Various measures have been announced to help attenuate the impact of the coronavirus crisis on consumers, the self-employed and companies. Such measures have been adopted both by the government and by the banking and insurance sector. Anyone who has questions about these can, as from today, contact the call centre at the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).
These measures are intended for those who are affected financially by the coronavirus crisis and include, for example, the postponement of mortgage payments, of tax payments and of the payment of insurance premiums and of contributions to second-pillar pension plans.
The FSMA, as a supervisor with a focus on consumer protection, is opening a call centre today for anyone with questions about those measures. The call centre will provide answers to a number of questions and, for certain topics, will refer enquirers to the institutions that have made available more detailed information.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alexander De Croo stated: ‘The public authorities and the banking sector have taken a series of important measures to protect consumers, self-employed people and businesses from the economic damage resulting from the coronavirus crisis. Unprecedented measures have been adopted to help them get through the crisis. It is of crucial importance to provide correct and clear information about these measures, and therefore I welcome this initiative by the FSMA.’
‘Consumers need correct information about the various measures of support intended to enable the population and businesses to meet the economic and financial challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis. The FSMA is making a significant contribution, through its call centre, to helping consumers in this regard’, said the Minister for the Economy and Consumer Affairs, Nathalie Muylle.
According to Minister for Pensions Daniel Bacquelaine: ‘I am delighted with the creation of a helpdesk by the FSMA that will make it possible to provide answers to the concerns of our citizens, and in particular to questions about the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their supplementary pension.’
‘It is important in these difficult times to be able quickly and directly to contact a public institution that provides accurate and neutral information and can also refer each person to the appropriate interlocutor,’ noted Jean-Paul Servais, the Chairman of the FSMA.
The FSMA call centre staff will primarily answer questions about the recent measures. As regards questions that are frequently put to the call centre, additional information will also be published on the FSMA website. On the basis of the questions received, regular consultations will be held with the competent ministers, the professional associations of the financial sector and with consumer organizations as regards the trends observed.
The call centre can be contacted starting on Wednesday, 15 April 2020: either in writing via a contact form or by telephone every business day between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. via the telephone numbers published on the FSMA website.