The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights came into force on June 1, 2022. The law regulates the relationship between the consumer and the supplier of the goods and is loyal to the consumer. It should be noted that the buyer would be able to return the items purchased online within 2 weeks without any argument. The trader is obliged to fully refund the amount paid to the customer, excluding delivery costs.
The new regulation should also protect consumers from misleading advertisements, so business entities are obliged to provide the buyer with accurate information about this or that product and its price. The business entity will also be obliged to indicate information about the product: name, legal and actual address, whether the item has a guarantee, the indicated price is only for the product if it is intended for installation or shipping, etc.
By law, the trader is obliged to deliver the goods to the customer without delay, but no later than 30 calendar days after the conclusion of the contract, unless otherwise provided by the contract.
If the company has not fulfilled its obligation within the prescribed period, the customer must provide the trader with a reasonable additional period of time to fulfill the obligation. In case of non-fulfillment of the obligation after the expiration of the additional period, the customer has the right to withdraw from the contract and demand compensation for damages in accordance with the rules established by civil law.
If the consumer finds a defect in the goods in his possession during the trade, then he bears the burden of proving or confirming this defect. The law stipulates 6 months for this.
If a breach is found, business entities will be notified first, and the next step is a fine, the amount of which should not exceed 2% of the company's turnover of the previous financial year. If it is impossible to calculate its annual turnover during the previous financial year due to the date of establishment of the fined trader, in this case, the amount of the fine shall be determined from the turnover calculated according to the period from the establishment of the company to its penalty. It should be noted that the severity of the violation should be taken into account when determining the amount of the fine.
In case of violation of the conditions provided by the Law on Consumer Protection, the consumer has the right to apply to the National Competition Agency, and the agency is obliged to investigate the possible violation of the consumer's law. In order to investigate the case, the agency will request information (including confidential information) from the applicant and / or the vendor. If the company has not provided the relevant information to the agency, it can go to court. However, it should be noted that the Competition Agency will be involved in law enforcement from November 1, 2022, in particular, the agency will start reviewing the application of a natural person from November, and before that, the relevant department of the National Competition Agency should be formed.
