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A dispute has arisen between you and a financial services provider (bank, insurer, consumer credit provider, etc.)? What steps should you take to resolve it? |
What are the steps to settle a dispute with a financial services provider?
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Step 1
Prior to applying to the Bank of Lithuania regarding the settlement of a dispute, you should apply to the financial services provider in writing, specifying the circumstances of the dispute and your claim. You should apply to the financial services provider no later than within three months of learning about a violation of your rights.
Please note that submitting a written consumer complaint with a specific claim to a financial market participant is a very important step, as many disputes are resolved amicably before the Bank of Lithuania is called upon to handle a consumer dispute.
Upon receipt of your application, the financial services provider must reply to you within 15 working days. In exceptional cases where it is not possible to reply within 15 working days, the financial services provider may extend the deadline for providing you with a final reply up to 35 working days but must inform you of this, stating the reasons for the extension.
Step 2
If you are not satisfied with the financial services provider’s reply or if you have not received any reply within 15 working days, you have the right to apply to the Bank of Lithuania within one year of contacting the financial market participant to settle your dispute. If you miss this time frame, you can no longer apply regarding the same dispute.
| Important: You have the right to apply to the Bank of Lithuania or directly to court. The court ruling is binding, while the decision of the Bank of Lithuania is of a recommendatory nature, non-binding to both the consumer and the financial market participant and cannot be appealed. If a financial market participant fails to comply with a decision on the merits of a dispute, we will make a public announcement about the failure to comply with the decision on the merits of the dispute on the Bank of Lithuania’s website under section Financial market participants who have not complied with the decision on the merits of the dispute. The Bank of Lithuania deals with disputes free of charge. |
Decisions regarding the subject matter of a dispute are public and are published on the website of the Bank of Lithuania, without prejudice to the requirements for the security of personal data, state, office, commercial, bank, professional and other secrets protected by laws, as well as the consumer’s right to privacy.
Step 3
After considering the information provided, the Bank of Lithuania, within 90 days, takes one of the following decisions of recommendatory nature:
- to satisfy your claim;
- to satisfy your claim in part;
- to reject your claim.
In complicated cases, the term for settlement can be extended for another 30 days.
The average duration of the out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes at the Bank of Lithuania is 80 days.
| Important: You have the right to withdraw and terminate the procedure for the settlement of a consumer dispute out of court at any time before a decision regarding the subject matter of the dispute is taken. |
Nevertheless, even when the Bank of Lithuania has taken a decision, the parties to a dispute (you and a financial service provider) retain the right to apply to the court.
In taking a decision regarding the subject matter of a dispute, the Bank of Lithuania, at the consumer’s request, decides on the expenses incurred by the consumer in relation to the procedure for out-of-court consumer dispute settlement (including indispensable expert examination or other expenses of investigation, lawyer or assistant lawyer and translation or interpretation services), remuneration.
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania has assigned the settlement of disputes between consumers and financial market participants and taking decisions regarding them to the Legal and Licensing Department of the Bank of Lithuania. Decisions on the merits of a consumer dispute are taken by the Director of the Legal and Licensing Department. Disputes are settled at the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the Rules for the Out-of-Court Procedure of Settlement of the Disputes between Consumers and Financial Market Participants in the Bank of Lithuania.
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