After the Market Court issued its ruling in September 2023, credit company Bondora has continued to unlawfully charge credit interest as well as contractual and administrative fees to consumers who are not legally obliged to repay anything more than the principal credit amount. The Consumer Ombudsman urges consumers who have entered into a credit agreement with Bondora between September 2019 and November 2021 to claim reimbursement for exceeding the legal interest rate cap.
In September 2023, the Market Court prohibited Bondora from continuing a procedure where the company collects a cost that they call credit interest and that is based on the original credit amount rather than the remaining principal. The Market Court’s opinion was that, because of Bondora’s interest terms, the cost charged as credit interest exceeds the maximum interest rate defined in the Consumer Protection Act.
If, during the credit relationship, Bondora has acted in a way deemed unlawful by the Market Court, the consumer is not obliged to repay anything other than the principal credit amount to Bondora.
After the Market Court issued its ruling, the Consumer Ombudsman expected Bondora to reimburse customers – as required by the ruling – on its own initiative. However, Bondora has not done so. According to consumer reports received by the Consumer Ombudsman, the company also does not appear to have lawfully repaid the additional costs to those consumers who have claimed reimbursement themselves.
”Consumers should file a complaint with Bondora in order to receive the reimbursement that they are entitled to under the law. To make filing a complaint easier, we have created a Complaint Assistant suitable for the situation going on with Bondora. Consumers can use it to create a claim for reimbursement.”
Consumers can claim reimbursement for both current credit agreements and credit agreements that have already been repaid. However, if the credit is in legal recovery, i.e. subject to enforcement or being processed by a District Court, the consumer can usually no longer claim reimbursement. The Consumer Ombudsman has noted that previously Bondora has utilised the European payment order procedure in its recovery process. Even if a consumer has received a European payment order, they can claim compensation if they object to the payment order or apply for its re-examination in time. They should object to the payment order if it also contains a demand to repay credit interest and contractual and administrative fees in addition to the principal.
How consumers can claim reimbursement from Bondora for credit costs that exceed the interest rate cap
The Complaint Assistant will allow consumers to create a written complaint that can be submitted to Bondora to claim reimbursement for unlawfully charged credit costs.
- Consumers who have entered into a credit agreement with Bondora between 01 September 2019 and 10 November 2021 are able to claim reimbursement.
- The credit can be currently active or fully repaid. The credit can also be terminated but not in legal recovery.
Based on the Market Court’s ruling, the consumer has the right to claim reimbursementfor credit interest, contractual fees and administrative fees that they have repaid. However, this does not apply to costs paid for the B On Track, B Secure and B Secure + services, which Bondora calls additional services. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the nature of the costs of services called as additional services and whether or not they are considered credit costs.
Link to Complaint Assistant:
Complaint Assistant: Complaint regarding the reimbursement of unlawfully charged credit costs
The Consumer Ombudsman demands a prohibition and an increased conditional fine of one million euros for negligence
The Consumer Ombudsman’s opinion is that, because Bondora is still charging consumers credit interest fees and other credit costs, it is violating the September 2023 prohibition issued by the Market Court by charging consumers fees that exceed the interest rate cap. The Consumer Ombudsman demands the payment of the EUR 100,000 conditional fine that the Market Court imposed to reinforce the prohibition. They also demand that the Market Court increases the conditional fine imposed to reinforce the prohibition to EUR 1,000,000, because Bondora’s actions are causing significant harm to consumers.
Additionally, the Consumer Ombudsman demands that Market Court issue a prohibition to Bondora, as the credit company is not complying with the penalty for breaching the interest rate cap defined in the Consumer Protection Act, which means that consumers’ rights are being denied.
"We believe that the Market Court can put a stop to the charging of unlawful fees and, help consumers receive reimbursement.”
Because the situation is continuously causing financial harm to consumers, the Consumer Ombudsman demands a temporary prohibition to halt unlawful actions taken by Bondora. The prohibition would remain in effect until the matter has been fully resolved.
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