Right to Complain
A client of a credit institution or a user of a financial service who finds that a credit institution (bank) or a financial service provider (microcredit financial institution, leasing company) does not comply with the obligations of the concluded contract has the right to send a written complaint to the credit institution and financial service provider.
In accordance with applicable regulations, the credit institution and the financial service provider are required to carefully consider the submitted complaint in order to find a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute.
The credit institution and financial service provider are required to respond to the submitted complaint:
- Immediately, and in more complex cases within 8 days from the day of delivery of the complaint, if the client of the credit institution or the user of the financial service believes that their rights prescribed by the Law on Consumer Credits have been violated;
- Within 15 days from the day of receiving the complaint, if the client of the credit institution or the user of the financial service believes that the credit institution or financial service provider does not comply with the contractual obligations.
If the credit institution or the financial service provider fails to respond within the prescribed time limits to the written complaint, or assesses that the complaint is without merit, the clients of the credit institution or the financial service user have the right to contact the Central Bank of Montenegro.
The Central Bank of Montenegro establishes the merits of all submitted written complaints from clients of credit institutions and users of financial services and acts on them in accordance to its powers.
Complaint may be submitted as follows:
For information about their rights, clients of credit institutions or users of financial services may contact the Central Bank of Montenegro by phone at 020 480 248 and 020 664 549.
CBCG is empowered to:
- give recommendations to the credit institutions for the improvement of clients’ relationships;
- give advice to clients pertaining to different dispute resolution methods;
- perform other tasks contributing to the protection of client’s rights.
CBCG is not empowered to:
- Decide in disputes between clients and credit institutions, users of financial services and providers of financial services, which are under the competence of another state authority;
- Influence the business policy of a credit institution or financial service provider, except within its legally prescribed powers;
- Affect the contractual relations between the credit institution, the financial service provider and the client, except within its legally prescribed powers;
- Order a credit institution, financial service provider, to undertake certain activities other than the rights and obligations already assumed by the contract.
Consumer may initiate the out-of-court settlement of dispute by submitting a proposal to initiate a mediation or arbitration proceedings before the Arbitration Board for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes. mediation proceedings.
The Arbitration Board for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes, as a functionally independent body, operates within the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro at: Novaka Miloševa 29/II, Podgorica 81000.
Importance of Complaints
Complaints of clients of credit institutions or users of financial services represent an important source of information about the business practices of credit institutions and financial service providers that the CBCG checks during the supervisory procedure.
Data on submitted complaints, their merits and activities undertaken by credit institutions and financial service providers are indicators for monitoring the achieved level of protection of the rights of clients and users of financial services.