The key facts

  • In 2026, borrowers won at least eight lawsuits against banks in disputes over interest rate increases
  • Courts refunded the cost of add-on services, and sometimes ordered banks to keep the preferential rate and compensate for overpayment
  • The Central Bank's April 2024 recommendation does not override contract terms, so getting money back often requires going to court

Borrowers have started winning lawsuits against banks

Russian borrowers are increasingly challenging in court the raising of loan interest rates that banks apply after customers refuse additional paid services. This refers to a scheme in which, when issuing a loan, the bank offers a reduced rate on the condition of activating a paid subscription, purchasing a service package, or fulfilling other requirements — for example, a certain volume of spending on a card. If the borrower later refuses the add-ons, the credit institution may raise the interest rate. This is reported by Izvestia citing court rulings; the situation is also covered by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru.

What borrowers seek through the courts

According to Izvestia, in 2026 Russians won at least eight such disputes. In Volgograd, a court ruled it unlawful to include a paid service package among the mandatory conditions of mortgage lending, while in Saint Petersburg it found charging a separate fee for changing the interest rate to be unlawful. As a result, borrowers managed to recover the full cost of the activated services or part of the payments made. In some cases, courts ordered banks to keep the original reduced rate and to compensate for the interest overpaid after the borrower refused the additional options. At the same time, as Life.ru notes, not every rate increase constitutes a violation: the legality of a bank's actions depends on the terms of the contract, the nature of the additional services, and the circumstances of their activation.

Why getting money back often requires going to court

Freedom Global analyst Vladimir Chernov recalled in a conversation with Izvestiathat back in April 2024 the Central Bank recommended that banks abandon fees for reducing interest rates and changing other loan terms. However, the regulator's recommendation does not override the terms written into the contract, so recovering a specific overpayment sometimes has to be pursued through the financial ombudsman or the courts. Evgenia Lazareva, head of the People's Front project 'For Borrowers' Rights,' told the publication that a client has the right to refuse an additional service at any time, even after the cooling-off period ends — this is stipulated in the Consumer Protection Law and the Civil Code.