Monobank automatically waived the court fee when a claim was filed for debt recovery from a serviceman. What was the court's decision?

In 2019, a serviceman obtained a loan from Monobank amounting to 80,000 hryvnias but failed to meet the terms of the agreement, leading to a debt of 79,945 hryvnias. Consequently, Monobank filed a lawsuit demanding the repayment of interest on the loan. The court decided to partially grant the claim, as stated in the ruling of the Darnytsia District Court of Kyiv in case No. 753/3547/23.

The serviceman argued that the application form did not specify deadlines for periodic payments, thus the deadline for fulfilling obligations had not yet arrived. Additionally, he pointed out that the bank failed to account for partial payments totaling 14,500 hryvnias, while 39,984 hryvnias were deducted from his account. Furthermore, he noted in his response that the bank unlawfully withdrew a court fee of 2,684 hryvnias from his account, as such a fee can only be collected by a court's decision.

The serviceman also mentioned that he is on active duty, which grants him certain benefits. According to the court's ruling, the man acknowledged a debt of 28,145 hryvnias. The court partially satisfied the claim, denying the bank the right to charge interest on the loan, as the serviceman was called to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on September 20, 2022. The court deemed the deduction of 4,747 hryvnias in interest unlawful and determined that the man must repay the bank 60,698 hryvnias.

The court's decision states: In accordance with paragraph 15 of Article 14 of the Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," servicemen called to military service by mobilization during a special period are entitled to benefits throughout their conscription, especially those participating in measures to ensure national security and defense against armed aggression by the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and ensuring their employment.

Thus, given the established circumstances and the fact that the defendant has been conscripted into the Armed Forces of Ukraine since September 20, 2022, the bank should not charge him interest for using the loan, as he is entitled to benefits provided in paragraph 15 of Article 14 of the Ukraine Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families."

A similar legal position is outlined in the ruling of the Supreme Court dated January 18, 2023, in case No. 642/548/21.

The plaintiff's response to the review did not include any objections to what was stated and did not refute the existence of benefits for the defendant under the specified law since September 20, 2022.

Therefore, considering the application of benefits to the defendant as established in paragraph 15 of Article 14 of the Ukraine Law "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," the plaintiff unlawfully deducted interest for using the loan from his account totaling 4,747.58 hryvnias.

The court also disagrees with the plaintiff's arguments regarding the legality of the deduction of the court fee of 2,684 hryvnias from the defendant's account for filing this lawsuit, as the size of the court fee and the procedure for its distribution among the parties is determined solely by the court's decision, which is made based on the outcome of the dispute. In this regard, the court, in accordance with the provisions of Article 141 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, considers the amount of satisfied claims as well as circumstances that exempt certain individuals from paying court costs. Moreover, the plaintiff is entitled to recover court costs from the defendant only after the court decision, which includes the distribution of such costs, comes into legal force.