The HUB attacks us with lies

In late June, the Croatian consumer rights organization Franak accused the Croatian Banking Association (HUB) of spreading false information regarding its public statements about court rulings related to Swiss franc (CHF) loan conversions. According to Franak’s official statement, HUB claimed that Franak had disseminated inaccurate and misleading claims, specifically that the Zagreb Municipal Court had issued its first ruling aligned with the Supreme Court's decision on CHF loans. Additionally, HUB alleged that consumers would have to bear the costs of legal proceedings associated with these cases.

Franak strongly denied these allegations, asserting that all the data it presented were entirely accurate. The organization emphasized that the timing of the court ruling—issued before their public announcement—was irrelevant. It clarified that the ruling was consistent with the decision made by the expanded committee, which had been finalized on May 27. The actual ruling referenced by Franak was issued on June 18, aligning with the expanded committee’s decision.

The organization also pointed out that the expanded committee had not yet decided on the issue of procedural costs when only interest on overdue payments was being considered. Instead, such decisions would be made later after receiving initial reviews on the matter. However, Franak noted that the practice at the Zagreb Municipal Court regarding this specific issue has already become stable.

Franak cited three additional rulings where the court determined that consumers were entitled only to interest on overdue payments but still awarded full procedural costs in favor of the claimants. This means that specific plaintiffs can still pursue full compensation at the county courts and the Supreme Court of Croatia, opening the door for constitutional complaints as well.

The organization expects there to be varying rulings on procedural costs, but according to both Croatian law and European Union regulations, banks will ultimately bear all costs, with the final decision resting with the Supreme Court of Croatia.

Franak urged lawyers who had not yet done so to draft claims requesting not only full compensation but also interest on overdue payments up to the conversion date, along with interest on those overdue payments from the filing date until the payment date. This approach ensures the right to full procedural costs due to the potential accumulation of claims and keeps the path open for appeals, revisions, and constitutional complaints should the main claim not be accepted.

Franak criticized HUB for attempting to deter consumers from pursuing their legal claims, suggesting that HUB is lobbying dishonestly on behalf of its member banks. In a more functional system than the current one in Croatia, Franak argued, banks would long ago have had to return all money to consumers and businesses and could face significant penalties for having entered into hundreds of thousands of unfair contracts.

The organization stated that the Constitutional Court would revoke all arbitrary and discriminatory decisions that award only interest on overdue payments instead of full compensation to consumers with converted CHF loans. Such decisions, Franak asserted, cannot stand under Croatian law, EU law, the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, or the Convention on Human Rights.