Cap. 656 Art. 4Functions and powers of the Office.    Cap. 586.

(1) The Office shall have the following functions:

(a) to ascertain that a customer or potential customer making a complaint in accordance with article 9 qualifies as an eligible applicant;

(b) to ascertain that an application submitted by an eligible applicant is an eligible application in accordance with this Act;

(c) to review and investigate eligible applications submitted by eligible applicants, including by the means of mediation in accordance with article 10 and, where necessary, by issuing a recommendation in accordance with article 14;

(d) to inform the public through electronic means and, where possible, by means of written guidelines with regard to the functions carried out by the Office, the role of the credit reviewer, the contact details of the Office, the procedure followed by the credit reviewer and, or the Office in relation to eligible applications, and other information concerning the Office with the purpose of informing the public on the services offered by the Office;

(e) to provide the means to enable an eligible applicant to submit a complaint electronically or by recorded delivery through the post or courier service;

(f) to provide the means to enable the exchange of information between an eligible applicant and a lending institution electronically or by recorded delivery through the post or courier service;

(g) to ensure that any personal data processed by the

Office in the course of proceedings fully complies with

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act, including any regulations made thereunder;

(h) to establish rules and guidelines in relation to the implementation of the regulations made in terms of article 19;

(i) to publish a yearly report of official statistics; and

(j) to carry out such other functions as are assigned to it under this Act or any other law.

(2) In carrying out his functions under this Act, the credit reviewer shall:

(a) act independently and impartially and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority;

(b) determine complaints submitted in accordance with article 9 by reference to what in his opinion is fair, equitable and reasonable in the particular circumstances and substantive merits of the case;

(c) consider and have due regard, in such manner as he deems appropriate to applicable and relevant laws, rules and regulations, in particular those governing the conduct of a lending institution, including guidelines issued by national and European Union supervisory authorities, good industry practice and reasonable and legitimate expectations of eligible applicants and this with reference to the time when it is alleged that the facts giving rise to the complaints occurred;

(d) deal with a complaint in a procedurally fair, informal, economical and expeditious manner.

(3) The credit reviewer may delegate in writing to any person engaged with the Office any of its functions under this Act.

(4) The credit reviewer shall employ sufficient communication media for the purposes of its obligations arising from sub-article (1).