The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) Marek Niechciał and the Head of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) Andrzej Jakubiak have signed an annex expanding the cooperation agreement between the two institutions.

The annex signed today to the 2007 cooperation agreement between the KNF and the President of UOKiK expands the scope of issues with regard to which the two institutions work together. The collaboration will concern the activities of the President of UOKIK provided for in the amendment to the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection. In particular it will relate to the “mystery shopper” scheme, which involves attempts to purchase goods in order to gain information to be used as evidence in a particular case.

The institutions will work together in situations in which the President of UOKiK is conducting preliminary proceedings or proceedings concerning practices infringing collective consumer interests, aimed at assessing practices of business undertakings subject to KNF oversight in relation to financial services offered to consumers which are not suited to their needs or which are offered in a manner that is not appropriate to the nature of the service. 

KNF will be able to participate in preparations for inspections, in particular by providing the President of UOKiK with information that is grounds for a business undertaking to employ practices infringing collective consumer interests and grounds for conducting inspections. The agreement also provides for collaboration in devising plans and scenarios for inspections.