Everything in the hands of Swiss Franc mortgage holders

In-depth analysis of the ruling delivered today, i.e. on 3 October 2019, unequivocally confirms that according to CJEU, a foreign currency credit agreement can be cancelled due to unfair contract terms (so-called abusive clauses).

In the Court’s view, however, the presence of abusive clauses in a bank agreement does not necessarily mean that the agreement must be cancelled. As a result, the agreement, with the exception of prohibited contractual terms, may be still in force, unless it is contrary to the national law.

The Court stressed that the consumer’s opinion shall be decisive in this respect. It is up to the consumer to choose whether and to what extent they wish to be protected against unfair contract terms and to assess whether the cancellation of the entire agreement entails negative consequences.

Thus, if the agreement entered into with a bank contains unfair contract terms (which abuse the bank’s position towards the consumer), in particular exchange rate conversion terms, the agreement may be, depending on its detailed wording, cancelled in its entirety or amended by removing prohibited terms and converting the loan into PLN at the exchange rate as of the date of granting, with the LIBOR interest rate.

The ruling issued by CJEU has strengthened the arguments against banks that have been raised so far in the defence of consumer victims. However, this does not translate into their win. Everything is in the hands of Swiss Franc mortgage holders. They should assess what action will be beneficial for them.

Żyglicka and Partners Law Firm has extensive experience in disputes with banks and boasts success even in most difficult cases, such as protection against toxic currency options. Everything that we gained was exactly the way you said. You are extremely effective, said one of our clients.

Mariusz Maksis, Attorney-at-law