Poste Italiane SpA ordered to pay compensation for having caused the violation of information obligations on savings bonds
CATANZARO – Poste Italiane SpA ordered to guarantee compensation for damages for having caused the violation of information obligations, on savings bonds deemed prescribed by the intermediary.
This is what was decided in two separate orders of the Court of Catanzaro issued last 18 April, following the appeals presented by the lawyer Giulio Fragasso, which accepted the request for compensation based on the breach aimed at ascertaining the liability of Poste Italiane for violation of the obligation to provide information on the same burden.
The interested savers, who went to the post office in their country, were told by the teller that the savings bonds had expired. The lawyer Fragasso took matters into his own hands and, first of all, issued a formal notice Italian post through a complaint and then subsequently submitting two appeals to the Court of Catanzaro, requesting compensation for damages for violation of the information obligations on postal savings bonds deemed prescribed by the Post Office.
“These vouchers did not report the trading conditions established in the founding decree, as neither the interest rate applied nor the expiry date was indicated, and the same did not even contain an indication of the series they belonged to. This behavior by Poste – explains the lawyer Fragassi who operates throughout the national territory and also collaborates with the television program “Striscia la notizia” – is detrimental to the legislation on transparency, information, correctness and good faith. The ordinances affirmed the damage suffered by savers which derives from the violation of the duties of transparency and information which the intermediary is required to comply with in the placement of savings bonds, as specifically provided for by the art. 3, paragraph 1 and art. 6 of the Ministerial Decree 19/12/2000.
In this regard, it is noted that the information obligations placed on the intermediary are aimed at guaranteeing not only the transparency of the latter’s activity, but above all at protecting the position of the saver, who must be placed in a position to correctly understand the characteristics of one’s investment, regardless of the level of education and/or previous experience in similar investments”.
According to the lawyer Fragasso “the omissive conduct of the defendant also constitutes a violation of the general principle of correctness and good faith referred to in the art. 1175 cc and the duty of professional diligence imposed by art. 1176 cc, such that the company must be condemned to compensate for the damages inflicted.
To confirm this, the decision of the Competition and Market Authority of 10.18.2022 which sanctioned Poste Italiane SpA with two reasons for unfair commercial practices (which coincide with the reason for submitting this appeal which was subsequently accepted) is of fundamental importance. . In the case that concerns us there is a double negligence on the part of the Post Office: neither the duration of the postal savings certificates, nor the interest rates, nor the statute of limitations were written on the back; no information sheet or document characterizing the BFP in question was ever given to the appellant”.
The orders therefore establish the condemnation of Poste Italiane with compensation for damages of the amount of the capital of the BFPs subject to the two appeals, equal to 29,000.00 euros and 5,516.44 euros.
