Uhe Belgian bank was ordered at the end of last year by the Walloon Brabant business court to pay 30,000 dollars (in euros) to one of its clients who accused it of having provided it with a “bad opinion” as part of a financial investment. This story, reported by Littercould set a precedent.
The customer in question had 1,750 Netflix, purchased a few years earlier. In 2017, the share price soared to reach $180. His investment advisor, based on a note from the firm Morningstar which predicted a fall in the price, advised him to sell his securities. The client therefore followed this advice and sold his shares at 233 dollars, bringing him a total sum of 408,000 dollars.
However, Morningstar’s forecasts do not come true, and Netflix shares continue to increase in value ($400 in 2018, 600 in 2021). Noticing that his capital gain could have been higher, the client filed a complaint against his bank for “bad advice”. The bank, for its part, justifies itself by specifying that it was only an “opinion” and not “advice”.
The judge ultimately ruled in favor of the client, finding that the distinction between “opinion” and “advice” did not exist for the complainant.
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