48 Amendments of Barbara THALER related to 2021/0171(COD)
Amendment 120 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) A number of Member States have applied Directive 2008/48/EC to areas not covered by its scope to enhance the level of consumer protection. In fact, several of the credit agreements not falling withinExceptions from the scope of thate Directive can be detrimental for consumers, including short-term high cost loans whose amount is typically lower than the minimum threshold of EUR 200 set out in Directive 2008/48/EC. In this context, and with the aim to ensure a high level of consumer protection and to facilitate the cross-border consumer credit market, the scope of this Directive should cover some agreements that were excluded from the scope of Directive 2008/48/EC, such as consumer credit agreements below the amount of EUR 200. Likewise, other potentially detrimental products, because of the high costs they entail or high fees in case of missed payments, should be covered by this Directive, to ensure increased transparency and better consumer protection, resulting in higher consumer confidence. To this extent, leasing agreements, credit agreements in the form of an overdraft facility and where the credit has to be repaid within one month, and credit agreements where the credit is granted free of interest and without any other charges, including Buy Now Pay Later schemes, i.e. new digital financial tools that let consumers make purchases and pay them off over time, and credit agreements under the terms of which the credit has to be repaid within three months and only insignificant charges are payable do not prevent Member States to maintain or introduce an extension to credit agreements whose amount is lower than the minimum threshold of EUR 500 or to credit agreements where the credit is granted free of interest and without any other charges, including Buy Now Pay Later schemes. Moreover, above the minimum threshould not be excluded from the scope of application of this Directive. Moreoverof EUR 500, all credit agreement up until EUR 100 000 should be included in the scope of application of this Directive. The minimum and upper threshold of credit agreements under this Directive should be increased to take into account indexation to adjust for the effects of inflation since 2008 and in coming years.
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) In order to be able to make their decisions in full knowledge of the facts, consumers should receive adequate information, for careful consideration at their own leisure and convenience, at least one day prior toin good time before the conclusion of the credit agreement or of the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services, including information on the conditions and cost of the credit and on their obligations, as well as adequate explanations thereof. These rules should be without prejudice to Council Directive 93/13/EEC29 . _________________ 29 Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29).
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Pre-contractual information should be provided through the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form. To help consumers understand and compare offers, a Standard European Consumer Credit Overview form summarising the key element of the credit should be provided in addition to the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form, through which consumers should see all essential information at a glance, even on the screen of a mobile telephone. Information should be clear, clearly legible and adapted to the technical constraints of certain media such as mobile telephone screens. It should be displayed in an adequate and suitable way on the different channels, to ensure that every consumer can access information on an equal basis and in line with Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 . _________________ 30 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70).
Amendment 179 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) The assessment of creditworthiness should be based on information on the financial and economic situation, including income and expenses, of the consumer. The European Banking Authority Guidelines on loan origination and monitoring (EBA/GL/2020/06) provide guidelines on what categories of data may be used for the processing of personal data for creditworthiness purposes, which include evidence of income or other sources of repayment, information on financial assets and liabilities, or information on other financial commitments. Personal data, such as personal data found on social media platforms or health data, including cancer data, should not be used when conducting a creditworthiness assessment. Consumers should provide information about their financial and economic situation in order to facilitate the creditworthiness assessment. In principle, credit should only made available to the consumer where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the obligations resulting from the credit agreement or the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services are likely to be met in the manner required under that agreement. Howevcontrast to mortgage credits where prohibiting the conclusion of the contract was based on the concern that the consumer,s should such assessment be negative, the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services can exceptionally make credit available in specific and justified circumstances such as when they have a long-standing relationship with the consumer, or in case of loans to fund exceptional healthcare expenses, students loans or loans for consumers with disabilities. In such case, when deciding on whether or not to make the credit available to the consumer, the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services should take into account the amount and the purpose of the credit, and the likelihood that the obligations resulting from the agreement will be metnot ultimately lose their livelihood, for consumer credits a more moderate measure is appropriate. Moreover, the aim of the legislation is to prevent consumers from taking out loans from providers outside the legal credit market. Therefore, the creditor must warn the consumer urgently in the event of a negative creditworthiness check instead of prohibiting the conclusion of the contract in general, without completely restricting their personal autonomy and decision-making options.
