Human Measure Foundation

A bank decision made with AI

A bank refused a loan, blocked your account or rated your creditworthiness low, and you suspect a program or a scoring system decided it. Here are 5 steps. You can take them at your own pace.

This is a template of the guide. The practical tips are general. Everything about legal provisions and deadlines is marked and waiting for a lawyer.

Step 1 of 5

Write down what happened

Do this while you still remember the details. Fill in what you know and leave the rest empty. None of this leaves your browser.

Day, month, year
You will find it in the letter or in the bank’s app. You can enter only the last digits
Next: Gather documents

Step 2 of 5

Gather your documents

Gather in one place, on paper or in one folder on your phone:

  • your application and the confirmation that you submitted it;
  • the whole decision or message from the bank, with the reasons if they were given;
  • the contract, terms and fee schedule that relate to the case;
  • statements or account history from the period the case concerns;
  • messages in the app, emails and text messages, including from the helpline. Note the date and time of calls and the name of the person you spoke to;
  • screenshots of the app or online banking, for example of a message about a block;
  • if you already have them, documents about your credit history.

Make copies. Keep the originals for yourself. Do not send anyone full card numbers, passwords or codes from text messages.

Next: Check deadlines

Step 3 of 5

Check the deadlines

Check whether the letter from the bank says what you can do and how soon. Note every date in your calendar, including the day you received the letter. This step matters, because being late can close the way to appeal. Do not wait for our reply.

[to be completed by a lawyer] What deadlines apply to complaints and appeals in cases with a bank and from when they run. This information needs legal verification, so we do not state it here.
[to be completed by a lawyer] Whom, besides the bank, you can report a dispute or complaint to and how. Needs legal verification.
Next: Ask the bank

Step 4 of 5

Ask the bank about the role of the system

You can ask the bank whether it used an automated system or scoring and what that system did. Below is a ready draft of the letter. It fills itself in from what you typed in step 1.

Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing about the decision of [date of the decision], application, contract or account number: [case number]. Please answer the following questions: 1. Was an automated system, scoring or artificial intelligence used in this decision? If so, what is it called and who supplied it? 2. What exactly did this system do (e.g. assess creditworthiness, score, make a first refusal, block), and what did a bank employee do? 3. Was the decision reviewed by a person who could have changed it? Who was it (position)? 4. What data about me was taken into account and where did it come from? 5. Which factors had the greatest influence on the result? 6. Can I ask for the case to be reviewed again by a person, and whom should I contact? 7. Please give written reasons for the decision and state its legal basis: [to be completed by a lawyer]. Please reply in writing. Yours faithfully

Next: Write to the foundation

Step 5 of 5

Write to us

The foundation studies how AI systems treat people. Your story can help us understand the problem, even if today we cannot take on your case.

Open an email to the foundation

Your mail program will open with the draft. You will see it before it is sent. You can change or delete it.

Need help? Contact

The help desk is only planned. Until it launches, please contact us at the email address below.

Email:
fundacja@miara.org.pl

Tell us in your own words what happened. You do not need to know the law. Do not send all your documents at once; a description of the case is enough.

Response time and scope of help We reply as soon as we can, but we do not yet promise a response time or a scope of help. We will set them before the help desk launches.

Your rights

  • [to be completed by a lawyer] Whether and on what basis you have the right to learn that the decision was made automatically.
  • [to be completed by a lawyer] Whether and on what basis you can demand an explanation of how the system reached its result.
  • [to be completed by a lawyer] Whether and on what basis you can demand that a human review the case.
  • [to be completed by a lawyer] What rights the credit rules and banking law give when a bank refuses a loan, including whether you can demand to be told the reasons for the refusal.
  • [to be completed by a lawyer] Whether and how you can demand correction of wrong data used in the assessment (for example in registers and credit databases).

We do not quote legal provisions until a lawyer has checked them. Marker: [to be completed by a lawyer].