UOKiK initiated explanatory proceedings in 18 banks regarding consumer complaints

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has initiated explanatory proceedings in which it will check how banks handle consumer complaints related to the theft of money from the account and what mechanisms of transaction authentication are used, the office said. Calls for explanations and documents on these matters were sent to 18 banks.

Recently, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has received more and more complaints from consumers regarding theft of money from the account or incurring obligations on their data. The problem is the loss of savings and the non-recognition of complaints by banks. Reports concern, for example, fraudulent impersonation of a bank's helpline employee or the use of a fake bank's website or spyware to obtain consumer's data, the report said.

"I considered it necessary to check how banks secure their clients' money in such situations and whether they reliably handle such complaints. That is why I initiated explanatory proceedings against 18 banks, in which we will verify the scale of the problem, and how the internal procedures of individual banks are shaped, what percentage of complaints is considered positively and whether the banks notify law enforcement agencies," said Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The explanatory proceedings concern the following banks: Alior Bank, Bank Handlowy in Warsaw, Bank Millennium, Bank Ochrony Środowiska, Bank Pocztowy, Bank Pekao, BNP Paribas Bank Polska, Credit Agricole Bank Polska, DnB Bank Polska, Getin Noble Bank, ING Bank Śląski, mBank , Nest Bank, Plus Bank, PKO Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska, Santander Consumer Bank, Toyota Bank Polska.

Source: UOKiK and ISBnews