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) In case of a significant overrun exceeding a period of one month, the creditor should present the consumer without delay with information on the overrun, including the amount involved, the borrowing rate and any applicable penalties, charges or interest on arrears applicable. In case of regular overrunning, the creditor should offer to the consumer advisory services, where available, to help consumers identifying less expensive alternatives, or redirect consumers towards debt advisory services, in order to prevent consumers from taking out loans from providers outside the legal credit market.
Amendment 201 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 56
Recital 56
(56) Consumers should have a right of withdrawal without penalty and with no obligation to provide justification. However, the right of withdrawal should not be used in bad faith. Hence, an absolute time limit for the withdrawal right is needed.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 62
Recital 62
(62) The consumer should have the right to discharge his or her obligations before the date agreed in the credit agreement. As provided by the Court of Justice of the EU Lexitor ruling,34 the right of the consumer to a reduction in the total cost of the credit in the event of early repayment of the credit includes all the costs imposed on the consumer to the creditor and engrossed by the latter. The consumer's right to a reduction in the total cost of the credit in the event of early repayment of the credit should include, in principle, all costs imposed on the consumer by the creditor. Other costs incurred by the consumer, such as payments to third parties, in particular credit intermediaries, are not affected by early repayment, regardless of whether they were made by the borrower directly or through the creditor to the third party. In the case of early repayment the creditor should be entitled to a fair and objectively justified compensation for the costs directly linked to the early repayment, taking into account also any savings thereby made by the creditor. However, in order to determine the method of calculating the compensation, it is important to respect several principles. The calculation of the compensation due to the creditor should be transparent and comprehensible to consumers already at the pre-contractual stage and in any case during the performance of the credit agreement. In addition, the calculation method should be easy for creditors to apply, and supervisory control of the compensation by the competent authorities should be facilitated. Therefore, and due to the fact that consumer credit is, given its duration and volume, not financed by long- term funding mechanisms, the ceiling for the compensation should be fixed in terms of a flat-rate amount. This approach reflects the specific nature of consumer credits and should not prejudice the approach in respect of other products which are financed by long-term funding mechanisms, such as fixed-rate mortgage loans. _________________ 34 Judgment of the Court of Justice of 11 September 2019, Lexitor, C-383/18, ECLI:EU:C:2019:702.
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 65
Recital 65
(65) The fixing of caps on interest rates, on annual percentage rates of charge and or the total cost of the credit to the consumer is a common practice in a number ofsome Member States. Such capping has provedcan be beneficial for consumers. In that context, Member States should be able to maintain their current legal regime. However, in an effort to increase consumer protection without imposing unnecessary limits on Member States, caps on interest rates, on annual percentage rates of charge and or on the total cost of the credit to the consumer should be introduced throughout the Union.
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 81
Recital 81
(81) Current national rules on penalties differ significantly across the Union. In particular, nNot all Member States ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive fines can be imposed on traders responsible for widespread infringements or widespread infringements with a Union dimension. To ensure that Member States’ authorities can impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties in relation to widespread infringements and to widespread infringements with a Union dimension that are subject to coordinated investigation and enforcement measures in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council36 , fines should be introduced as an element of penalties for such infringements. In order to ensure that the fines have a deterrent effect, Member States should set in their national law the maximum fine for such infringements at a level that is at least 4 % of the creditor, credit intermediary or provider of crowdfunding credit services’ annual turnover in the Member State or Member States concerned. In certain cases, those traders can also be a group of companiMember States should enable appropriate measures. _________________ 36 Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 (OJ L 345, 27.12.2017, p. 1).
Amendment 237 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) credit agreements involving a total amount of credit of less than EUR 500 or more than EUR 100 000;
Amendment 238 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
(c a) credit agreements where the credit is granted free of interest and without any other charges;
Amendment 239 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c b (new)
(c b) credit agreements under the terms of which the credit has to be repaid within three months and only insignificant charges are payable;
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j a (new)
(j a) hiring or leasing agreements where an obligation to purchase the object of the agreement is not laid down either by the agreement itself or by any separate agreement;
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point j b (new)
(j b) credit agreements in the form of an overdraft facility and where the credit must be repaid in one month.
