• The customers of brokerage houses may be affected by trading system failures that prevent them from placing orders at currently applicable prices.
• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has initiated an investigation in which he will check whether brokerage houses do not unjustifiably waive their liability for the effects of such failures, as well as how they handle the complaints of customers injured by such situations.

Very low interest rates are prompting consumers to withdraw their bank deposits and to focus more on the financial market. However, brokerage houses sometimes experience failures of their ICT systems that hinder free access to brokerage services provided on-line. As a result, the customers may find it difficult to react promptly and place orders to buy or sell financial instruments at the currently prevailing price, which may ultimately entail their loss. The President of UOKiK will check how the brokerage houses and banks offering such services behave in such situations and what provisions they have in their brokerage service agreements concluded with consumers.

“I have instigated a preliminary investigation regarding 10 financial institutions. We will review their contracts and regulations for any prohibited clauses they may include. Brokerage houses should not waive their liability towards the customer due to failures that may be attributable to their negligence or to the fault of the entities with which they cooperate. I also want to verify how brokerage houses handle consumer complaints regarding possible damages resulting from ICT system failures,” stresses Tomasz Chróstny, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Currently, the preliminary investigation covers 10 of the largest brokerage houses and banks providing such services. These are: Alior Bank,Bank Polska Kasa Opieki, Dom Maklerski Banku BPS, Dom Maklerski Banku Handlowego, Dom Maklerski Banku Ochrony Środowiska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska andX-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski.

The purpose of the proceeding is as follows:

• to analyse the terms of agreements (regulations) on provision of brokerage services in terms of broker's possible waiver of liability for the consequences of ICT system failure and inability to access brokerage services at that time,
• to examine the policy for handling customer complaints and claims regarding the consequences of lack of access to on-line brokerage services,
• to determine how often failures occur and what actions brokerage houses take to improve their ICT systems.

The preliminary investigation is conducted in the case and not against the entrepreneurs. It may be extended to include more entities. Once the materials have been collected and analyzed, the President of UOKiK will take a decision on further actions aimed at eliminating the identified irregularities.

What can a consumer do?

“If a consumer is harmed by a brokerage house order system failure, they should first contact that financial institution and file a complaint. If the failure is attributable to the brokerage house and could have been prevented, it may not, in such a situation, evade responsibility and excuse itself e.g. with force majeure,” says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

When filing a complaint and pursuing a claim, however, it is important to remember that the consumer must prove the damage suffered and that they actually wanted to place an order to buy or sell financial instruments at the time when the failure occurred. Proof of this could include making a phone call or sending an email to the brokerage house during the failure.

In case of problems, it is advisable to use free legal assistance, e.g. by calling a consumer helpline for advice or asking your municipal or district consumer advocate for support.

Consumer support:

Tel. 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail:[SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer advocates – 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
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL