Providing information and rewards regarding financial products and services

If you offer or broker financial products or services, you are required to provide information in, for instance, quotes, credit prospectuses, financial information leaflets and other types of documents. The information must be accurate, clear and not misleading. A client must be able to effectively assess the product based on the information. These rules apply to:

• credits;
• insurances;
• products concerning payment;
• products concerning savings and deposits;
• investments.

The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) states the requirements that the information must satisfy for each product and service.

Provision of information credits

If you offer loans, you must inform your clients about the credit conditions and costs before concluding the credit agreement. You do this in the form of an annual cost percentage. Your client can still cancel the credit agreement without stating reasons within 14 days. Your client may also cancel the agreement if you included a condition in the agreement that you did not mention in advance. If you are guilty of unfair trading practices, your client may recover any damage from you as a trader or credit provider.

Service document and payment (commission prohibition)

As an intermediary you are obliged to provide a service document to your clients. In this document you show the services that you offer and the payment you receive for this, through a commission of the provider or through direct payment by the client. As from 1 January 2013 charging a commission is prohibited. From now on you have to send your client a bill. You can agree on a fixed rate or an hourly rate in advance.