• Since the outbreak of the epidemic, UOKiK has been monitoring the market of personal protective equipment, cooperating with other institutions and reacting to any emerging irregularities.
• Moreover, UOKiK is involved in a European project under which products designed to protect against COVID-19 will be widely examined and tested.
• Non-compliant products are not marketed in Poland, they are removed from online stores and auction portals, and the unsafe ones are entered into the EU RAPEX database.
• Between 1^st March and 31^st July, 212 expert opinions for customs authorities were also issued, as a result of which almost 20 million items were detained at the border, including 5.3 million masks, 14 million gloves, 120 thousand protective suits, nearly 270 thousand goggles and 5 thousand visors.

Since March 2020, i.e. the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has received over 1000 complaints concerning masks, gloves, disinfectants, etc. The vast majority of them concerned prices, the remaining ones - unreliable sellers and misleading offers.

- Products such as masks, visors, gloves and protective suits are important weapons in the fight against the epidemic. They protect not only medical personnel but also sellers, service providers and all of us. They must not be defective or unreliable. We have taken a number of measures to eliminate from the market the products that do not meet the requirements and therefore do not sufficiently protect against the virus. In this field we have been cooperating with a number of institutions, including, inter alia, the Ministry of Health and the National Revenue Administration, as well as with the European Commission. We shall also be participating in the soon-to-be-launched EU project titled CASP - Corona 2020 that aims at detailed laboratory testing of personal protective equipment – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

CASP – Corona 2020 Project

CASP - Corona 2020 aims at identifying risks, testing in laboratories and coordinating at EU level the activities of market surveillance authorities on products offered as protection against COVID-19. The project covers protective masks, protective gloves and disinfectants that can be purchased by consumers. UOKiK has undertaken to test protective masks. They will be tested in the laboratory for the permeability of filter materials. We shall verify whether these products can provide effective protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The project will run until December 2020. Based on its results, the European Commission will also develop guidelines for consumers.

Unsafe products

By the end of July this year, EU Member States submitted to the EU Rapid Exchange of Information System for unsafe consumer products (RAPEX) 104 notifications of detection of unsafe products related to the fight against COVID-19, of which the Office has submitted 24 notifications of the masks. The irregularities demonstrated in the laboratory tests concerned insufficient protection against particles and microorganisms. This means that the contested masks and suits do not provide users with sufficient protection, thus increasing the risk of infection. Formal irregularities were also found, e.g. lack of the CE marking by which the manufacturer certifies that the product meets all technical and formal requirements. In addition to the notification of unsafe products to RAPEX, a ban on their further supply and import was also introduced.

The Trade Inspection Authority, reporting to the President of UOKiK, closely cooperates with the National Revenue Administration to prevent the import of defective protective equipment into Poland. Between 1 March and 31 July, 212 expert opinions were issued for the customs authorities. As a result, almost 20 million items were contested and detained at the border, including 5.3 million masks, 14 million gloves, 120 thousand protective suits, nearly 270 thousand goggles and 5 thousand visors.

Offers available online

UOKiK also makes sure that non-compliant masks and other protective equipment against the virus are not offered in online stores and e-trading platforms. We have been cooperating with Allegro portal in this matter. It makes every effort to systematically remove offers which, inter alia, violate the law or may mislead consumers. As a result, from March to August Allegro deleted around 140 thousand offers of such products and blocked around 2.5 thousand accounts.

The Office also monitors other platforms, such as olx.pl, sprzedajemy.pl, lento.pl, ceneolokalnie.pl or gratka.pl. Moreover, in cooperation with the European Commission the Office has notified the Commission on doubtful offers found e.g. on the eBay platform.

Do you buy protective equipment online?

• Check the information about the seller and manufacturer and the contact details. Before purchase, read the opinions and comments concerning them.
• In principle, when shopping online, you have the right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of receiving the goods. One exception is when the product is delivered in sealed packaging and cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons once the packaging has been opened.
• If the product turns out to be defective or does not have the properties that the seller provided for - file a complaint. You are entitled to have the product repaired, replaced, to have its price reduced, and if the defect is significant, to withdraw from the contract.
• Read carefully the terms and conditions of the store. You will find there, inter alia, information about the shipment and settlement of disputes.
• Compare prices of similar products - there may still be cases of unjustified overpricing.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer ombudsmen – in your city/ town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: Phone: +48 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl
Provincial Trade Inspection Authority Offices

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL