Some Belgian banks include terms and conditions on phishing compensation that are stricter than the law allows, Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders said on Saturday, calling on them to comply.
Beenders asked the Special Advisory Commission on Unfair Terms at the FPS Economy to examine the clauses used by financial institutions in this area.
The commission found that some banks impose additional conditions or reservations before reimbursing victims. It said this weakens protection for consumers, even though the law requires immediate compensation unless there are reasonable grounds to suspect the victim themselves committed fraud.
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“I note that at some banks, the general terms and conditions are not in line with the law. That is unacceptable,” Beenders said.
“A bank cannot restrict consumers’ legal protection through its terms and conditions. These cannot become a pretext for avoiding its legal obligations,” he added.
Beenders said he wants to discuss the matter with banking federation Febelfin. He said every consumer should know their rights when criminals withdraw money from their account.
“It cannot be right that a consumer is the victim of phishing and then has to check which conditions their bank applies to find out whether they can recover their money,” the minister said.
“Legal protection must apply to everyone,” he added.
Two weeks ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that banks must immediately refund victims of unauthorised transactions linked to phishing, even in cases involving “gross negligence.”
