Individuals to be allowed to decline extra services imposed on them when signing loan agreements
The cooling-off period will last for 14 calendar days and cover any additional services (legal support, consultations, telemedicine, etc.) if a borrower had to purchase them at the moment of concluding a consumer loan agreement. This law was drafted with the active engagement of the Bank of Russia and adopted by the State Duma.
The hard selling of extra services at the moment of signing consumer loan agreements still remains a topical issue. The cooling-off period for voluntary insurance policies has been applied for several years already. However, customers most often had no chance to reject non-financial services.
Now, individuals may get a refund of the payment for an imposed service, less expenses actually incurred as of the moment of refusal. For this, a borrower should apply to the provider of such service (creditor or third party). If the third party refuses to make the refund, the borrower may claim the refund from the creditor who will be obliged to refund the money to the borrower or explain the reasons for the refusal.
The law will also limit the total cost of credit in mortgage lending. It may not exceed the market average by more than a third, just as for consumer loans. Moreover, the law clarifies the requirements for full or partial loan repayments ahead of schedule, as well as the procedure for calculating the maximum charge (fine, penalty) for overdue loans.