The court reduced the interest rate on an online loan: the borrower will pay half as much as the company demanded

The Bilyaivskyi District Court of the Odessa region partially satisfied the claim of a financial company for the collection of debt under a consumer loan concluded in electronic form. The court recognized the loan agreement as valid and confirmed the fact of the borrower’s receipt of funds, but refused to collect interest in full, considering it disproportionately high.

The corresponding decision was made in case No. 496/3097/25.

The borrower received 9 thousand hryvnias online

As the court established, on February 11, 2023, the parties concluded a consumer loan agreement in electronic form in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Commerce”.

The borrower received 9,000 UAH for a period of 16 weeks at 2% per day, and also agreed to a loan issuance fee of 1,350 UAH. The loan was signed with an electronic signature using a one-time identifier.

The financial company provided the court with evidence of the transfer of funds to the borrower’s bank card, as well as confirmation from the payment partner about the successful crediting of the loan.

The company demanded more than 29 thousand hryvnias

Due to non-fulfillment of the terms of the agreement, the lender applied to the court with a demand to collect 29,021.08 UAH, of which:

9,000 UAH – principal debt;

18,671.08 UAH – interest;

1,350 UAH – commission.

The defendant did not appear in court and did not file objections.

The court found the interest to be disproportionate

The court confirmed that the loan agreement was concluded properly and has the same legal force as a written agreement.

At the same time, the court concluded that the declared amount of interest is clearly disproportionate.

The decision states that interest should not become a source of unjustified profit for the creditor and create an excessive financial burden for the consumer.

The court referred to the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, the Constitution of Ukraine, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the legal position of the Supreme Court.

Final amount of debt

Having assessed the ratio of the principal debt and accrued interest, the court decided to limit the amount of interest to the amount of the loan itself.

As a result, the court recovered from the borrower:

9,000 UAH – principal debt;

9,000 UAH – interest;

1,350 UAH – commission.

The total amount of recovery was 19,350 UAH. In addition, the court recovered 1,615.15 UAH of court fees in favor of the finance company in proportion to the satisfied claims.

The court dismissed the other part of the claim.

This decision once again confirms the established case law, according to which even in the presence of a valid loan agreement, courts may reduce excessive interest if its amount contradicts the principles of fairness, good faith and proportionality.