The dishonesty of banks in providing product information is aimed at hiding the unattractive properties of their products for the consumer. Emphasis is placed only on aspects that are beneficial to the consumer.
“We look at the reliability and completeness of the information provided by banks on deposits and savings accounts. If conditions are set, they must be met. In addition, all product conditions must be visible and accessible without a complex search. For example , if you visit the website of a credit institution, we do not see any conditions because it is “hidden” in subsections of the site, we interpret it as a violation of antitrust laws,” said Kashevarov.
The FAS also asked banks to exclude information about savings accounts from the deposit sections of their websites. In the eyes of the consumer, these products should not be mixed, because the conditions for them are different and the contractual relations are different.
When providing loans to individuals, dishonest actions are mainly associated with the imposition by credit institutions to conclude an insurance contract with a specific insurer and the incomplete provision of information on the conditions of the loan, including the possibility of concluding a contract with another insurance organization. Banks also delay the acceptance of policies issued by citizens independently, even when they change insurers during the period of validity of the loan contract. Borrowers are not always informed about the bank’s requirements for insurance conditions, including obtaining a reduced interest rate on the loan.
Read the full version of the interview with Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia Andrey Kashevarov on the RG website.
