• The Polish Association of the Deaf is implementing a project aimed at protecting hearing-impaired consumers against unfair practices on the financial market.
• The training, videos and informational materials are financed from UOKiK’s funds.
• The consumers will learn how to safely borrow money and how to invest it.

Workshops organised by the Polish Association of the Deaf as part of a project titled “Protection of the rights of hearing-impaired consumers” are currently under way. In each province, the Polish Association of the Deaf organises two workshops in sign language on financial matters and consumer rights. In addition, instructional videos will be created both for hearing-impaired individuals and for bank employees. The former will learn about issues connected with sales of financial products, such as loans or unit-linked endowment and life insurance, and the latter will find out more about the needs in the scope of providing service to hearing-impaired individuals.

Using sign language, experts will discuss issues connected with the world of finance. Participants will learn what consumer protection on the loan market looks like and how to borrow money in a safe manner. They will also learn investment strategies and broaden their knowledge about saving. They will familiarise themselves with the specific nature of foreign currency loans, unit-linked endowment and life insurance and corporate bonds. Moreover, they will learn the main areas of activity of institutions which protect consumers and supervise the financial market, such as the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), the Bank Guarantee Fund (BFG) and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). They will also learn how to guarantee the security of their finances on the Internet.

The aim of the project is to protect deaf consumers against threats connected with finance management, increase their understanding of banking products and consumer rights, as well as reduce their communication barriers. It is also important to increase the knowledge of employees of financial institutions as regards the needs of hearing-impaired individuals – and this is what makes this undertaking unique.

The project is financed from funds of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. It will end on 31 December 2018.

More information on the project can be obtained from Branches of the Polish Association of the Deaf. Each of the branches is conducting recruitment for the project among its members, and the current schedule of workshops can be found online.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
Email: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Branches of the Consumer Federation
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or district

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office 
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
Email: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL