With the law set to come into force on January 10, 2017, below we describe the changes awaiting traders and consumers.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed the Act on out-of-court dispute resolution in consumer disputes, which implements the EU directive on alternative dispute resolution. The Act addresses traders operating both brick-and-mortar and online shops selling goods and offering services. The legislation is intended to enable consumers to resolve disputes more quickly and easily. For their part, traders agreeing to impartial mediation only help their reputation, while also avoiding long and costly trials.

According to UOKiK President Marek Niechciał, the legislation ushers in “a new system for settling disputes between traders and consumers. It will be the same throughout the European Union, and covers all disputes that occur in the market arising from contracts for the sale of goods, the provision of services, including contracts concluded online or with traders abroad.

The most important changes in out-of-court consumer dispute resolution include:

1.     In Poland, consumers will be able to turn for assistance in dispute settlement to the following bodies:

a.    non-public bodies created by companies at the industry level as well as consumer organisations;

b.    public bodies acting through different organisations, such as the Office of Electronic Communications or the Energy Regulatory Office;

c.    Trade Inspection, to be available when a given sector—tourism services, for example — lacks a dispute-resolution body.

2. Dispute-resolution bodies are to be listed in the UOKiK register at www.uokik.gov.pl.

3. Non-judicial dispute resolution is voluntary, fair and impartial, in addition to being transparent, fast, easy and less formal. Both sides of the dispute must agree to participate.

4. Proceedings are initiated at the request of the consumer, unless the body’s regulations likewise allow for the case to be brought by a trader.

5. Consumer benefits. Out-of-court methods of dispute resolution may be used when an enterprise rejects a consumer complaint. With the consent of both sides, a neutral third party acts as the intermediary between the trader and consumer. The intermediary performs the following roles:

a. helps develop solutions, facilitates dialogue and mediates.

b. suggests possible solutions to the conflict and conciliates;

c. rules on the dispute and imposes the solution—for example, in arbitration court. The ruling is the equivalent to a general court ruling and is binding.

6. Such extrajudicial means of resolving disputes are cheaper and much quicker than court proceedings. Cases are to be resolved within 90 days after the body hearing the case has gathered all relevant information.

7. Aside from a small fee the body may require, the proceedings are to be free of charge.  

8. The enterprise’s obligations. The business community is reminded of the following information obligations traders must begin to meet from 10 January 2017.

a. A trader which agrees to extrajudicial dispute resolution or is required to do so by law must inform the public on its website and in the agreements it signs with consumers. It must also provide the name of the body to which consumers may turn and how they may contact it.

b. When a trader rejects a complaint, it must inform the client whether it agrees to resolve the dispute out of court.

c. Responses to a complaint must be done on a durable medium or on paper.

d. The trader must inform the consumer of the relevant body to be involved.

e. The failure to furnish information on the part of the trader may be construed as agreement to proceed with extrajudicial dispute resolution.

E-retailers have the same obligations as their brick-and-mortar counterparts. In addition, their websites must provide, by 9 January 2016, a link to the online dispute settlement platform. They are bound by this obligation even when they do not agree to extrajudicial dispute resolution.

9. The system of extrajudicial dispute resolution will involve both public and non-public bodies, including:

a. The Financial Ombudsman,

b. The Negotiations Coordinator at the President of the Energy Regulatory Office,

c. The Trade Inspection

d. The Commissioner of Railways Passenger Rights at the President of the Office of Rail Transport

e. The President of the Office of Electronic Communications,

f. The Court of Arbitration at the Polish Financial Supervision Authority

A survey conducted in Poland by the ARC Advisory Group on 1023 individuals between the ages of 15 and 55 revealed that only a third of respondents have heard of alternative dispute resolution, while a quarter have no knowledge of the procedures.

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
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL