ANNUAL REPORTOF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 58 58 RECOMMENDATIONS To the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: CHAPTER 2 1. To develop and submit to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine a draft law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” #294-IX of 14 November 2019 with regard to determining the expenditures necessary for the audit of an outdated housing stock and bringing it in accordance with the standards of proper and safe living conditions. 2. To develop and submit to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine a draft law on amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020” #294-IX of 14 November 2019 regarding the definition of expenditures necessary to compensate for the damage caused to citizens as a result of a natural disaster. 3. Develop and approve a State Programme for auditing obsolete housing stock and determining ways to bring it in compliance with standards of adequate and safe living conditions. 4. Annually, during the formation of the State Budget for the next year, provide for targeted expenditures necessary to compensate for the damage caused to citizens as a result of emergencies and natural disasters. To local self-government bodies – to undertake surveys of typical groups of houses and develop housing renovation plans. 2.2. Consumer rights During 2019, the Commissioner received 948 reports of abuse of consumer rights. A lot of them concerned financial and transport services. Observance of the rights of consumers of financial services in the course debt collection Citizens have reported to the Commissioner violations of their rights by debt collection companies when settling issues of overdue credit agreements or debts on contracts they did not enter into. The findings of monitoring and analysis of citizens’ appeals prove that this problem has become systemic. According to the Deposit Guarantee Fund, during 2014-2017, 96 financial institutions were withdrawn from the financial market due to insolvency. As a result, claims for hundreds of millions of hryvnias and customer registration data were transferred to the debt collection companies. In their complaints to the Commissioner, the citizens report that such companies resort to pressure, compulsion to pay debts which in many cases exceed their actual amount.