• Cancelled flights and trips, unfair prices in shops, misleading offers.
• Such problems are facing consumers during the current epidemic crisis.
• President Tomasz Chróstny has prepared a special information package for consumers, available on the Office’s website: uokik.gov.pl.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the European Consumer Centre, and the consumer helpline have recently been receiving an increased number of inquiries and complaints from consumers. They mostly concern cancelled trips and unfairly high prices in shops.

“Now that events and trips are being cancelled in bulk and the prices of some products in conventional and online shops are skyrocketing, consumers are feeling lost. This is why we decided to prepare answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding consumer rights in this emergency situation. We encourage consumers to visit our website: uokik.gov.pl and use the special information package prepared by our experts. It is a reliable and trustworthy source of knowledge, which will be completed on an ongoing basis with new issues raised in inquiries from citizens,” explains Tomasz Chróstny, President of the UOKIK.

The Office has provided advice on the following website: uokik.gov.pl/koronawirus. The advice is divided into a number of categories: “Tourist services”, “Hotels”, “Transport”, “Sales”, “Services”, and “Consumer protection”. This should make it easier for consumers to find the contents of their interest. For instance, the “Transport” category provides information on what to do if a flight has been cancelled by the air carrier, and the “Hotels” category provides advice on what legal provisions should be invoked to cancel a booking free of charge.

Consumer – you have the right to:

• An honest and clear price,
• Safe products,
• Reliable information on the offer,
• Free legal assistance.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection constantly monitors the market and analyses information obtained from consumers and entrepreneurs. As part of its works on a special act of law, the Office has also prepared a package of legal solutions enabling taking action against shops charging dishonest and unfairly high prices for the products they sell.

If a seller raises a price in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, report it to the UOKiK at: monitoring@uokik.gov.pl or by phone: 801 440 220, 22 290 89 16.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl
European Consumer Centre: 22 55 60 600 – in cross-border issues

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL