Dear reader, we would like to remind you what to look out for before taking out a loan:
- check whether the consumer finance company or loan broker is listed in the relevant register of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority;
- read carefully what the contract involves and whether it accords with what a representative of the lending institution or an agent says, and read carefully the terms of the contract and all its appendices;
- calculate how much you will have to repay and what the costs of the loan will be: both the interest and those resulting from other fees and charges;
- regarding the latter, remember that statutory limits apply: interest can be a maximum of double the statutory interest, which is calculated by adding 3.5 percentage points to the NBP reference rate, while non-interest costs can be a maximum of 25 percent of the total loan amount plus 30 percent for each year of lending, but no more than 100 percent of the loan amount;
- remember that in leasing agreements that do not provide for an obligation of the lessee to purchase the object of the lease, the costs are not limited and may be much higher;
- compare offers from different companies (this will be facilitated by the APR – annual percentage rate of charge);
- you can withdraw from the consumer credit agreement within 14 days, but you are then obliged to return the interest for the time during which the money was made available to you.
And if you have any doubts or problems, you can get free legal advice.
