Payback for a tiny text

Many people came across the situation when the main eye-catching offer of the advertisement of the credit organizations’ financial services is followed by the tiny text. Usually, this text carries the special terms of the provision of services and other limitations. As a rule, nobody reads this information, though it hides the important legal meaning. As a result, the different cases take place to the disfavour of the customer, leading to additional scarcely voidable financial expenses.

In order to avoid such confusions, the State Duma of the Russian Federation passed in the first reading a bill concerning strengthening of responsibility in this field: the bank employers will pay up to RUB 1 million fee for the breach of requirements to advertisement of financial services.

Many credit organizations lure the clients using forbidden methods. They invite the famous people to act in promotional video, saying nothing about the additional services. At the same time, the borrowers don’t get the full and reliable information. The tiny blind text on the billboards hiding the most important credit terms and the indicating in the advertisement only the minimum interest rate without reffering to other terms, which leads to significant expenses of the borrower, are among the violations.

The goal of the new law is to provide the citizens with the completeness of information, while advertising particular financial products in order to make people be informed about its final cost.

Up to date the maximum penalty for banks for the breaching of the advertisement amounts to RUB 300 thousand. According to law draftsmen, the law is not obeyed in the current form due to the fact that it doesn’t cause difficulties for the violators.