• UOKiK chose institutions that will help consumers free of charge for the next two years.
• A consortium of two establishments, namely the Polish Institute of Silver Economy and the Aquila Association, won the competition.

The purpose of the competition was to select projects regarding consumer protection, in particular in the area of information, education and legal and procedural assistance at every stage of a consumer dispute. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection allocated PLN 2 million for the performance of this task over the next two years.

UOKiK received two offers. The competition committee chose an offer made by a consortium of the Polish Institute of Silver Economy and the Aquila Association. Two vital tasks of both organizations include improving consumer safety and raising the awareness of their rights. The former entity takes care of seniors by counteracting the mechanisms of social exclusion, while the latter provides them with consumer counselling and procedural assistance.

The organizations forming the consortium complement each other in terms of substantive knowledge and experience in cooperation at various levels, both with institutions and sensitive groups. That is why we decided to entrust this important task to two entities, explains the president of UOKiK, Marek Niechciał.

The associations will continue to support the existing system of consumer protection, especially in those areas that UOKiK considers the most serious threats on the consumer market, such as mis-selling of financial products and unfair market practices used during off-premises sales. Their activities will focus on regions where consumer protection is at a lower level than in other parts of the country.

In addition to the counselling, the aim of the project is to prepare consumers for lawsuits. The Polish Institute of Silver Economy and the Aquila Association also offered to design a website where advice and templates of procedural documents to be used by consumers will be available. This is also an educational project. Both associations will reach consumers by organizing meetings and delivering lectures – not only in large cities, but also in smaller towns and in the countryside - during various local events. The project is addressed to consumers of all ages, including young ones, to whom a special interactive game is dedicated. The consortium also planned to integrate consumer protection institutions and provide consumer spokesmen with various workshops.

The provision of consumer advisory services will start within next few weeks. The project is expected to last until the end of 2020.

Dodatkowe informacje dla mediów:

Biuro prasowe UOKiK
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 695 902 088, 22 55 60 345
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL