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21 march 2024, 09:52
The number of appeals to the Financial Ombudsman from consumers of financial services against microfinance institutions in 2023, according to preliminary estimates, was 1,772, which is 20% less than a year earlier (2,222 appeals), Financial Ombudsman Svetlana Maximova said at the All-Russian MFI Practical Conference “MFI Market in 2023: Results and Trends”.
She noted that the reduction in the number of appeals is accounted for by regulatory measures in the MFI market and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) scheme that positively affect the interaction of organisations with clients, which increases the level of consumer protection.
The bulk of decisions made by the Financial Ombudsman are related to appeals regarding disagreement with the amount or withholding of commissions, fees for additional services, as well as disagreement with the amount or procedure for making payments. Other decisions were related to the debiting of funds without consumers’ consent in order to repay the loan, disagreement with the calculation of forfeit, execution of the loan without the consumers’ consent (signs of fraud here).
The Financial Ombudsman drew attention to the improper fulfilment of the obligation of microfinance institutions to post information about the Service. It is often quite difficult to find information about the consumer’s right to resolve disputes through the Financial Ombudsman on MFIs’ websites. In this regard, it is necessary to introduce requirements for the procedure for financial institutions to place information about the Financial Ombudsman on their official websites.
