• Concealing the obligation to pay remuneration or offering loans at a value exceeding the consumer's repayment ability - these are examples of practices used by Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse.
• The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection issued two decisions questioning the practices of the financial agent and provisions of concluded agreements.
• The company’s customers were residents of Lower Silesia.

In May 2018 the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Piotr Kopczyński warned against financial agent Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse. He operated in Lower Silesia in Bolesławiec, Dzierżoniów, Oleśnica and Oława. The agent exposed customers to the risk of high financial losses, concealing, for example, the fact that he was charging them for his agency services. UOKiK received complaints from consumers, which gave rise to two proceedings - for infringement of the collective interests of consumers and for using illegal clauses. - After examination of the evidence, we found that this financial intermediary acted intentionally and profitably. The higher the loan, the more he earned on the fees, so he might have wanted the borrowers to borrow more than they could repay. The lenders with whom he cooperated, when they found out about such a practice, terminated their cooperation - says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK. 

Infringement of collective consumer interests

Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse advertised his services with such slogans as: “The bank refused to give you a loan? Come to us”, “Low instalments, cheapest services without BIK”, “No age limits, No hidden fees, No guarantors”, “Accelerated procedure”. Such slogans were misleading because they suggested that any person - even with a poor credit history - could get a loan and the agent would not check the credit risk.

The Office also found that Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse offered loans to consumers which did not meet their needs and exceeded their repayment capacity. For example, one of the consumers informed UOKiK that she applied for PLN 1.5 thousand, and the agreement was for almost PLN 16 thousand. Many people were surprised by much higher amounts, which they were unable to repay. The agent's employees told consumers to deposit money from the loan granted to an indicated account and either did not explain why they should do it or suggested that it would reduce the debt. They were thus misleading them.

UOKiK also questioned the consumers’ obligation to sign a declaration of recognition of the debt. In the opinion of the Office, this was unnecessary and illegal. It could have discouraged many people from pursuing their rights.

Employees of Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse also issued bills of exchange without the mandatory “not to order” clause. - A bill of exchange makes it possible to issue an order for payment without a court hearing. However, it must contain the mandatory “not to order” clause, which protects the consumer from so-called endorsement, i.e. transfer of rights from such a bill of exchange to another person. This is not only the obligation of the lender, but also of the financial intermediary, according to good practices. Such an inscription was missing from the bills of exchange issued by Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse - says Marek Niechciał.

Reservations were also raised by the provisions under which the consumer was to pay remuneration. They did not specify its amount or rules of its calculation.

Piotr Kopczyński Twoje Finanse has suspended activity. The President of UOKiK imposed a fine of over PLN 95,000 (PLN 95,177) for infringement of collective interests of consumers and use of prohibited clauses. The customers of the financial agent will receive letters explaining which clauses have been declared unlawful. In addition, the company will hand over bills of exchange to consumers and publish information about UOKiK's decision in the regional daily newspaper. The entrepreneur has appealed to the court.

Additional information for consumers:

Tel. 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 - Consumer Helpline
E-mail [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Regional Consumer Centres: 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl
Consumer Ombudsmen - in your city or district
Financial Ombudsman  - if your complaint has been rejected

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
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL