• The President of UOKiK has issued a decision concerning promotional terms and conditions applying to mortgage loans.
• DNB Bank customers will receive a refund of the higher margin and increased account fees.
• See the decision of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection to verify if and how you can submit your application to the bank.

The Office for Competition and Consumer Protection received complaints stating that DNB was increasing the margin on promotional mortgage loans and the fees charged for maintaining Personale accounts. The Authority was also notified of the case by the District Consumer Ombudsman in Wrocław.

In the opinion of the bank, the borrowers failed to adhere to the terms and conditions of the promotional offer pursuant to which lower installments were due. Under the agreement, they were required to deposit a specific amount (e.g. PLN 5,000) on their accounts every month, or to maintain a pre-determined deposit (e.g. EUR 100,000). Many customers were transferring the money from another account maintained at DNB. The bank, however, was only recognizing transfers made from external sources. As a result, it was increasing the margin without any prior warning. The practice commenced at the beginning of 2015 and has been relied upon until today. “We have analyzed the terms and conditions of the promotion and have determined that no explicit requirement was contained therein stating that the transfers must be made from accounts maintained at other banks. Therefore, borrowers could be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the promotional offer and were eligible to pay lower installments,” claims Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

DBN has also increased the fee for the Personale account from PLN 18 to PLN 22. Holders of this type of account could take advantage of preferential mortgage loan conditions. When they refused to accept the increased fee, however, and intended to terminate the account agreement, they faced the threat of an increased interest charged on the mortgage loan taken. The negative financial consequences that the consumers faced in this specific situation have raised UOKiK’s reservations as well.

In the course of the proceedings, DNB undertook to amend its practices and to compensate its former and current customers whose margin rates and account fees had been increased. The Bank:

• Will restore the lower margin charged on promotional mortgage loans – the decision lists the specific names of loans and the conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to take advantage of this solution.
• Will refund the difference between the increased and the promotional margin.
• Will restore lower Personale account fees (PLN 18) and will refund the difference resulting from the fact that higher fees have been charged.
• Current customers of the bank will receive automatic refunds, while former customers need to submit a special application to the bank. They should apply to DNB for a refund, in writing, within 6 months from the decision becoming final. The application needs to state the agreement number and the bank account number. The application should be mailed to: DNB Bank Polska S.A., ul. Postępu 15 C, 02-676 Warszawa, or submitted by e-mail, to ok@dnb.pl.
• The bank will inform its customers about UOKiK’s decision by mail, via the online banking platform, on its website and through press announcements.

This message outlines the activities that the President of UOKiK has undertaken in the case in question. Detailed information concerning the groups of customers, the specific cases and the types of promotions the decision pertains to, as well as the activities that DNB has undertaken to conduct, are available in the verdict issued by UOKiK.

Contact for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone: +48 695 902 088
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL