For consumers

Frequently Asked Questions

• What types of disputes are considered by the Financial Ombudsman?

  In an out-of-court dispute resolution procedure, such disputes are considered by the Financial Ombudsman that arise between consumers of financial services and financial institutions which interact with the Financial Ombudsman, and to which consumers have property claims in the amount of not more than RUB 500,000 (except for disputes under CMTPL insurance and disputes with non-state pension funds (NPF), which are considered by the Financial Ombudsman regardless of the sum (amount) of the claims), if only since the day when the consumer learnt or should have learnt about the violation of his/her right, no longer than three years have elapsed.

  As follows from the above definition, the Financial Ombudsman does not consider all types of disputes involving financial institutions. In accordance with Law No. 123-FZ, the Financial Ombudsman only considers those disputes that satisfy the following requirements combined.

  Requirement One

  The FOS considers an appeal from a consumer of financial services with a claim against a financial institution that has provided him/her with a service.

  A consumer of financial services is a natural person:

  • with whom or in favour of whom a contract has been concluded with a financial institution for purposes not related to entrepreneurial activity;

  • to whom a financial service is being rendered for purposes not related to entrepreneurial activity.

  If the consumer has assigned his/her right of claim against the financial institution to a third party, such a person is also subject to the out-of-court dispute resolution procedure.

  Requirement Two

  The consumer's claim must be of a pecuniary nature. In other words, the consumer's claim must be related to the recovery of funds from the financial institution* in favour of the consumer of financial services.

  *Exception is the claim of the consumer (his/her legal representative) or a third party on arrangement and payment by the insurance organization for restoration of damaged property (for example, a damaged car, under the contracts of Compulsory Motor Third Party Liability insurance (CMTPL), Voluntary Third Party Liability insurance (VTPL) and hull insurance), as well as claims related to the conclusion, execution or termination of the pension contract and/or contract on compulsory pension insurance. These claims are considered by the Financial Ombudsman despite the fact that they are not related to the funds recovery.

  

  Please note that the Financial Ombudsman does not consider claims for compensation of moral damage and compensation for losses in the form of lost profit. Such claims are subject to consideration by the court of law.

  Requirement Three

  Limited amount of claims.

  The Financial Ombudsman only considers appeals in which the amount of consumer claims does not exceed RUB 500,000.

  This limitation does not apply to claims under CMTPL insurance contracts and claims to non-governmental pension funds (NPF), which are considered by the Financial Ombudsman regardless of the sum (amount) of their claims.

  Requirement Four

  The Financial Ombudsman only considers appeals in respect of those financial institutions that are obliged to interact with the Financial Ombudsman or those that interact with the Financial Ombudsman on a voluntary basis.

  An appeal may be sent to the Financial Ombudsman with respect to insurance organizations (except for organizations that exclusively provide compulsory health insurance), microfinance institutions, credit organizations, credit consumer cooperatives, pawnshops and non-state pension funds. Information on these organizations is contained in the Register of financial institutions obliged to interact with the Financial Ombudsman.

  

  Please note that the Financial Ombudsman only considers disputes in relation to the currently operating organizations. If an organization has had its licence revoked, been excluded from the Register of financial institutions of the relevant type, or is in the process of liquidation, has been liquidated, ceased to exist, or been recognised as having actually ceased to operate, disputes in respect of such organizations cannot be considered by the Financial Ombudsman.

  Requirement Five

  The Financial Ombudsman considers the appeal if only since the day when the consumer learnt or should have learnt about the violation of his/her right, no longer than three years have elapsed.

  In case of consumer having missed this deadline, the Financial Ombudsman has the right to restore the deadline for filing an appeal. In order to consider the issue of restoring the deadline, it is required to submit an appropriate application, in which the reasons for missing the deadline must be specified and to which the relevant papers confirming the validity of these reasons must be attached.

  If your dispute meets all of the above-mentioned requirements and there are no other grounds for refusal to consider the appeal as established by Law No. 123-FZ, you should appeal to the Financial Ombudsman for protection of your rights before you can appeal to the court.

• How to submit an application to the Financial Ombudsman?

  Step 1. If you have any disagreements with a financial institution, you have to send an application to restore an infringed right (claim) to the financial institution with which you have a dispute before sending an application to the FOS.

  The financial institution has to review your application and send you a response.

  The Regulations on the standardized forms of an application to restore an infringed right (claim) sent to a financial institution electronically by the consumer 

  If the response received does not suit you* or you have not received it within the specified time, proceed to Step 2.

  * For applications related to the unlawful transfer of pension savings, to restore your rights, please, submit your application to the Financial Ombudsman, even if the non-state pension fund agrees with the stated requirements and you have concluded an agreement containing information on the non-conclusion of a contract on compulsory pension insurance.

  Step 2. Send an application to the FOS.

  The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recommends that consumers send electronic applications through their personal accounts on the FOS official website.

