Letters being sent by a company called the Judicial Affairs and Debt Collection Office (Kancelaria Spraw Sądowych i Windykacyjnych) on behalf of the Polish Centre for Telemedicine (Polskie Centrum Telemedyczne, PCT) manipulate information and contain misleading graphics calling for payment. UOKiK has urged consumers to seek free legal assistance before taking any action in response to the letters.

It has come to the attention of Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) that consumers have been receiving a letter entitled ORDER FOR PAYMENT in the form of a summons from the company the Judicial Affairs and Debt Collection Office. The letters are being sent on behalf of the Polish Centre for Telemedicine, a Warsaw-based healthcare provider, and may be misleading consumers.

The letters state: “To avoid the auctioning of homes, the seizure of pensions, annuities, electronic equipment, electronics and other valuables from your home, PAY AND PUT AN END TO DEBT PROCEEDINGS. Before it’s too late!”. They also say that in the absence of payment the Office will begin debt recovery in the debtor’s place of residence and refer the matter to debt collection with the foreclosure of all properties (homes, bank accounts, TV, refrigerators, stoves and other possessions).

UOKiK was spurred to warn consumers by both the content and the graphic form of the summons to pay, which may create the impression that it is an official letter from the court. For this purpose, the PCT refers to the signature of the files, and uses legal terminology which may impel consumers to pay. A form attached to the summons could further mislead consumers. The company orders a list of the debtor’s property for the purposes of debt collection in the case of non-payment of debt by the deadline.

UOKiK has turned to the Polish Centre for Telemedicine for its stance on the summons being issued, but the company has yet to respond.

Additional information for the media:

Press Office, UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone.: +48 22 827 28 92, +48 22 55 60 314, +48 22 55 60 430
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