Someone asks for a refund of 1,000 euros, and someone much more!

Photo: Illustration

As the Effective Association says, banks collect those costs illegally, while the National Bank of Serbia and the Serbian Association do not agree with that.

According to the Association, the NBS believes that the bank has the right to charge costs and fees for banking services. According to that explanation, the provision of the loan agreement that obliges the borrower to pay the loan costs to the bank is not null and void, as long as the bank’s offer contains clear and unambiguous information about these costs.

According to Dejan Gavrilovic of Efektiva, judging by the verdicts, the law is on the side of the citizens and not of the banks, and some banks have already paid money after the verdicts of first instance and in question are smaller amounts, which is explained by the fact that in this way they want to avoid the execution.

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As he says, loan processing costs are charged as a percentage, 0.5 to 1.5 percent of the amount of home loans, up to 15 percent for cash and cash loans.

– It is not logical that two clients enter the bank and one takes a loan of 1,000 euros and the other of 10,000, so the bank charges the first 20 euros and the other 200 euros, because it is not clear what the difference is to do business with both clients. – Gavrilović explains and adds that it is not clear what the cost of loan processing for the bank is. He considers that the bank must explain to the client during the collection that how much the loan process costs, for example, paper, electricity, toner and the like …

NBS: Processing costs yes, but under one clear condition

In a statement sent to Tanjug, the National Bank of Serbia notes that the Law on Protection of Users of Financial Services stipulates that the loan contract must contain the type and amount of all fees borne by the users of the loan.

– It is important to note that the fees and costs related to the realization of the loan, such as the costs of processing, monitoring and managing the loan, which the bank charges the user, are included in the calculation of the effective interest rate.e – is written in that Central Bank statement.

Likewise, they state that the bank is legally obliged to clearly present these costs to the user in the pre-contractual phase, that is, to consign them in the offer, so that the user knows in a transparent way all the costs that fall on him.

The NBS recalls that the position of the Supreme Court of Cassation establishes that these loan costs can be expressed as a percentage and can be collected only by calculating the effective interest rate. According to the statement, the Central Bank cannot comment on judicial decisions or the consequences of those decisions, which, among other things, refer to the work of the courts.

The Association of Banks of Serbia states that Banks have no dilemma about whether the fees for loan processing costs are legal. They also say that Serbia is the only country where there are ongoing campaigns to file lawsuits against banks, although fees are charged for this service in other countries as well.