Since the opening of the consultation period on September 9, 2021, Option consommateurs has been closely monitoring and analyzing the Draft Regulations on Complaints Handling and Dispute Resolution in the Financial Sector (hereinafter the "Draft Regulations").
Recognizing from the outset that this sector was in great need of standardization, precision and better consumer protection, this is excellent news for us.
In general, Option consommateurs supports the orientations of the Draft Regulations insofar as they are aimed at the fair handling of consumer complaints.
More specifically, Option consommateurs welcomes :
- the obligation to assist customers in filing a complaint, and the associated sanction;
- the cooling-off period given to consumers to respond to a settlement offer;
- the obligation to keep a register of complaints;
- the introduction of the definition of complaint in the regulations;
- the obligation to analyze the grounds for a complaint;
- the prohibition, when making an offer of settlement to the author of a complaint, of obliging the latter to withdraw any other complaint of which he is also the author.
We consider these elements to be steps in the right direction to ensure fairness in the handling of consumer complaints.
However, improvements and clarifications need to be made to this Draft Regulation if it is to truly achieve its main objectives of optimization, standardization and protection. With this in mind, we set out below our comments on our analysis of certain sections of the draft regulations.
