A new circular issued by the Bank of Italy illustrates the rights of customers and the duties of banks in the event of unilateral changes of the banking and financial contracts (current accounts, deposits, etc), in an attempt to make customers as aware as possible about their possibilities of movement within the regulation.
Indeed, as perhaps not everyone knows, the contracts stipulated by banks and financial intermediaries with their customers can be modified, during their duration, on the unilateral initiative of the operators, provided that precise legal conditions are respected.
According to the current rules, to begin with, the faculty of unilateral modification must be provided for in the contract with the operator and have been specifically approved by the customer. Otherwise unilateral changes cannot be adopted.
In any case, the customer must to be informed of the changes with a minimum notice of two months, through a written communication (or through another method previously accepted by the customer) in which the following formula is highlighted: "Proposal for unilateral modification of the contract".
In their communication, banks and financial intermediaries must also specify the "Justified reason" which leads them to adopt changes. In contracts that have a fixed duration, such as i mortgages, instead, if the customer is a consumer or a micro-enterprise, the change in interest rates it is in no way permitted. If the customer, on the other hand, is neither a consumer nor a micro-enterprise, the change in interest rates is permitted only in the event of specific events foreseen in the contract approved by the customer.
Should the contracts contain pejorative modifications that do not comply with these conditions, they will be considered ineffective. Furthermore, by the effective date of the changes, the customer can withdraw from the contract without any costs. If the customer does not withdraw, however, the changes will be understood as approved and effective.
In any case, the customer has the right to lodge a complaint with the operator if he believes that the rules illustrated have not been respected, a complaint which must be answered within 30 days. Subsequently, if the customer deems the response received unsatisfactory, he can file an appeal with the Financial Banking Arbitrator.
