• Do you know how much you will pay for the product you put in your basket? Is it cheaper to buy packaged tomatoes or those sold by weight? Cheese in a 250g or 500g package? We suggest how you can compare different offers.
• The Trade Inspection, commissioned by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, inspected how sellers communicate prices.
• One in two retailers made mistakes in this regard, and one in seven products inspected raised concerns.

One of the basic rights of consumers is the ability to freely choose the offer that best suits them in terms of price or product features. Reliable information has a significant impact on the quality of and satisfaction from purchasing decisions. In the first half of 2021, the Trade Inspection inspected whether in stores and in various places of provision of services, entrepreneurs display the prices of goods and services in a clear, unambiguous manner that allows consumers to compare products. Inspectors also compared the consistency of displayed prices with those encoded in the cash register and in the price reader, as well as with information provided in advertising materials.

One in two retailers makes mistakes

The inspectors checked 1530 entities and more than 280 thousand batches of products. It turned out that mistakes were made by every second retailer and objections were raised to every seventh (14 per cent) inspected product.

"Despite the obligation, traders most often did not display unit prices next to articles or did not display prices at all. It was often the case that they calculated unit prices incorrectly, used inappropriate entries in price lists, e.g. imprecise ranges "from... to..." and did not inform about the nominal quantities of the food and drinks served," explains Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK .

In 1,022 stores, inspectors also compared the consistency of prices listed on the shelf with those encoded in the cash register. Higher prices on the bill were observed for nearly 5 per cent of the products inspected. Moreover, inspectors made control purchases at 1,050 outlets to see if they reliably serve their customers. For example, they evaluated whether retailers deduct the weight of the package when selling cakes by weight. Higher fee was charged at 55 outlets.

"Price labelling inspections continue all year round – inspectors of the Trade Inspection work in the field to verify whether traders provide this important information for informed decision-making, as well as whether they mislead consumers. The total fines for violations of price display obligations and reliability of calculation of payment for products have so far exceeded PLN 350,000," adds the President of UOKiK.

Every retailer is required to make the correct price of the goods visible. Persistent and continuous failure to meet the said obligation may result in such practice being considered a violation of the collective interests of consumers. Last year, complaints about such actions gave rise to proceedings against Jeronimo Martins Polska (owner of the Biedronka chain), which resulted in a fine of PLN 115 million.

Consumer assistance:

Tel: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumer right advisers – in your town or district

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