Do you entrepreneurs know your duties related to placing products on the market? If in doubt, consult the Act on general product safety. Remember: informing about a defective product does not have to mean you will lose consumer trust

According to the Act on general product safety, if a manufacturer has any information that using his products is associated with risk, he must inform the President of UOKiK of this fact. Failure to meet this obligation may - since 30 March 2007, when the Act was amended - result in a fine of up to PLN 100,000.

In the course of the four years since the obligation to inform the Office about a dangerous product is in force, entrepreneurs made 209 voluntary notifications.

In 2004, only 16 were filed, a year later - 34, and in 2006 - 51. Last year, the number increased to 108. The tendency proves that professional market participants are getting more and more aware of their duties and attach increasing importance to consumer trust. Responsible entrepreneurs do not operate only on the basis of hard law obligations but also on the basis of good practice.

The statistics of the Office show that most voluntary notifications concern the motor vehicle sector: in 2007 there were 71 of them. Apart from cars and motorcycles, UOKiK received most notifications on the white goods and toys. Their growing number makes it possible to assume that entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that concealing information about the potential risks associated with using their products may cost them their reputation and, in consequence, become a much more severe sanction than the statutory PLN 100,000 fine.

Entrepreneurs should check the quality of the products they manufacture: analyse the course of the production process, subject the goods to routine laboratory tests, etc. In addition, still before being placed on the market, products should be labelled so that consumers could easily find out who is responsible for their safety. Safety supervision also includes regular analyses of consumer complaints and testing samples of the products entering the market.

Entrepreneurs’ obligations include modifying the production process and, ultimately, even withdrawing the product from the market. The key element here is the logistic planning of the campaign related to defective products: notifying the retailers and the potential users. It is necessary to prepare media releases, place advertisements in the press and posters at the retailers selling the products, open a hotline or post information about the product’s defects on a website. Money return, repair or replacement of the defective product are the norm.

Entrepreneurs must notify UOKiK about any defects they detected and the corrective actions they undertook or intend to undertake. The information should be submitted to the Office as soon as it is possible. Delaying the notification until the corrective campaign is prepared may be considered by the President of UOKiK a violation of law.

It is extremely important for entrepreneurs to understand that detecting a defect does not have to make them lose consumer trust, if they admit it and bear the consequences.

Additional information on the duties related to the procedure of notification of a dangerous product may be obtained from UOKiK’s Department of Market Surveillance by calling +48 22 55 60 390. Electronic inquiries should be send to: dnr@uokik.gov.pl.

Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland
Tel. (+ 48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 314
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail mcieloch@uokik.gov.pl