The banking sector loves to boast about modern technologies, such as AI-based systems that are supposed to make everyday life easier for clients.
Financial giant versus a grieving consumer
When the prose of life (or rather the inevitability of death) appears, advanced systems give way to soulless and complicated procedures. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has just concluded investigative proceedings that exposed the dark side of bank bureaucracy.
The biggest and most influential players in the financial market were put under scrutiny. The result of this clash was unequivocal. Institutions that fight daily for fractions of a percent on the stock exchange and compete in innovations, when facing heirs’ rights, present standards straight out of the last century.
The office regularly receives complaints from desperate consumers for whom recovering money after a deceased relative turns out to be harder than the formal inheritance procedure itself.
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The blacklist of Polish banking sins
Analysis of consumer complaints shows that banks have developed a repeatable, deeply harmful pattern of actions. Heirs, instead of clear communications, find themselves in a real labyrinth of vague procedures. Clients massively complained about glaring delays in providing account status or the deceased’s actual debt.
Even after presenting legally binding documents proving inheritance acquisition, the payout was artificially stretched. Banks multiplied requirements, demanding further certificates while simultaneously denying access to account history or credit documentation.
The most appalling practices involved immediately setting loans to maturity. Instead of giving heirs time to breathe and analyse the situation, financial institutions could instantly charge additional costs and demand full debt repayment. As if that weren’t enough, the standard became passing contradictory information through call centres and branches, and even absurdly demanding that all heirs appear personally at one branch at the same time.
For many families, the funds left on the deceased’s account are not only part of the inheritance but also real support during the difficult period after losing a loved one. They are often essential for organising the funeral or serving the deceased’s ongoing credit products. That is why it is so important for heirs to efficiently obtain the necessary information and complete formalities after presenting the required documents.
- says UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
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From mBank to PKO BP – who fell under UOKiK’s radar?
The scale of the phenomenon is not marginal, as UOKiK’s proceedings covered the absolute top of the Polish financial sector. The list of scrutinised entities included: Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Bank Pekao, BNP Paribas Bank Polska, Credit Agricole Bank Polska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska (now Erste), Santander Consumer Bank and VeloBank.
The office also pointed out that the source of pathology is the poorly constructed internal procedures of these corporations. Employees of branches often lack the proper training to handle such delicate and legally complex matters. UOKiK President does not intend to stop at diagnosis and moves to an offensive.
Official statements have already been sent to all mentioned banks. The regulator has clearly defined the expected standards of conduct, giving banks a clear signal: time for a radical change in strategy. The office demands immediate simplification of procedures, implementation of uniform instructions for customers and reliable staff training.
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Source: Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
