Consumer fraud and other wrongful business practices may take many forms. The following are some examples of common scenarios out of which a consumer rights case may arise:

• abusive/ unfair terms within loan contracts concluded with banks or other financial institutions (variable interest and commissions clauses)
• abusive credit reporting or debt collection practices
• sale of faulty, defective, or dangerous products
• breaches of warranties
• unjustified and/or undisclosed charges and fees
• false advertising, including misrepresenting the characteristics or quality of products or services
• inadequate security that leads to data breaches of credit card numbers, personal numbers, or other sensitive financial or personal information
• predatory or fraudulent lending and
• any other type of deceptive or unfair trade practice.

Our lawyers have represented consumers in many contexts, including against Romanian major banks and financial institutions. Banks or other financial institutions can use a variety of tactics to take advantage of their customers, including:

• hidden fees – undisclosed or concealed fees for maintaining accounts, balance transfers, cash advances, and other financial transactions
• DAE misrepresentation – misrepresenting annual interest percentage rate (DAE)
• unauthorized charges – charging credit card customers for “add-on” products or services, such as payment protection plans, without customer authorization
• late fees – deliberately setting payment due dates on non-business days, causing the payment to be processed on a later day in order to collect late fees and excess interest
• double charging – charging customers twice for the sale transaction
• failure to post timely payments to account – failing to post payments when received on time, resulting in late fees and excess interest for the customer

If you’re facing a problem and you don’t know what to do next, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Seeking legal advice from an expert in consumer law is crucial, and it’s important to do so as soon as possible after an issue arises.

Legal representation from one of our highly trained, specialist team is available across Romania.