Important decision of the President of UOKiK – compensation for clients of Bank Pekao S.A.

Timely complaint handling – a legal duty, not a formality

Under the Act on Handling Complaints by Financial Market Entities, the Financial Ombudsman and the Financial Education Fund, a bank must respond in writing without undue delay, and no later than 30 days from receipt of the complaint.
This deadline may be extended only in particularly complex cases and must be properly justified.

In the case of Bank Pekao S.A., it was established that clients received template responses that vaguely cited the “complex nature of the case” without any real explanation for the delay. In practice, this meant only superficial compliance with the law, while consumers were left for months without a resolution.

UOKiK’s proceedings against Pekao S.A.

UOKiK launched proceedings after receiving numerous complaints from consumers. An analysis of the years 2021–2023 showed that:

• delays were widespread and recurrent,
• they did not result from isolated circumstances,
• some complaints were handled with delays of more than 60 days,
• the longest procedures lasted over a year.

The President of UOKiK stressed that prolonged complaint handling significantly worsened the financial situation of consumers, violated their rights and undermined trust in financial institutions.

Compensation for clients

The decision covers complaints from 2019–2023 where the bank failed to respond within the statutory 30-day period.
The compensation amount depends on:

• whether the complaint was resolved positively or negatively, and

• the length of the delay.

Compensation amounts are as follows:

• for positively resolved complaints: PLN 300 or PLN 600,

• for negatively resolved complaints: PLN 1,500 or PLN 2,500.

If a consumer submitted multiple complaints, they will receive only one compensation payment — the highest eligible amount.

How and when clients will be informed

Payments will begin once the decision becomes final, i.e., one month after it is delivered to the bank. Bank Pekao S.A. will then have three months to notify all eligible clients of the compensation due to them.
The bank has already declared that it will voluntarily comply with the decision and has allocated nearly PLN 100 million for compensation.

What clients must do to receive the payment

Each customer will have six months from receiving the notification to confirm that they wish to receive the compensation and to provide the information needed for tax purposes (the payments are taxable).
Only after receiving these details will the bank transfer the funds and issue a PIT-11 form for the client’s annual tax return.

Right to reconsideration of the complaint

The UOKiK decision also allows consumers whose complaints were previously rejected to request that the bank reconsider their case — regardless of whether they accept the compensation.
Importantly, accepting compensation does not prevent consumers from pursuing further claims, either in court or through alternative dispute resolution.

Importance of the UOKiK decision for the financial sector

The decision against Bank Pekao S.A. is one of the most significant UOKiK rulings concerning complaint-handling procedures in the banking sector in recent years. It sets a clear standard: keeping customers in prolonged uncertainty regarding matters involving their money is unacceptable.
Delayed responses and template explanations not only infringe consumer rights but may also trigger multimillion-zloty consequences for financial institutions.

For the sector, this means the need to:

• review complaint-handling procedures to ensure compliance with the law,

• properly justify any extensions and avoid generic responses to maintain transparent communication with clients.