Poland: Supreme Court rules on credit interest and consumer sanctions

The Polish Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling regarding the ‘free credit sanction’ (SKD), a consumer protection mechanism. The court determined that interest may only be charged on the actual amount provided to the consumer, explicitly excluding commissions and other credit costs from interest calculations. Furthermore, the court ruled that a single violation of statutory obligations by a lender is sufficient to trigger the sanction, rather than requiring multiple errors in a credit agreement.

In a related development, Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), addressed the growing tension between the banking sector and legal firms specializing in consumer claims. Chróstny noted that banks are lobbying for legislative changes to limit the impact of the free credit sanction. He argued that the rise of these specialized legal firms is a consequence of the banking sector’s long-term failure to resolve systemic issues, such as Swiss franc mortgage disputes, through legislative solutions.