Credit in francs - law firm advises step by step

Before visiting the law firm, the client should complete the documents related to the loan:

• agreement and annexes
• Annexes to the agreement, such as the terms and conditions of the loan

Depending on the particular situation, sometimes additional documents are needed:

• loan agreement with annexes
• certificate on the amount of loan repayment
• in the case of the establishment of marital separation: a document on the cessation of marital community
• in case one of the Co-Borrowers has died: certificate of inheritance/establishment of inheritance to determine the Borrower's legal successors
• in case of divorce: divorce decree

Our law firm has a universal template. If a scan of the contract is sent in advance, the law firm prepares an application for a certificate, completing it with data related to the contract. We also provide a universal application by e-mail or at the office of the law firm. The application should be submitted at a bank branch or sent to the bank's address. You can also submit it via the bank's hotline/application. The certificate is subject to a fee in accordance with the bank's fee schedule, usually about PLN 50-200. It is a necessary attachment to the lawsuit.

The law firm, once it has the loan agreement and the loan repayment certificate, prepares a detailed calculation of the consequences of contract cancellation. Then the client receives information on what the legal consequences of cancellation of the contract are sent by e-mail or at the office of the law firm.

After the documents are completed and the calculation is made, the client meets at the law firm to present all the information about the franking case. At that time, the client also receives a guide to working with the law firm. It is also possible to meet even before the documents are completed in order to present an offer to handle the case with the bank.

After performing the above-mentioned activities, the law firm presents a fee, which is determined individually. It is possible to spread the payment of remuneration in installments. The parties sign a contract and an appropriate power of attorney.
In addition to the cost of the law firm, the Borrowers shall bear the cost of court fees.

• PLN 17/person: stamp duty on powers of attorney
• PLN 1000: fee for the lawsuit

We usually file a lawsuit within about 1-2 weeks from the date of signing the contract. Sometimes it takes longer to file a lawsuit due to the complexity of the case or other circumstances (lack of required loan documentation): about a month from the date of signing the contract.

The law firm will inform the client that a lawsuit has been filed, along with information about which Judge will preside over the franking case.

The exact date cannot be predicted. First, the court, after checking the formal requirements of the lawsuit, serves the lawsuit on the bank, setting a deadline for filing a response to the lawsuit. Usually this deadline is 14 days, a month or 2 months. After receiving the response to the lawsuit, the Court makes the following decision:

• Obliges the attorney/client's office to file a reply to the response to the lawsuit
• Requires attorneys for the parties to submit a list of questions to witnesses - witnesses in franking cases are bank employees. Such witnesses are called by the bank. Sometimes the witnesses testify by correspondence, sometimes the court summons them to a hearing.
• Sets the hearing

For these reasons, the time for trial is about 3-6 months from the date of filing the lawsuit

The law firm, when the Court sets a date for a hearing, informs clients by e-mail or text message about the scheduled date of the hearing.

The attorney always meets with clients before the trial date. The meeting at the law firm is organized about a week before the hearing. The law firm will contact the client to schedule such a meeting. At that time, all issues related to the court hearing will be discussed.

It is best to be at least 15 minutes before the hearing. The court does not wait for late parties. Therefore, you should plan a leisurely commute to the courthouse to be on time for the scheduled hearing.

Usually about 30 minutes to an hour. The hearing may last longer, in case of delays in earlier hearings considered by the Court on a given day.

Usually, the court summons the parties to a hearing to hear them for information. It then conducts further evidence, i.e., examination of witnesses. After this evidence, the Court calls the Borrowers back to the hearing to confirm what they have already testified at the previous hearing. Usually, the Court does not ask the questions that were at the informational hearing, but only asks for confirmation of previously given explanations. The bank's attorney then usually asks questions about the previously given testimony to show its inconsistency, hoping that the Borrower will testify differently than before. Of course, there are times when the Court will again ask the questions it has already asked from scratch, so be prepared for this circumstance. It happens that the Court at the first hearing conducts evidence from the hearing of the parties, in which case the Borrowers appear before the Court only once.

Usually, the publication, i.e., the issuance of a decision, takes place on a different date: up to 30 days after the hearing at which the Court closed the trial.

The court will close the trial after all the evidence has been taken, i.e. after the parties have been heard, witnesses have been interviewed and there may be expert evidence. After the Court issues the decision of the case, i.e. the verdict, the law firm informs its clients of the result within 1-2 days.

After the verdict, the parties have 7 days to file a motion to justify the judgment. Such a request is filed by the law firm if the court has issued an unfavorable judgment or has omitted some issues in the judgment. The fee for justification of the judgment is PLN 100.

Banks that lose franking cases always file an appeal against the judgment, i.e. an appeal. Whether the Borrower files an appeal depends on the content of the judgment.

The appeal proceedings begin with the filing of an appeal by a party to the dispute. The court then serves a copy of the appeal on the other party, who files a response to the appeal within 2 weeks.

The length of the appellate proceedings cannot be determined, it depends primarily on the speed of action and the number of cases handled by a given Judge. In the Bialystok Appellate Court, these cases are processed for about a year or more. There are appellate cases that take less time, even 6 months.

In appeal proceedings, as a rule, the Court does not take evidence. Therefore, the Borrowers do not participate directly in the hearings and are not questioned.

After the court sets the hearing, the law firm will inform you within a few days when the appeal hearing will be held.

The court will not set a hearing date until 1-2 months before the date. Therefore, after the filing of the appeal and the response to the appeal, there is no decision from the Court or information from the law firm for several months.