Protecting consumers' rights

• Rights of the consumer are phenomena which have occurred in Poland in recent years; they relate to substantial changes connected with the Polish accession to the European Union in 2004.

• To protect the rights and interests of consumers the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection was appointed.

• Nowadays consumers still don't know much of their rights; they are uninformed and unprepared to contemporary market rules.

The consumer has the right of choice. These are the decisions of

consumers which affect the development of the market. The

market will react accordingly to the preferences of customers.

CONSUMERS' RIGHTS:

• The right to protection of health and safety

• The right to information• The right to protect consumer

economic interests• The right to compensation • The right to represent one's interests

• The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

• The Ombudsman of Consumers' Rights• Health Inspection• Trade Inspection• Health Inspection• Commercial Products Quality Inspection• Association of Consumer Health

Protection• Federation of consumers• Polish Consumer Association

For the protection of consumers' rights the following institutions have been

appointed:

Burdensome advertising constituting an act of unfair competition entails sanctions referred to in Article 18 of paragraph 1 of the law on combatting unfair competition. The right of initiate the proceedings shall be vested not with the consumer exposed to unfair advertising, but with the entrepreneur, whose interest is threatened or affected. The entrepreneur may request the offender: 1) to refrain from any illegal activities, 2) to remove their effects, 3) to submit a relevant statement, (4) to remedy the suffered damage on general terms, 5) to return unduly obtained benefit on general terms, 6) to adjudge a relevant sum of money to a social objective connected

with Polish culture of national heritage.

(C) a ban on misleading informationIssuing and dissemination of information likely to be misleading is redemptory because it blurs the situation on the market and consumers take wrong decisions on their transactions. Wrong information breaches the consumers' right to information. Polish law contains many absolute and relative bans on advertising. Only several examples of them are explained below. Polish law applies a general ban on misleading advertising. This means a ban on misleading advertising, which influence the decision of the consumer.-non-physical add-hidden add (hidden persuasion and acting onto the subconscious)Entrepreneur who doesn't follow this rule can face a civil and legal responsibility or a penal liability. Activation of these sanctions does not depend on an individual consumer. According to the law in this case there is a possibility to request: 1) to stop breaking the law, (2) to remove the effects of illegal activities, 3) to make single or multiple relevant statements, (4) to compensation, (5) to return wrongly obtained benefits. The petition, however, cannot be filled in court by a consumer (in case of first three points) but by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

INFORMATION ON THE FOOD

• In Polish law food is regulated in the Regulation Minister of Agriculture and Food Economy of 15 July 1994. (Journal of Laws of 1994 No 86, item 402).

• Food packaging must contain the following information: - kind, destination and other characteristics of the product;-product durability;-internal composition of the content;-origin;-method of manufacturing; -the conditions of storage or use.

GMO PRODUCTS • The law introduced an obligation to mark GMO

products, except where their content of in the product does not exceed 1% of weight.

• The marking of the GMO product, which should be located on the label must include the following information: -The name of the GMO product and the names of the GMO in this product,-the surname or the name of the manufacturer or importer and their address-the likely area of use of GMO product: industry, agriculture and forestry, widespread use by consumers or other specialist use,-application of the GMO product and the precise conditions of the type environment for which the product is suitable,-specific requirements for storage and transport, if they have been set out in the permit,-information about the difference between the product value with the use GMO and its traditional equivalent-the authorisation number.

-The name of the GMO product and the names of the GMO in this product,-the surname or the name of the manufacturer or importer and their address-the likely area of use of GMO product: industry, agriculture and forestry, widespread use by consumers or other specialist use,-application of the GMO product and the precise conditions of the type environment for which the product is suitable,-specific requirements for storage and transport, if they have been set out in the permit,-information about the difference between the product value with the use GMO and its traditional equivalent-the authorisation number.

MEDICINES AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

The information about pharmaceutical products must be fair, objective, current and sufficiently wide to allow its addressee reach their own opinion.

COSMETICS

• The information related to cosmetic products are defined in the act of 30 March 2001.

• This law provides for very detailed requirements for data covered by the information on a cosmetic product and the presentation of information.

• Failure to follow this law is an offence.

THE RIGHT TO REPRESENT ONE'S INTERESTS

The last of fundamental rights is the right to represent one's interests

In Poland special authorities can represent the rights of consumers.

These include consumers' organisations and an

ombudsman of consumers and President of the Office

of Competition and Consumers' Rights

COMPLAINTS

• The Seller is required to receive and consider the complaint.

• The seller is responsible against the consumer not a manufacturer, dealer or importer.

• The seller cannot refer consumers to them - the seller must receive the consumers' complaint.

• The complaint may be spoken (by telephone or personally) or written. One of the best in terms of evidence is a written form. The complaint protocol must be drawn up in duplicate; one to the seller and the second for the consumer.

• The seller should consider the complaint immediately. In practice it means 14 days.

The presentation is made for the needs of the Commenius Program.

Prezentacja została wykonana na potrzeby projektu Comenius.

La presentación preparada para el Programa Comenius.

Presentation by Anna Krzemińska Ie

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Wikipedia

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Online

Prawo Wagla

A site about Europe