When the customer outwitted the bank

In 2008, a Russian man named Dimitry Agarkov was going through his junk mail.

He found a credit card offer from Tinkoff Bank, relatively a new bank.

On the surface, the offer was interesting, with a 13% interest rate and good credit limits. Intrigued, he decided to read the full contract.

As with most credit card offers, this was no exception. Upon reading the fine print, he found out that the offer was not as good as he thought.

The actual interest was a staggering 45% and the credit limit was not good either.

Having spent his time reading the contract only to feel dejected, he did not become angry. Instead, he decided to have some fun at the expense of the bank.

Dimitry scanned the application and changed all the favorable terms to a more generous one for the customer.

He lowered the interest to zero and removed the credit limit. And included a clause that “the customer is not obliged to pay any fees imposed by the bank.”

Dimitry did not stop there. He added that each time the bank tried to change the terms of the contract, they’d have to pay 3 Million Rubles ($90,000), and if they tried to cancel the contract, they’d have to pay 6 Million Rubles ($180,000).

Pleased by the elaborate prank, he printed the contract, signed it, and sent it off to the bank. Expecting never to hear from them again.

To his surprise, after a few days, Dimitry received the signed and certified contract from the bank – including all his alterations.

Dimitry was now a proud owner of the best credit card in the world.

For the next 2 years, he used the card for his regular purchase. Not for any extravagant purpose. Although he was well within his rights to do so. He could have bought a private island in Malaysia and the bank would have to pay for it according to the terms of the contract.

In 2010, Tinkoff bank tried to terminate his card for not paying the minimum balance and sued him for unpaid fees and credit card debt.

Dimitry, knowing his legal right, decided to fight back in court.

Tinkoff’s lawyer, in the court, made a simple argument that they’d failed to read the contract and didn’t know what it said. And so, the contract ought to be invalidated.

The judge, however, ruled that the contract was valid as both parties had signed it. Dimitry was asked only to pay the balance amount of $575 and no late fees (as mentioned in the contract).

Despite the apparent victory, and knowing well that the law was on his side, Dimitry decided to have more fun. He counter-sued Tinkoff bank for not honoring the clauses of the contract. And claimed that the bank owed him $727,000 for changing or breaking the contract.

Since the judge had already ruled that the contract was valid, Dimitry’s case was strong.

Tinkoff did everything to keep themselves from paying close to a million-dollar.

Finally, they ended up with a settlement outside the court of an undisclosed amount (which was more than $10,000).

And Dimitry also got a special debit card from the bank that provided a cashback of 30% on some purchase.

“This started as a joke in 2008… but the joke has gone too far,” said Dimitry Agarkov. “Of course, I won’t recommend other people do what I did. Before you opt-in for credit, you must think multiple times and carefully study your bank’s terms. But if you agree, you’ll have to stick to it.”