• Consumers are advised to care in their dealings with the company known as Centrum Medyczne św. Franciszka (St Francis Medical Centre).
• Senior citizens have been complaining that they would receive invitations for free medical examinations; those who chose to attend, however, would be induced into signing contracts for medical services.
• The medical packages on offer can cost as much as PLN 16,000, with the company charging considerable penalties for early contract termination.

Warning! The UOKiK has been receiving numerous complaints from consumers based in Łódź, Wrocław and Warsaw, pertaining to the activities of the company known as Centrum Medyczne św. Franciszka (CMSF). The offer of the company is aimed mostly at senior citizens. How does the business itself operate? The company calls consumers, inviting them for free EKG tests. According to one of the aggrieved individuals, however, the actual test involved the examination of the index finger. The company representatives inform the consumer that he or she is in poor health; they subsequently offer medical packages priced between PLN 4,000 and PLN 16,000, which often requires the consumer to take out a loan to pay the bills involved.

Senior citizens have been complaining that they were induced into signing the contracts through misrepresentation. Many of them did not even realise that the objective of the meeting is to sell medical services. Those who wish to break off their relations with the company face substantial early termination fees. In addition, the reliability of the tests performed during the presentations and the quality of the resulting health condition reports also remains dubious.

“We hereby wish to warn consumers against any invitations for “free medical tests” since such events are often nothing more but sales meetings. Those who believe they have been deceived by the company known as Centrum Medyczne św. Franciszka should get in touch with the consumer ombudsman. We have already initiated an investigation procedure with respect to the company in question. We wish to take this opportunity to warn senior citizens and ask them to be careful” – says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
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