Clients start suing banks to have their costs cut

Several hundred clients of Volksbank met on Tuesday evening to launch a class action against the bank, asking for the elimination of some contract fees and clauses. BCR clients are also preparing a meeting, this evening.
Over 900 clients having contracts underway with Volksbank, the third biggest bank domestically in terms of assets, are getting ready to launch a class action against the bank, through which they will ask for the elimination from the lending contract of a “risk” fee, which they view as unjustified.
The conflict between clients and banks, a subdued one so far, seems to become an open one as people, marked by falling incomes and rising taxes, are feeling banks are not doing anything to help them but, on the contrary, they are trying to protect their profits by levying high interests and fees.
The recent Ordinance 50/2010, forcing banks to set transparent interest calculation formulas and cutting the number of fees that can be levied, has spurred clients’ efforts.
On the other side, Volksbank representatives say they prefer a case by case approach.