What to do if a financial institution refuses to satisfy the property claims of its client - an individual?
The courts no longer accept claims from financial services consumers in respect of disputes that are subject to pre-trial settlement in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Commissioner for the Rights of Financial Services Consumers”. According to him, in most cases, before filing a lawsuit against a financial institution, you must contact the financial ombudsman.
If the consumer immediately goes to court on a dispute that is within the competence of consideration by the financial commissioner, he will be denied consideration of the case in court. The consumer will lose time, and when using the services of lawyers and expert organizations, they will also lose money.
Let's figure out who and under what conditions should go through the procedure of pre-trial settlement of disputes between financial institutions and their clients - individuals.
Imagine a very common situation: after an accident, the insurance company for some reason refuses to pay you for compulsory motor third party liability insurance. Until June 1, 2019, after the refusal, you had to either come to terms with such a decision of the insurance company, or go to court. Going to court is usually accompanied by additional costs. These are the services of a lawyer in drawing up a statement of claim, and state duty, and conducting an examination. In addition, despite the existence of regulations, the consideration of such cases was often delayed for quite a long time.
In order to minimize the costs of financial services consumers and reduce the waiting time for a decision, as well as to reduce the burden on the courts, a pre-trial procedure for settling disputes between financial institutions and their individual clients has been introduced in Russia and has been operating for almost 3 years.
Now, in the event of a dispute, it is necessary to apply not to the court, but to the financial commissioner. It does not require any additional costs and is completely free for the consumer.
You can submit an appeal to the financial ombudsman from anywhere in the world through your personal account on the website of the financial ombudsman, through the State Services portal or by mail. Consideration of the application will take 15 working days. If it is necessary to conduct an independent examination on the subject of the dispute, the consideration is suspended for the duration of the examination, but not more than 10 working days.
Submission of an appeal does not require special knowledge, and in case of difficulties, the employees of the Financial Ombudsman Service will assist the consumer in processing the appeal. If necessary, the Service independently and free of charge for the consumer organizes an independent examination.
The new dispute resolution procedure is mandatory for both the consumer and the financial institution. The decision of the Financial Ombudsman is sent to the consumer in a personal account or by mail and is binding on the financial institution.
It should be noted that if the consumer is not satisfied with the result of the dispute, then he has the right to go to court with a corresponding claim against the financial institution. But if you go to court without going through the pre-trial settlement procedure, the court will leave such a claim without consideration.
What kind of disputes does the Financial Ombudsman handle?
The competence of the Financial Ombudsman is determined by the current legislation. There is a special service on the official website of the financial ombudsman, with the help of which, by answering a few questions, you can check whether your dispute is subject to consideration by the financial ombudsman.
The main criteria are the presence of property (including monetary) claims, the amount of which should not exceed 500 thousand rubles. The exception is compulsory motor third party liability insurancedisputes, which are considered without restrictions on the amount of the claim.
The appeal must be submitted directly by the consumer of financial services or his legal representative. In this case, legal representation does not mean the presence of a notarized power of attorney. A legal representative is, for example, a parent or guardian of a minor in whose favor property claims are made. Therefore, a hired lawyer, even with a notarized power of attorney, will not be able to file an appeal on his behalf for a consumer of financial services.
The Financial Ombudsman considers disputes with financial institutions that are obliged to interact with him, namely:
Insurance companies;
microfinance organizations;
banks;
pawnshops;
credit consumer cooperatives;
non-state pension funds.
How to apply to the Financial Ombudsman?
We have already said that the appeal to the financial ombudsman is free of charge and is considered in absentia. If necessary, the financial commissioner himself and at his own expense will appoint an independent examination.
What is the procedure for the consumer of a financial service if he has a dispute with a financial institution? Just 3 easy steps.
Step #1. Check to be or whether your dispute is considered by the financial commissioner using a special service, which is located on the official website.
Step #2. Send an application (claim) to the financial institution in writing or electronically:
The standard form of the application (claim) form can be downloaded on the website of the Financial Ombudsman. Sample applications (claims) for sending to financial institutions can be found here.
Wait for the required time for a response from the financial institution - 15 business days if the application (claim) is sent electronically in a standard form, 30 calendar days otherwise;
Important! If you ignore this stage, do not send an application (claim) to a financial institution and do not wait the required period, the financial commissioner will refuse to consider your application.
Step #3. If you do not agree with the response of the financial institution or did not receive it within the prescribed period, send an appeal to the Financial Ombudsman:
Video instructions for filing an application are available on the website of the Financial Ombudsman;
Within three working days from the date of receipt of the application, you will be notified of the acceptance of the application for consideration or refusal;
If the appeal is accepted, a decision on it must be made within 15 working days;
If it is necessary to conduct an independent examination, the consideration is suspended for the time of its conduct, but not more than 10 working days;
The financial institution is obliged to execute the decision of the Financial Ombudsman within the period specified in it.
If you still have questions about the pre-trial procedure for resolving disputes between consumers of financial services and financial institutions, you can ask the operators of the contact center of the Financial Ombudsman Service by calling 8 (800) 200-00-10 (toll-free within Russia). You can also find answers to the most frequently asked questions on the official website of the Financial Ombudsman www.finombudsman.ru in the Knowledge Base section.