The court freed the 91-year-old from debts after her deceased son. He dismissed the bank's claim

The court in Ostrołęka dismissed the lawsuit of one of the banks, which demanded the repayment of over PLN 30,000 from a 91-year-old senior citizen. PLN debt with interest after her deceased son – informed the Financial Ombudsman who supported the pensioner. The RF statement described the bank's actions as “scandalous.”

The case concerned a loan taken out by the woman's son, who was already dead when the bank initiated the proceedings. “The senior citizen did not know about the loan taken out by her son. The bank approached the woman only four years after the man's death, charging high interest throughout the entire period,” the RF press release said.

In 2023, the Financial Ombudsman, after receiving the report and reviewing the case, found the bank's behavior “scandalous” and requested that the bank's claims be recognized as statute of limitations.

As we read in the RF press release, after the man's death in 2018, the senior woman delivered his death certificate to the bank. “However, she did not receive information at that time that her son had left an unpaid loan, which she, as the heir, should repay. The bank informed her about the inheritance debt and requested repayment of the debt only four years later. Moreover, throughout this period, the bank charged penalty interest for delay in repayment of the loan at the maximum possible amount,” the statement said.

As RF noted, “at one point the interest rate was 24.5 percent.” “We tried to explain why, from the moment the client submitted the borrower's death certificate in 2018, in the following years until 2022, the bank did not take any action against the heir,” said Katarzyna Łakoma, representing RF in this case, quoted in the release. At that time – as she said – it seemed that the case had been resolved positively because the bank had stopped debt collection activities.

However, suddenly – as attorney Łakoma added – “in 2025, the bank again filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the woman repay the loan.” RF reported that when the bank filed a lawsuit to the court for payment of the unpaid loan, the amount of debt with interest amounted to almost PLN 35,000. zloty. “For the senior citizen, this was an unbearable amount, so she turned to the Financial Ombudsman for help,” it was reported.

“Taking into account the nature of this case and the shocking behavior of the bank, we could not remain indifferent and we joined the court proceedings,” explained attorney Łakoma, quoted in the release.

During the trial, the District Court in Ostrołęka agreed with the position of the Financial Ombudsman, finding that “in the facts of the case, the bank's claims were time-barred.” Therefore, the court dismissed the bank's claim.

Tuesday's announcement recalled that “in the event of a dispute with the bank, after exhausting the complaint procedure and the case has not been successfully concluded, customers may apply to the Financial Ombudsman for assistance.” “The Financial Ombudsman helps in the form of intervention or amicable proceedings. Assistance is provided free of charge,” it was added. (PAP)

mja/ ugw/