Do you have a loan? Everything will change soon, they will be mistaken for their tails

The author of the document is the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Its first version was presented in July 2025, but it aroused great emotions from the very beginning. Banks are particularly dissatisfied with the project. That is why, among others, the Polish Bank Association submitted numerous amendments, demanding the relaxation of some regulations. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has improved the document, but in most cases these are not major changes. What exactly is the office preparing for Poles’ loans?

The most important assumptions of the amendment to the Consumer Credit Act are primarily intended to better protect consumer rights. Among other things, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection wants to ban advertisements in which a loan is presented as a way to improve the standard of living. In addition, banks will have to clearly explain important contract issues and there will be an obligation to check creditworthiness.

However, this is not what arouses the greatest opposition from the Polish Bank Association. The banking sector is primarily opposed to changes in free loan sanctions. This is a situation in which the bank can be completely deprived of all interest and fees, and the borrower only has to repay the capital. Such judgments are issued when the bank incorrectly informed the consumer about all costs. The number of such cases is constantly increasing, and at the end of 2024 there were already several thousand of them.

Meanwhile, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection’s proposal wants to further expand the scope of application of free loan sanctions. The amendment to the Act assumes as many as three different degrees of fault on the part of the lender.

The first one, when the loan was granted to us without our consent (e.g. granting an automatic limit on the account), means that we do not have to repay it at all. Not only the interest, but also the principal. Tacit consent, default action or failure to take action (e.g. a requirement to opt out) is not allowed here.

The second scenario looks something like today. If the bank has not completed all formalities, the consumer may demand a refund of the existing interest and fees and the abolition of all subsequent ones. In this case, the capital itself is repaid. The offense may include failure to check creditworthiness or omitting important information in the contract (e.g. total amount, loan, interest rate, etc.).

The third option is the slightest offense on the part of the bank or lender, e.g. failure to indicate the conditions and procedures for terminating the contract or the consequences of missing or delayed payments. In this case, the consumer would pay half the interest, with no remaining costs.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection remains adamant on these issues and they have not been changed in the new version of the document. This does not mean that no changes have been made. There are quite a lot of them.

At some points, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection listened to the voice of banks and lenders, introducing smaller or larger changes in the amendment to the Act. It introduced, among other things, more precise provisions prohibiting consumer discrimination based on skin color, political views, membership in a national minority, nationality and birth. At the same time, the document allows for the use of various conditions when objectively justified.

In addition, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection also changed the provision regarding the ability to repay the loan. The earlier version assumed that the consumer had to be able to repay the total amount, which the banks believed was too strict because they always operate in the area of ​​probability. The new version has relaxed the provision and now states that compliance with the obligations is probable.

The changes also touched on the issue of free loan sanctions, specifically the requirement to assess creditworthiness. The new version of the amendment provides that full exemption from fees and interest will be available, among others, if a loan was granted or its amount was increased after signing the contract, but without obtaining information on income and financial situation, without checking the client in databases and without documenting the creditworthiness assessment process.

Finally, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection agreed to changes in the limits on fees and commissions. This mainly concerns credit cards and account limits. The earlier version assumed a maximum of 2%. on a monthly basis. However, banks pointed out that for this type of products, fees are charged once a year. The new version provides for a maximum of 24%. on an annual basis.

However, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection remained adamant about advertising credits and loans. According to the office’s proposal, it will still be prohibited to claim that a credit or loan can improve the consumer’s financial situation. It will also be prohibited to talk about the ease and speed of obtaining a loan, deferring installment repayments for longer than 3 months, or granting discounts depending on taking out a loan.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection wants the changes to enter into force in November 2026. This date was included in the document.