A Study of Financial Consumer Protection Act–Focus on Alternative Dispute Resolutions

• Main Authors: Chung-Ching Tsai, 蔡鐘慶
• Other Authors: Jer-Shenq Shieh
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62h6ng

博士 === 國立中正大學 === 法律學研究所 === 102 === The Legislative Yuan in Taiwan promulgated the Financial Consumer Protection Act (“the Act”) after three readings on 3 June, 2011. The Act later was announced by the President on 29 June, 2011 and took its effect on 30 December, 2011. The Act is specifically brought to protect the interests of financial consumers, and to fairly, reasonably, and effectively deal with financial consumer disputes. Furthermore, the act aims to reinforce the confidence of financial consumers in the markets and ensure the sound development of the financial markets. Conventionally, the controversies between the financial consumers and the financial service providers must be resolved by the civil litigation system, which usually lasts long and consumes a great deal of resources, including legal fees,. According to the Act, when encountering a financial consumer dispute, a financial consumer must start with filing a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Institution (FOI). Then the FOI shall deal with the dispute appropriately within 30 days upon the date the complaint is registered, and shall inform the consumer its disposition. If the financial consumer does not accept the disposition or the financial service enterprise fails to approach the matter before the aforementioned time limit, the financial consumer may, within 60 days of either the day he receives notification of the disposition or the day the time limit expires, apply to the FOI to institute an ombudsman case. When a financial consumer files a complaint with the FOI, the financial consumer contact division of the FOI shall refer the complaint to the financial services enterprise for a further handling. After a financial consumer applies to institute an ombudsman case, the FOI may seek to institute mediation proceedings. If mediation proceedings succeed, the dispute is resolved. If any party related to the dispute does not agree to participate in mediation proceedings, or if mediation proceedings fail to achieve a resolution, the ombudsman committee need to hear the ombudsman case. The chairman of the ombudsman committee shall appoint at least three ombudsman committee members as pre-examiners to carry out an inspection and prepare an inspection opinion after the FOI submits an application to institute an ombudsman case. The ombudsman committee shall scrutinize the ombudsman case on a fair and reasonable base. If the financial consumer does not accept the decision, he/she may make an appeal to a court. On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama of the United States signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law. This Act promises to strengthen consumer financial protection by granting the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In the UK, the most significant development is that the FSA will be disbanded, simultaneously moving away to a ‘twin-peaks’ model, in which prudential regulation (set up as a subsidiary of the Bank of England) will be separated from conduct of business regulation (to be undertaken by a new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority). This thesis tries to introduce the Financial Consumer Protection Act in Taiwan, compare it with relevant acts taken effect at other countries, and futher make some contribution to the improvement of the legal system of Taiwan’s financial consumer protection.