Since June 1, 2015, a federal consumer mediation service has been established within the FPS Economy to handle any request for out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes. We’ll briefly look into the competencies of this service, which could be useful to you, especially in case of disagreement with your credit institution.
Competencies of the Federal Mediation Service
As a preliminary matter, a contact point is established within the Mediation Service to inform you of your rights and obligations, particularly regarding existing procedures for out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes.
Any request for out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute can be submitted free of charge to the Consumer Mediation Service by letter, fax, email, or in person.
Upon receipt of your request, the Mediation Service forwards it to the competent qualified entity or handles it itself when the request concerns a consumer dispute for which no qualified entity is competent.
The Mediation Service may refuse to process your request if the complaint is frivolous, defamatory, anonymous, or has already been subject to legal action. It may also do so if the complaint has not been previously lodged with the concerned company, or if it has been but more than a year has passed.
This will also be the case if the complaint has already been handled by a qualified entity, including if it has refused to handle it, and when the complaint has been or is already subject to legal action.
Decision
The Mediation Service will inform you within three weeks of receiving your request of its decision to proceed with or refuse the processing of your request. In case of refusal, the decision must be justified.
Within 90 calendar days following the receipt of your request, the Mediation Service will inform you of the outcome of the dispute resolution. This deadline can be extended once for an equivalent period. Moreover, this extension must be justified by the complexity of the dispute.
When the Mediation Service achieves an amicable settlement of the dispute, it closes the file and sends confirmation in writing or on another durable medium to the parties.
If an amicable settlement cannot be reached, the Mediation Service informs the parties in writing or on another durable medium and may simultaneously make a recommendation to the concerned company, with a copy to you.
If the concerned company does not follow this recommendation, it has a period of thirty calendar days to provide its motivated position to the Mediation Service.
Recommendations
When a disagreement arises between you and your credit institution, you must first submit your complaint to them.
Then, if your complaint is not resolved with this financial institution, you can contact the Consumer Mediation Service, which will be obliged to handle your request confidentially.
