The amendment to Poland’s Act on competition and consumer protection and the Code of civil procedure is now ready for public consultation. The project aims to strengthen consumer protection on the financial market and to increase efficiency in eliminating abusive clauses in consumer contracts.

A joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice and UOKiK, the amendment is intended to strengthen consumer protection on the financial market and to promote the elimination of abusive clauses in consumer contracts. It would also change the model of abstract control of contract terms.

The complicated character of services offered on the financial market leaves consumers vulnerable to unfair market practices, particularly the failure by companies to appropriately adjust their sales methods to clients or to offer sufficient information. Major legal changes that have been proposed in regards to improving consumer protection on the financial market include the following:

• Introducing the definition of new types of practices that infringe collective consumer interests - the amendment forbids offering clients financial services that do not match their needs or in a manner or by means of communication that could prevent consumers from understanding their true character;
• Giving UOKiK the ability to issue temporary decisions obliging an undertaking to cease specific practices that infringe the collective consumer interests while a proceeding is still in progress in order to prevent probable damages and/or threats;
• Collecting evidence for the investigation of practices that infringe consumers’ collective interests using a mystery shopper’s services;
• Providing for the Authority to issue its opinion on a given matter in the common court, should the public interest require it;
• Introducing a faster, more effective model of abstract control of the terms of a contract. As part of an administrative decision, the Authority would be able to rule on abusive terms of contracts and forbid such model contracts from further use. At the same time the Authority would define the means an undertaking may follow to avoid long-term consequences of violating the prohibition. The introduction of control of terms of a contract in administrative proceedings would be subject to control by the courts. The register of prohibited clauses would be replaced by a register of UOKiK decisions. Changes regarding the system of abstract control of terms of a contract aim to eliminate problems with that system. Those include the filing of lawsuits before courts to have them rule that the contract is prohibited with the sole intention of earning money as well as discrepancies in the doctrine and case-law concerning the so-called extended legally binding ruling contained in the register.

The amendment to the Act was announced by Poland’s Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz, in her speech at the jubilee session at the celebrations of 25 years of competition in Poland.

Additional information for the media:

Press Office, UOKiK
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