Want to return a product which you don’t like after all? It’s possible, but only when buying on the Internet - this is the main legal difference between e-commerce and traditional shopping. On the Safe Internet Day, celebrated in Poland for the 5th time, UOKiK highlights the rules of e-shopping

Online shopping is more and more popular among Poles. Research carried out in 2008 by the company Gemius shows, that as many as 66% of web users have made a purchase on the Internet at least once. However, choosing this way of doing shopping, consumers should pay more attention to verifying the trader - it will save them later problems with unfair companies.

In 2008, UOKiK carried out 13 proceedings concerning trading goods and services on the Internet. The most frequent irregularities were failure to provide consumers with reliable, accurate and full information on important terms and conditions of the contract, i.e. the procedures of making complaints, the goods and services offered, the company’s name and the address of the shop. The Office also had objections concerning rules and regulations authorising traders to change their offer without notifying the consumer to that effect.

The Trade Inspection’s investigations of e-shops operations in 2008 showed similar irregularities. The most common problem found by the TI’s inspectors was missing information about: the trader, the possibility of withdrawing from the contract within 10 days after its conclusion, the way of making complaints about the goods purchased, or the costs, time limit and means of delivery of the ordered goods or services. Irregularities concerned 74 e-shops (62 % of the all inspected entities).

Considering the above, before you do Internet shopping, you should make sure that you know who the trader is and how you can reach him/her. Finding out the final cost of the product bought on the Internet is also important; that is why you should check not only its price, but also other additional costs, e.g. the cost of delivery, packaging and posting of the consignment.

In traditional shopping, returning goods which are free of faults, that is ones we bought but do not like after all, is not guaranteed by the law. The possibility to return a product which was not the best choice from the consumer’s point of view is up to the trader. However, e-shops are obliged to take back such a product. We should remember that as consumers we have the right to withdraw from a distance contract without providing any reason, and without any financial consequences. It is enough to make an appropriate declaration in writing and send it within 10 days to the trader. The trader has 14 days to send us back the sum we paid. This right does not apply in certain specific cases, however, for example as regards audio-visual recordings or computer software recorded on carriers after the consumer has removed their original packaging, and in the case of Internet auctions unless the goods have been purchased from a trader using the “buy now” option.

Before making the purchase or concluding the contract, the consumer should be provided with information about the trader (full business name and the registered office); full price or remuneration including all its elements, especially custom duties and taxes; the way of making the payment, including the costs, time limits and the means of delivery; the right to withdraw from the contract within 10 days; the place and method of making complaints; and the right to terminate the contract. The trader should confirm this information in writing. If the trader fails to comply with the above, the consumer has the right to withdraw from the contract within three months instead of 10 days.

In the event of a product’s lack of conformity with the contract (i.e. when it does not have the characteristics claimed by the trader), similarly as in the case of traditional shopping, consumers buying on-line have the right to make a complaint. It can be done within two years after the purchase but not later than within two months as of the moment when the fault was detected. It is advisable to make the complaint in writing. In the first instance, the product is going to be repaired or replaced with a good one, ultimately, however, the consumer may get his/her money back. Having a proof of purchase (e.g. a receipt) will help you to exercise your rights - consumers should receive them regardless of where and how they do shopping. If the product has a guarantee, then we may approach the guarantor directly - most often it is the producer or the distributor. Consumers have the right to choose one of these two possibilities.

The Office would like to remind consumers that in the case of any dispute with a trader or uncertainty concerning a contract, they can obtain assistance from local consumer ombudsmen, or the consumer organisations co-financed by UOKiK: the Polish Consumer Federation and the Association of Polish Consumers. Free counseling is also available by calling the helpline 0 800 800 008. The European Consumer Centre provides help in the case of problems with transactions concluded in the EU and in Norway and Iceland.

This year the Safe Internet Day is celebrated for the fifth time in Poland, this time focusing on children’s safety on the Internet. For more information please visit: www.saferinternet.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 60 430
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail: mcieloch@uokik.gov.pl