By Nota Pelekanou
The Consumer’s Protection Service in Cyprus in reviewing consumer complaints regarding contracts that have been contracted with Banks, has deemed as unfair many of the terms contained in those contracts. With the issuing of those decisions of the Service, Banks are not obligated to reassess the relevant terms and remove them from their contracts.
The Service, however, has the right to proceed to the Court requesting the issuance of a prohibitive Court order as to the application of the terms in question as unfair terms, something that has not been done until today.
The unfairness of those terms has been examined and confirmed in a vast number of the European Union’s member states Court’s cases, but not of Cyprus, and such terms have been removed from the Banks’ contracts. However, the consumers in the shadow of the decisions of the Service and those of the European Courts, may, in the occasion where the Bank proceeds with judicial measures against them in relation to such contracts, contest the unfair terms so that they will not become binding to them.