Information about Ombudsman

1. If the customer has received a negative answer to his/her claim about a non-cash credit transfers and transactions effected by electronic means of payment, the customer may file a complaint with the Ombudsman of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks, provided that the complaint meets all of the following criteria.

2. The Ombudsman of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks examines only the claims meeting the following criteria:

• Complaint is submitted by a customer who is not a credit or financial institution;
• Complaint is made about non-cash credit transfers or transactions effected by electronic means of payment;
• Complaint pertains to an action taken by the credit institution registered in Latvia;
• Amount of the contested transaction (the total amount of explicitly linked transactions) does not exceed EUR 50 000;
• Complaint does not relate to issues of counterfeited documents;
• Complaint does not relate to issues of the justifiability of the price lists set by the credit institutions, granting, cancellation or modification of credit limits, terms and conditions of the credit limit and other similar issues;
• Customer has previously approached the credit institution with a complaint of the same content, however, failing to receive a satisfactory answer from the credit institution within a month as of submission (sending) of the complaint;
• No claim has been filed on the subject with any court or arbitration;
• Customer has not approached the Consumer Rights Protection Centre with a complaint of the same content;
• Customer has not made a claim of the same content on the same subject to the Ombudsman ever before.
  

3. The complaint has to be drawn up in compliance with the requirements set by the “Procedure for Examination of Claims Made by the Customers of Credit Institutions at the Ombudsman of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks” and submitted to the ombudsman (9/11 Perses Street, Riga, LV-1011).

4. When filing the complaint, the claimant pays a security deposit in the amount of LVL 15.00 to the account of the Court of Arbitration of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks of Latvia. If the Ombudsman resolves to grant the claim partially or in full, the security deposit is released to the claimant. If the ombudsman resolves to deny the claim, the examination file is closed or the claim is rejected in full and the security deposit is not refunded.

5. The ombudsman is impartial in his/her decision-making. The decision made by the ombudsman is recommendatory.

More details as well as the “Rules of procedure of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks” and “Procedure for Examination of Claims Made by the Customers of Credit Institutions at the Ombudsman of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks” are available on the website of the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks at: www.bankasoc.lv/skirejtiesa/ombuds