Since June 1, 2015, a federal mediation service for the consumer is competent near the SPF Economy to receive any request for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes. We briefly analyze 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 measure, 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 settlement 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.
Once your request is received, the Mediation Service forwards it to the competent qualified entity or handles it itself when the request pertains to 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. Also, if the complaint has not been previously submitted to the concerned company or was submitted more than a year ago.
This will also be the case when the complaint has already been handled by a qualified entity, including if it refused to handle it, and when the complaint is or has already been subject to legal action.
Decision
The Mediation Service will inform you within three weeks of receiving your request of its decision to proceed or refuse to process 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 communicate the outcome of the dispute resolution. This period can be extended once for an equivalent duration. Furthermore, this extension must be justified by the complexity of the dispute.
When the Mediation Service obtains an amicable settlement of the dispute, it closes the file and sends a confirmation in writing or on another durable medium to the parties.
If an amicable settlement cannot be obtained, the Mediation Service informs the parties in writing or on another durable medium and may at the same time make a recommendation to the concerned company, with a copy for you.
If the concerned company does not follow this recommendation, it has a period of thirty calendar days to communicate its reasoned position to the Mediation Service.
Recommendations
When a point of disagreement arises between you and your credit institution, you must first submit your complaint to it.
Then, if your complaint does not succeed with this financial institution, you can refer it to the Consumer Mediation Service, which will be required to handle your request confidentially.