  Video instructions on how to submit an application through your personal account

  An application to the Financial Ombudsman can be also sent in electronic form on the UIAS «State Services» website (Russian Federal portal of Unified Identification and Authentication System). 
  If you are unable to send the application electronically, you can send a printed copy by post to the following address: 119017, Moscow, Staromonetny pereulok, 3, The FOS Consumers’ Support Service.

  The Regulations on the standardized forms of applications sent electronically to the FOS

  For submission and consideration of applications, please contact the call center of the Financial Ombudsman Service at +7 (495) 120-13-79 ext 00020 (from abroad) or make an appointment for a video consultation with OFSC representatives on the "Personal Reception" page.

  Within three business days from the date of receiving the complaint, you will be notified of it being accepted for review or denied consideration.

  In cases where an application to the Financial Ombudsman was made in respect of several financial institutions, the Financial Ombudsman will split it into several applications according to the number of financial institutions to which the consumer of financial services has made the claims and in respect of each of the split applications you will receive one of the above notifications.

  If your application contains questions that do not fall within the competence of the Financial Ombudsman, your claim will be forwarded to the relevant institution in accordance with the established procedure. You will receive a notification with information on where your request has been redirected to.

• Which documents should be attached to the application?

  You have to attach the following documents to your application:
  -    a copy of the application to restore an infringed right (claim) to the financial institution;

  

  Please note that the date of receipt by the financial institution of the application to restore an infringed right (claim) must not be earlier than:

  June 1, 2019 - on disputes under contracts of MTPL, VTPL and insurance of land vehicles (e.g., hull insurance);

  November 28, 2019 - for types of insurance other than MTPL, VTPL and insurance of land vehicles, except for disputes under compulsory health insurance contracts;

  January 1, 2020 - on disputes with microfinance organizations;

  January 1, 2021- on disputes with credit organizations, non-state pension funds*, credit consumer cooperatives, pawnshops;

  * December 11, 2023 - on disputes with non-state pension funds related to illegal transfer of consumer’s pension savings and on claims against non-state pension funds excessing 500 000 roubles.

   

  -    a copy of the financial institution’s response to your claim (if any);

  -    a copy of the document confirming the fact of submitting the application to restore an infringed right (claim) to the financial organization;

  

  As a proof confirming that the application to restore an infringed right (claim) has been submitted to the financial organization, the following documents may be attached to the claim to the Financial Ombudsman:

  • a copy of the application to restore an infringed right (claim) authorized by the financial organization’s employee, with the stamp of the organization and the date of receipt – when the documents are submitted via personal delivery;

  • a screenshot presenting the information about sending an application to restore an infringed right (claim) (containing the date of sending the application, addressee, contents of the letter, copies of attachments) and the reply from the financial organization on receipt of the consumer’s email or application to restore an infringed right (claim) through the personal account on the website of the financial organization (the latter – if applicable) – when sending the documents in electronic form;

  • postal receipts (with the tracking number), list of attachments in the mail, courier bill (or invoice) – when sending documents in paper form by post .

  -    a copy of the contract with the financial institution (for instance, the insurance policy which enabled you to apply to the insurance organization);

  -    a copy of other documents on the merits of the dispute (copies of the pages of the identity document containing information about the consumer’s full name, series, number, date of issue of the document; copies of other documents that might be related to the dispute, for example, in disputes related to motor insurance: copies of documents drawn up by the authorized police officers, or a copy of the notice of the road traffic accident; copies of the documents confirming the right of ownership of the vehicle (certificate of title, vehicle registration certificate, sale and purchase agreement);

  If there are insufficient documents provided to the Financial Ombudsman to consider the application on the merits, consideration of the application can be terminated. Termination of consideration of the application on this ground shall not prevent from sending the application to the Financial Ombudsman again, providing all the necessary documents for consideration of the application on the merits.

  -    copies of documents confirming the authority of the legal representative of the consumer of financial services (when sending the complaint through a legal representative);

  -    a copy of the payment document confirming the payment of fees for the review by the FOS of the application of third parties (in the case of a referral by a third party who has been assigned the financial services consumer’s right to call on a financial organization under an agreement on assignment of claim rights).

   

  

  Please note that an independent expert review is not required to submit a complaint to the FOS. If needed, an independent review will be done at the FOS initiative.

   

   

  If an application is filed regarding a dispute with a non-state pension fund on the unlawful transfer of pension savings, the application shall also be accompanied by the following documents (if any):

  • a copy of the agreement to settle a dispute with a non-state pension fund regarding the return of the pension savings to the previous insurer;

  • at least three documents (if the consumer of financial services has them), containing signatures of the consumer of financial services, executed before the dispute with the financial organization, for which such an application has been submitted, but not earlier than three years before the day of receipt by the financial organization of the application and (or) of the agreement, disputed by the consumer of the financial services and not related to this dispute (in case the documents are not available in the specified amount, they can be provided in the available amount);

  • signature samples of the consumer of the financial services and (or) his authorized representative (if he is indicated as a signatory of the disputed documents of transfer) if they are executed in accordance with the established procedure before the day of sending the application to the Financial Ombudsman. Please note, that providing of signature samples is carried out according to the procedure approved by the decision of FOS Council placed on the official website of the Financial Ombudsman, section «Regulation».

• On what grounds can the FOS deny reviewing your application?

  Before submitting an application to the Financial Ombudsman, please, study the following conditions under which applications will not be accepted for consideration (part 1, Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 123-FZ).

  1.    The consumer has not previously filed an application to restore an infringed right (claim) with a financial institution.
  2.    The financial organization to which the consumer makes claims does not interact with the FOS and, therefore, is not included in the Register or in the List of interacting organizations.
  3.    The amount of the consumer’s claim to the financial institution exceeds 500,000 rubles (this restriction does not apply to claims under Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance contracts and to applications to non-state pension funds which are considered by the Financial Ombudsman regardless of the size (amount) of claims).

  Here it should be noted that by virtue of the requirement of part 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law No. 123-FZ, the Financial Ombudsman considers claims the amount of which does not exceed 500 000 roubles (except for disputes under MTPL insurance contracts and disputes with non-state pension funds). If during the consideration of the application by the Financial Ombudsman it is determined that the amount of the justified claims exceeds the limits established by Part 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law No. 123-FZ, a decision is made to terminate consideration of such application. The amount of claims therein is determined for all the claims made in one application.

  Thus, if after conducting an expert examination on the initiative of the Financial Ombudsman to determine the size of the consumer’s justified claims, it is established that the amount exceeds 500 000 roubles, the application submitted to the Financial Ombudsman will not be considered on its merits.

  In cases where the consumer understands that the total amount of claims clearly exceeds the limit established by Part 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law No. 123-FZ (for example, the cost of the damaged property amounts to 3 million roubles and its repair is economically inexpedient), he has the right to apply for protection of his rights directly to the court without prior applying to the Financial Ombudsman).

  4.    The appellant is not a consumer of financial services, nor a legal representative of the consumer, nor the person to whom the right to call on a financial organization under an agreement on assignment (cession) of claim rights has been assigned.
  5.    More than three years have passed since the day when the consumer learnt or was supposed to learn about the violation of his right, moreover there is no application to restore the term for submitting the application from the consumer of financial services or the reasons indicated in such application are not recognized by the Financial Ombudsman as valid.
  6.    The consumer’s application is sent against a financial institution that has been excluded from the register of financial organizations of the appropriate type (for example, an insurance organization has been excluded from the unified state register of insurance entities), whose license has been revoked (cancelled) or which has been liquidated (is in the process of liquidation) or ceased operations.
  7.    The case is pending or has already been examined in court on the same dispute and ground.
  8.    There already is a FOS decision or an agreement between the parties on the same dispute and ground.
  9.    The application with the same demands has already been accepted by the FOS for review.
  10.    Demands in the application concern compensation for non-pecuniary damage or compensation for losses in the form of lost profits.
  

  If the consumer’s application (his/her legal representative, third party to whom the right of claim of the consumer of financial services has been assigned) contains, in addition to property claims, also claims for compensation of moral damage and (or) loss of profit, the application is subject to consideration by the Financial Ombudsman only in part of claims not related to compensation of moral damage or compensation of loss of profit (provided that it is made in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Law No. 123-FZ).

  11.    Demands in the application concern labour, familial, administrative, tax legal relations and/or the collection of mandatory payments and sanctions provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
  12.    Demands in the application concern the bankruptcy of individuals or legal entities.
  13.    The settlement is achieved through a mediation process.
  14.    The text of the application is illegible.
  15.    The application contains obscene or offensive language, threats to life, health and property of the Financial Ombudsman or other persons.
   

   

• How soon will the consumer’s application to the FOS be reviewed?

  If the consumer’s application has been accepted for consideration, the FOS examines it and makes a decision within the following terms:
  •    15 or 20* working days if the application was received from a consumer of financial services or from a consumer’s legal representative;
  •    30 working days if the application was received from a person to whom the right to call on a financial organization under an agreement on assignment (cession) of claim rights has been assigned.
  

  * on applications related to unlawful transfer of pension savings

  The periods above are calculated from the day following the day of transfer of the application to the FOS.
  If an independent examination is required on the subject of the dispute, review is suspended for the period of the examination, but for no longer than 10** working days.
  

  ** When the Financial Ombudsman considers applications within the disputes between consumers of the financial services and non-state pension funds related to illegal transfer of pension savings, the Financial Ombudsman has the right to suspend consideration of the application to organize an independent handwriting examination on the subject of the dispute for a period not exceeding 15 business days.

  If a decision is made on the in-person consideration of the application, the FOS notifies the consumer and the financial organization about it, and the review is suspended until both parties receive such a notification.