[News-Oxcart Network]
Involving a number of violations, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance was recently named and notified by the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
According to the content of the notice, during the on-site inspection of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance") exhibited four violations of the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. They are: the promotional materials do not clearly state the provider of the loan product; the service price information disclosure does not meet the requirements; the standard terms and conditions for the authorized use of consumer information do not follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity; and the review of consumer rights and interests protection is not in place.
The Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said that the above-mentioned behavior of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance infringed on consumers' right to know and their right to make independent choices, and there were hidden dangers in consumer information security risks.
Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance has been rectified in accordance with regulatory requirements. Taking the second violation measure as an example, the CBRC pointed out that when Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance disclosed the relevant charging items on the official website, the specific path was: car purchase support - financial services - compliance publicity, and the final result was listed in the 3rd layer directory of the official website, and the service price information was not published in a conspicuous position on the home page of the website.
The oxcart network then inquired about the official website of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance and found that the price announcement after the rectification had been displayed in the title bar of the home page of the official website, and the name was clearly "price publicity", and the relevant results were no longer "hidden layer by layer".
Finally, the CBRC pointed out that all banking and insurance institutions should strictly implement the laws, regulations and regulatory systems for the protection of consumer rights and interests, earnestly assume the main responsibility for the protection of consumer rights and interests, establish and improve the institutional mechanism for the protection of consumer rights and interests, carry out business activities in accordance with the law and compliance, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time mercedes-Benz auto finance has been fined.
In April 2019, the incident of The female owner of Xi'an Mercedes-Benz being charged a "financial service fee" was very popular, and the CBRC hereby requested the Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission to investigate whether it had illegally collected financial service fees through dealers.
In September 2019, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance was fined a total of 800,000 yuan by the Beijing Municipal Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau for "serious deficiencies in the management of outsourcing activities" and violating Article 46 of the Banking Supervision and Administration Law.
In December 2021, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance was fined a total of 400,000 yuan by the Beijing Municipal Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau for the interruption of its core business, exposing the lack of business continuity management, serious violations of prudent business rules and other violations of laws and regulations.
The following is the full text of the circular:
All banking and insurance regulatory bureaus, policy banks, large banks, joint-stock banks, foreign banks, and direct banks:
In order to improve the transparency of financial supervision, strengthen market supervision and restraint, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, the on-site inspection of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance) infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers is hereby notified as follows:
1. The promotional materials do not clearly state the provider of the loan product
Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance's "'Can't Hide' Series GLA Circle of Friends Poster - Universal Edition" promotional materials provided to dealers in July 2019 put the company's loan products and Mercedes-Benz Leasing Co., Ltd.'s leasing products on the same page, but did not clearly state that the loan product provider is Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance; the "Yes Series Circle of Friends Poster" promotional materials provided to dealers in January 2020 simultaneously promote loan products and leasing products in the name of "Mercedes-Benz Finance", only prompting "' 'Mercedes-Benz Finance' refers to Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance and Mercedes-Benz Leasing". The promotional materials do not clearly explain the behavior of the provider of the loan product, which does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Guidelines for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests in the Banking Industry.
Second, the service price information disclosure does not meet the requirements
Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance disclosed on the official website the "Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Co., Ltd. Charging Project Announcement", the specific path is: car purchase support - financial services - compliance publicity, listed in the official website under the 3rd layer directory. Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance's failure to publish service price information in a conspicuous position on the homepage of the website does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Service Prices of Commercial Banks.
3. The standard terms and conditions related to the authorized use of consumer information do not follow the principles of legality, propriety and necessity
During the inspection period from May 2019 to December 2020, the Auto Loan Mortgage Contract provided by Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance and signed with the consumer stated that the consumer authorized the company to collect, disclose and allow the use of consumer information to any company within its group, a third party authorized by other lenders or providing services to the lender. This authorization clause is valid for the duration of the contract and after the termination or rescission of the contract. The above-mentioned provisions on the scope of disclosure of consumer information and the length of time for using consumer information do not follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity, and do not comply with the relevant provisions of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, the Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Protection of Financial Consumers' Rights and Interests, and the Guidelines for Information Technology Risk Management of Commercial Banks.
Fourth, the implementation of the review of consumer rights and interests protection is not in place
In the product review process within Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance, the audit records of the two products were only signed by the consumer rights protection commissioner, and no clear and specific review opinions were put forward in accordance with the regulatory requirements. The marketing guidance materials and training materials produced by financial consultants have not been reviewed by the company for consumer rights protection. The review of consumer rights and interests protection of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance is not in place, and does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Guiding Opinions of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on the Construction of Institutional Mechanisms for Banking and Insurance Institutions to Strengthen the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests.
The above-mentioned behavior of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance infringes on consumers' right to know and their right to make independent choices, and there are hidden dangers of consumer information security risks. Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance has been rectified in accordance with regulatory requirements. All banking and insurance institutions should strictly implement the laws, regulations and regulatory systems for the protection of consumer rights and interests, earnestly assume the main responsibility for the protection of consumer rights and interests, establish and improve the institutional mechanism for the protection of consumer rights and interests, carry out business activities in accordance with the law and compliance, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers.
Consumer Protection Bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
February 9, 2022