ING Bank Śląski, Bank Ochrony Środowiska, Nest Bank and Plus Bank must change how they handle complaints about unauthorised payment transactions and review earlier responses to customers. According to RMF24, reporting on the position of Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), the banks will have to return lost money where a refund is justified. This does not mean that everyone previously refused a refund will automatically receive one.
RMF24 reports that the president of UOKiK has required the four banks to change their practices. The regulator’s concerns include treating successful authentication of a transaction as sufficient evidence that the customer consented to it, and shifting the burden of proof onto consumers.
A PIN or app confirmation does not settle the matter
The key distinction is between authenticating a transaction and authorising it. According to UOKiK’s position as reported by RMF24, the correct use of a PIN or confirmation in a banking app is not, on its own, enough to establish that the customer genuinely agreed to the payment. It is this approach to handling complaints that the regulator has challenged.
The review must cover responses to current customers’ complaints issued from 16 November 2022. If reconsidering a case shows that a refund is justified, the bank must return the lost funds by 31 December 2027 at the latest. These are obligations still to be fulfilled, rather than an announcement that reviews have been completed or refunds already paid.
A different process for former customers
The requirements also cover people who are no longer customers of these banks. Former customers whose complaints submitted after 15 November 2022 were rejected are to receive information explaining that they can request a review and how to do so.
There is an important difference in how the scope is defined: for current customers, the relevant date concerns the bank’s response to a complaint; for former customers, it concerns when the complaint was submitted. A previous refusal does not in itself establish entitlement to a refund. The outcome will depend on the reassessment of each case.
The banks must publish information about the decisions on their websites and notify customers through their mobile apps. They must also report to UOKiK on how they have fulfilled their obligations by 30 April 2028.
