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Complaints handling rules

The Rules of Complaints Handling (hereinafter – the Rules) provide for the procedure for the handling of applicants’ complaints by UAB SME Bank (hereinafter – the Bank).

The following terms are used in the Rules:

Customer shall mean a natural or legal person to whom the Bank provides financial services.

Applicant shall mean a person who has lodged a complaint regarding the services provided by the Bank and / or agreements concluded with the Bank, i.e. an existing or potential customer, a customer of another financial market participant, an injured third party or a representative of these persons.

Complaint shall mean a written application submitted to the Bank by the Applicant stating that the rights or legitimate interests of a person related to the services provided by the Bank or agreements concluded have been violated and requesting that the requirements of the Applicant be met.

Applicants who consider that the Bank has violated their rights or interests protected by law, in connection with the provision of financial services, must first apply in writing to the Bank and specify their claims and the circumstances of the dispute. The Applicant must apply to the Bank in writing no later than within 3 (three) months from the date on which it became aware or should have become aware of the violation of its rights or legitimate interests. The Applicant may submit its Complaint in the following ways – by sending a signed Complaint to the address of the Bank’s registered office at A. Tumėno g. 4-15, LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, by sending an electronically signed Complaint by e-mail to [email protected], filling in the section “Claim” in an electronic banking account. In addition to the Applicant itself, the Complaint may be submitted by a representative of the Applicant authorised in accordance with the procedure provided by law. The complaint must contain the following information:

  • the date of birth or personal identification code / company identification code of the person whose rights have been violated;
  • the name, surname, personal identification code or date of birth, place of residence and other contact details of the complainant (contact address, if different from the address of residence, telephone);
  • the date of drafting and the reason for the appeal, i.e. what rights, contracts have been violated and the grounds for the violation, if known, as well as the preferred remediation of the violation; documents supporting the specified circumstances (if any) attached. If the circumstances set out in the Complaint are related to a specific contract concluded with the Bank, the date and / or number of the contract (if known to the Applicant) must be indicated;
  • the preferred way of receiving a response;
  • the signature.

The Complaint can be submitted in Lithuanian or English. The standard form of the Complaint is available here.

If the above information is not provided or incomplete information is provided, the time limit for the examination of the Complaint will start to run only after the Applicant has complied with the request to clarify the information.

The Complaint shall be examined and a written response shall be submitted to the Applicant no later than within 15 (fifteen) business days from the date of receipt of the application (or submission of the revised information, if such a request was made by the Bank). Where, due to reasons beyond the Bank’s control, a response cannot be provided within 15 (fifteen) working days, a holding response shall be submitted within this period, stating the reasons for the delay in responding and the deadline for receiving the final response, which shall in no event exceed 35 (thirty-five) working days.

The Complaint shall be handled in accordance with the principles of justice, fairness, impartiality and reasonableness, with a full examination of the circumstances set out in the Complaint. The Bank’s employees examining the Complaint must avoid conflicts of interest due to being related by blood or marriage or other reasons that may affect objectivity.

 The Complaints shall be handled free of charge.

The response to the Applicant’s Complaint shall be provided in writing in the same manner as it was received, unless the Applicant indicates, when submitting the Complaint, that it prefers to receive a response in a different manner. The response shall be in the language in which the Complaint was lodged.

In the event that the Applicant’s Complaint is satisfied by the parties concluding a new financial services contract and / or amending its terms or agreeing to settle the dispute amicably, no additional written response shall be provided.

The Bank shall be free no to handle anonymous, unsigned and illegible Complaints, as well as Complaints that do not contain sufficient data identifying the Applicant.

If the Bank does not satisfy the Applicant’s demands or satisfies them in part, it shall in all cases provide a detailed and reasoned written response based on documents and indicate other means of defence of the Applicant’s interests, including possible means and institutions of resolution of the dispute.

The Bank shall be entitled not to re-examine Complaints with which the same Applicant applies to the Bank on the same issue, without specifying any new demands and / or circumstances forming the basis of the Complaint, without submitting new documents casting doubt on the validity of the Bank’s previous written response. Such a repeat Complaint shall be registered and the Applicant shall be notified in writing within the established term that its Complaint has already been examined and the details of previous responses and the procedure for appealing the Bank’s response shall be provided.

If the Bank’s response to the Applicant, which may be considered a consumer based on legal acts (hereinafter – the Consumer), is not satisfactory or if a response was not made within 15 (fifteen) business days, the User has the right to apply to the Bank of Lithuania at Totorių g. 4, 01121 Vilnius or e-mail to [email protected]with regards to the Bank’s activities supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, within 1 (one) year from the day of applying to the Bank, regarding the out-of-court settlement procedure in the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts.