partial refund of the loan administration fee charged after the 2015 installment (1000 euros).

• By mid-March, banks accepted 175 requests for negotiations (out of a total of 420 requests addressed to banks);

• Since the beginning of the year, 140 negotiations between consumers and banks ended in reconciliation of the parties;

• In 98% of negotiations held this year, the parties reconciled. In 2023, the average amount of payments received by a consumer after negotiations with a bank under CSALB was approximately €5,000.

That’s right, banks don’t always cooperate. But people can apply to CSALB for free, all conciliation procedures are free.

“I asked the bank to restructure my loan because I could no longer pay. A week later I got a reply that they didn’t have a solution for me.”

Veres Tibor, Timiș County: I went to the bank’s head office to fill out an application for loan restructuring, since I can no longer pay the loan installments from next month. The rate in the bank is 1,850 lei, but I have a loan with a rate of 550 lei, plus rent and current expenses. I asked them to restructure my credit because I don’t want to be registered with the Credit Bureau and after a week I got a reply that they have no solution for me.

Decision made by the parties within the CSALB: The bank offers a grace period of two months, during which the loan rate will be 500 lei. After this period, the loan will be restructured as follows: a fixed interest rate will be introduced, and the monthly loan rate will decrease to 1,480 lei.

The resulting solution helps me a lot! I found out about CSALB online after I started looking for a solution to my situation. I foresaw a difficult time ahead and searched for information. At first I didn’t think it would be resolved because I was rejected by the bankers I spoke with. However, in less than three weeks everything was ready, with the help of a peace mediator. I couldn’t believe it when he called me to tell me the result. I have already recommended you to other people as the solution I received was very helpful for me.

ANAF garnishes my wages and withholds a third of my net income every month. Please extend the loan repayment period

Albert Marendescu, Vaslui County: I cannot pay the monthly installment of 2012 lei related to a personal loan, because the company where I was an administrator went bankrupt, and as a result of this procedure, an outstanding debt of 60,000 lei was created. Thus, ANAF has garnished my wages and withholds a third of my net income every month. I am asking for an extension of the loan repayment period and a recalculation of the rate so that it results in a lower monthly rate than I am currently paying.

Decision taken by the parties in the framework of CSALB: The Bank proposes to extend the repayment term by 14 months. In the first 36 months of the restructured loan, the consumer will have to pay 1,010 lei (about half of the current rate), and the interest rate will be 0%. After this period, the rate will be 1,900 lei, and the interest will correspond to the current rate (fixed interest of 9.7%).

I am very satisfied, everything went unexpectedly well. The first time I approached the bank directly, I was turned down and skeptical about how my problem would be resolved. But everything was resolved very quickly. You can always do better, but at the same time, I might not have achieved anything. They say that a gift is taken from the dissatisfied. Considering that I’ve been paying half the rate for three years now, I’d say that’s pretty good.

Fixed interest, deferment and grace period

Bohdan P.: I would like to adapt the loan agreement to the remaining payments by recalculating the interest on the loan in Swiss francs. I want to pay fixed installments until the end of the loan.

Decision made by the parties: Restructuring of the loan by converting it into RON with a 30% discount applied to the balance. After conversion for 3 years, the consumer receives a fixed interest rate of 5.9% with a rate of approximately 812 lei. After that, the interest becomes variable and is calculated according to the IRCC + 2.5% bank margin formula.

I received an assurance over the phone that postponement is possible, but the installments were charged anyway

David M.: I applied for a 6-month loan deferral. I received an assurance over the phone that a month’s postponement was possible, but later I found out that my account had been debited in installments. I went to the bank branch in Timisoara, where I was informed that the loan cannot be postponed even for a month.

The decision made by the parties: The loan granted to the consumer will be restructured by maintaining a fixed interest rate of 6.5% throughout the term of the loan. Also, the consumer will be granted a grace period of 6 months, during which he will pay a monthly contribution of 50 lei. After the grace period and with the new interest, the monthly rate will be 570 lei.

Olena T: Due to the increase in IRCC and prices, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to cover my expenses. My husband is retired due to illness and expenses with a child are increasing month by month. My parents, who live in a borrowed studio apartment, also have health problems and it is difficult for me to help them. I have two loans on 2 different properties and I would like to restructure them. At least calculate the percentages. I would prefer a flat rate.

The decision taken by the parties under CSALB: the bank offers the customer the option to switch from variable interest to fixed interest for a period of 60 months, after which it will return to variable interest consisting of a contractual margin. plus IRCC. The fixed interest rate will be 5.9%.

Administrative fee: refund and removal from credit

Dan B: I have a personal loan with a mortgage in September 2008 for €105,000 with a term of 25 years. I am charged an administrative fee that is added to the loan balance every month. Please let me know the bank’s proposal for this administrative fee, both for future payments and for those already paid.

The decision taken by the parties under CSALB: the bank will cancel the loan administration fee (approximately €2,775) in the future and provide the consumer with an amount of €3,000, which is a partial refund of the administration fee. The acceptance of the settlement agreement establishes the agreement of the parties to settle the dispute.

Alexandru Peunescu, representative of the National Bank of Romania in the CSALB Coordination Council: “Analyzing the requests received by the CSALB and the results of the negotiations, we observe a better understanding on the part of consumers of the financial situation they face. In addition, they developed a more pragmatic approach to bank proposals in negotiations. We see that people have given up unrealistic expectations of the final outcome of reconciliation. This fact is also due to the approach of banks, which sit down at the negotiating table with specific solutions aimed at solving the consumer’s immediate problem, but which also have a beneficial effect in the long term.

We can say that we have passed the time when consumers tried to negotiate until they reached a dead end, or until the bank left the conciliation procedure when it encountered an inflexible consumer. For example, this year we have only 2 cases where negotiations failed, and in 2023 only 8 negotiations out of 100 parties did not reach an agreement. Now consumers have taken advantage of the advice of peace experts, who have repeatedly said that winning negotiations is not only about monetary gain. Added to this is a very short resolution time, the certainty of a favorable answer, unlike in court, where there is a risk of an unfavorable court verdict and changing the contract in order to continue it on terms adapted to the needs of the present.”