The Secretariat for Consumer and User Defense (SEDECO) issued Resolution SDCU No. 390/16, by which it regulated the right of consumers to the proportional reduction of interest in case of early cancellation of debts, sales or provision of services on credit, as established in Art. 30 of Law No. 1334/98.

The proportional reduction consists of not considering the interest not accrued on the principal debt -capital-, for which purpose the aforementioned Resolution adopts the debt rescheduling procedure instead of applying a discount rate. This reduction may not be hindered, limited or conditioned to the payment of any penalty, regardless of its denomination.

The Resolution also provides for the obligation to issue to consumers, immediately, a clear, simple and detailed settlement of debts. To this effect, it establishes the simple nominal interest formula to determine the interest of the re-settlement, which will be calculated on the unit of time “Year“ expressed in whole numbers or in their fractions (common or decimal), as appropriate.

The regulation also imposes administrative sanctions on suppliers and providers that deny or hinder consumers from fully exercising the rights contained in the aforementioned regulation. Its application is under the authority of SEDECO, through a free administrative procedure that begins with the filing of a claim or complaint by the affected consumer.