Consumer watchdog slaps EUR 19 mln fine on Poland's biggest bank
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has imposed a PLN 79.29 million (EUR 18.84 mln) fine on Poland biggest lender PKO BP for arbitrary changes of interest on consumer loans.
UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny found the clauses used by PKO BP for making changes of interest abusive, UOKiK said in a statement on Monday. According to UOKiK, the bank can arbitrarily change the interest on consumer loans, which is not allowed.
According to Chrostny, the abusive clauses do not clearly define the grounds for changing the interest rate nor do they indicate the way in which the consumer could verify the legitimacy and scope of such changes.
"They give the bank very broad scope for interpretation and, in practice, the ability to arbitrarily set the interest rate on a loan," UOKiK said in the statement.
The decision is not final and the bank can appeal it to the Court for the Competition and Consumer Protection. (PAP)
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