The Consumer Service said on Wednesday that it had issued a decision against Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd (former Emporiki Bank – Cyprus Ltd) for violating the law on abusive clauses in consumer contracts.
It said the decision follows an investigation into abusive clauses in a housing loan given in 2008. It found that the contract contained abusive clauses.
These included among other:
- calculation of the interest over 360 days;
- the right of the bank to change the basic rate, the margin, commission and fees at its discretion;
- the right of the bank to demand partial or full payment of the loan, interest, commission and expenses with additional interest charges if the consumer fails to do so;
- the right of the bank to join or merge all of any of the consumer’s accounts, or to transfer money from any of the consumer’s accounts to pay all or part of his/her obligations to the banks
- the right of the bank to accept a proposal from the consumer for early repayment of the loan and the payment by the consumer of any expenses, costs, losses (including loss of profits) which the bank may sustain from an early repayment.