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 12 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 12 a (new)
(12 a) ‘Tied credit intermediary’ means any credit intermediary who acts on behalf of and under the full and unconditional responsibility of a) only one creditor; b) only one group;or c) a number of creditors or groups which does not represent the majority of the market.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 22
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point 22
(22) ‘early repayment’ means the full or partial discharge of the consumer’s obligations under a credit agreement or crowdfunding credit services, before the due date of the payment;
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6
Article 6
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that clear and comprehensible general information about credit agreements or crowdfunding credit services is made available to consumers by creditors or, where applicable, by credit intermediaries or providers of crowdfunding credit services, at all times electronically and, upon request of the consumer, on paper or on another durable medium.
Amendment 356 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shall require that the creditor and, where applicable, the credit intermediary or the provider of crowdfunding credit services provide the consumer with the pre-contractual information needed to compare different offers in order to take an informed decision on whether to conclude a credit agreement or crowdfunding credit services on the basis of the credit terms and conditions offered by the creditor or by the provider of crowdfunding credit services and, where applicable, the preferences expressed and information supplied by the consumer. Such pre-contractual information shall be provided to the consumer at least one day before he or she is bound by any credit agreement or offer, or by any agreement or offer for the provision of crowdfunding credit services.
Amendment 363 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 372 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 2
Article 10 – paragraph 2
2. The pre-contractual information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided on paper or on another durable medium, whenever possible in digital form, by means of the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form set out in Annex I. All the information provided in the form shall be equally prominent. The creditor shall be deemed to have fulfilled the information requirements in this paragraph and in Article 3, paragraphs (1) and (2) of Directive 2002/65/EC if he or she has supplied the Standard European Consumer Credit Information.
Amendment 417 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 4
Article 10 – paragraph 4
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
5. Information displayed in the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form and in the Standard European Consumer Credit Overview form shall be consistent. It shall be clearly legible and take into account the technical constraints of the medium on which it is displayed. Information shall be displayed in an adequate and suitable way on the different channels.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Any additional information which the creditor may provide to the consumer shall be given in a separate document which may be annexed to the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form or the Standard European Consumer Credit Overview form.
Amendment 455 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 7
Article 10 – paragraph 7
7. If the agreement has been concluded at the consumer's request using a means of distance communication which does not enable the information to be provided in accordance with this article, the creditor and, where applicable, the credit intermediary or the provider of crowdfunding credit services shall provide the consumer with the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form and the Standard European Consumer Credit Overview form immediately after the conclusion of the credit agreement or of the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services.
Amendment 463 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 8
Article 10 – paragraph 8
8. Upon request from the consumer, the creditor and, where applicable, the credit intermediary or the provider of crowdfunding credit services shall, in addition to the Standard European Consumer Credit Information form and the Standard European Consumer Credit Overview form, provide the consumer free of charge with a copy of the draft credit agreement, or of the draft agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services, provided that the creditor at the time of the request is willing to proceed to the conclusion of the credit agreement or of the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services with the consumer.
Amendment 507 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1
1. Member States mayshall allow bundling practices but shall prohibit tying practices.
Amendment 510 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and without prejudice to the application of competition law, Member States may allow creditors or providers of crowdfunding credit services to request the consumer, a family member or a close relation to the consumer to open or maintain a payment or a savings account, where the only purpose of such an account is one of the following:
Amendment 513 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1 and without prejudice to the application of competition law, Member States mayshall allow tying practices where the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services can demonstrate to the competent authority that the tied products or categories of product offered, on terms and conditions similar to each other, result in a clear benefit to the consumers taking due account of the availability and the prices of the relevant products offered on the market.
Amendment 528 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 16 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) consider a sufficiently large number of credit agreements or crowdfunding credit services in their product range and on that basis recommend a credit agreement or several credit agreements, or crowdfunding credit services from among that product range that is suitable to the consumer’s needs, financial situation and personal circumstances; non-tied intermediaries consider for that purpose a sufficiently large number of credit agreements or crowdfunding credit services available on the market and make the recommendation on that basis.
Amendment 590 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Article 18 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. Member States shall ensure that the creditor or the provider of crowdfunding credit services only makes the credit available tohas to warn the consumer urgently where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the obligations resulting from the credit agreement or the agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services are likely not to be met in the manner required under that agreement.
Amendment 591 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 603 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – introductory part
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – introductory part
6. Where the creditworthiness assessment involves the use of profiling or other automated processing of personal data, Member States shall ensure that the consumer has the right to:e proper application of the provisions of the GDPR and respectively its Articles 22 and 14 (2) (g).
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point a
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point a
Amendment 608 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point b
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point b
Amendment 613 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point c
Article 18 – paragraph 6 – point c
Amendment 632 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 9 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Article 18 does not apply to leasing contracts.
Amendment 686 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Article 26 – paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. The right of withdrawal expires at the latest one year and 14 days after the conclusion of the credit agreement or the contract for the provision of crowd- funding credit services.
Amendment 693 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 29 – paragraph 1
Article 29 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that the consumer is at any time entitled to early repayment. In such cases, the consumer shall be entitled to a reduction in the total cost of the credit, consisting of the interest and the costs for the remaining duration of the contract. When calculating that reduction, all the costs imposed onpaid by the consumer byto the creditor and engrossed by the latter shall be taken into consideration.
Amendment 710 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 31 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Member States shallmay introduce caps on one or more of the following:
Amendment 729 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 32 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 32 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Member States shall ensure that, when establishing and applying remuneration policies for staff responsible for the assessment of creditworthiness, creditors, that are credit institutions as defined in the MC-Directive 2014/17/EU , comply with the following principles in a way and to the extent that is appropriate to their size, internal organisation and the nature, scope and complexity of their activities:
Amendment 731 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 32 – paragraph 4
Article 32 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall ensure that where creditors, that are credit institutions as defined in the MC-Directive 2014/17/EU , credit intermediaries or providers of crowdfunding credit services provide advisory services the remuneration structure of the staff involved does not prejudice their ability to act in the consumer’s best interest and is not contingent on sales targets. In order to achieve that goal, Member States may also ban commissions paid by the creditor to the credit intermediary.
Amendment 734 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 33 – paragraph 1
Article 33 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that creditors, that are credit institutions as defined in the MC-Directive 2014/17/EU , credit intermediaries and providers of crowdfunding credit services require their staff to possess and keep up- to-date an appropriate level of knowledge and competence in relation to the manufacturing, the offering and the granting of credit agreements or crowdfunding credit services, the carrying out of credit intermediation activities, the provision of advisory services or crowdfunding credit services. Where the conclusion of a credit agreement or an agreement for the provision of crowdfunding credit services includes an ancillary service, appropriate knowledge and competence in relation to that ancillary service shall be required.
Amendment 736 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 33 – paragraph 2
Article 33 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall establish minimum knowledge and competence requirements for the staff of creditors, that are credit institutions as defined in the MC-Directive 2014/17/EU , of credit intermediaries and of providers of crowdfunding credit services.
Amendment 762 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 37 – paragraph 1
Article 37 – paragraph 1
Member States shall ensure that creditors, credit intermediaries and providers of crowdfunding credit services that are not credit institutions as defined in Article 4(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 are subject to an adequate admission process and to registration and supervision arrangements set upto bye an independentpplied by competent authorityies.
Amendment 771 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 38 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 38 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) indicate, in advertising and documentation intended for consumers, the extent of their powers and whether they work as a tied or as an independent intermediary; Where the credit intermediary is tied to or works exclusively withfor one or more creditors or as an independent intermediary;, it shall provide the names of the creditors for which it is acting. The credit intermediary may disclose that it is independent where it meets the conditions laid down in accordance with Article 16 (4).
Amendment 787 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 44 – paragraph 2
Article 44 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that when penalties are to be imposed in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, they include the possibility either to impose fines through administrative procedures or to initiate legal proceedings for the imposition of fines, or both, the maximum amount of such fines being at least 4% of the creditor, the credit intermediary or the provider of crowdfunding credit services’ annual turnover in all Member States concerned by the coordinated enforcement action.