• Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK, has issued a decision against scooter operator Logo-Sharing.
• The company gave the impression that the consumer was paying for one ride on the scooter, when in fact the money was taken from their account periodically.
• The penalty for the violation of collective consumer interests is almost PLN 750 000.

Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK, issued a decision against Logo-Sharing, a company from Sopot, which was responsible for renting scooters in tourist destinations. The action was prompted by numerous consumer complaints, information from the Trade Inspection and consumer ombudsmen. Many people were unaware that by paying for one ride they were ordering a recurring subscription. Thus, depending on the package, PLN 20 or 50 per day, PLN 100 per week or PLN 300 per month disappeared from their accounts.

To ride a scooter, consumers had to install the app, accept the terms and conditions (which were 19 A4 pages long), provide their card number, and select a package (e.g. a package called "PLN 20/dayPASS. Start for free and get 40 minutes of riding/day"). By clicking on the "Activate" button, many people have unknowingly agreed to an automatic subscription. Consumers had difficulty accessing information on how to opt out of it, which means they might pay for it for a long time. In this way, the people notifying the Office lost several hundred or even several thousand zlotys. Moreover, they could not contact company employees directly – the company provided a helpline number where a recording of the answers to the most common questions was played.

"Consumers have the right to expect the entrepreneur to provide them with the essential information on the conditions of the service – including the price – before they purchase it. Financial implications are a key factor in whether a customer will ultimately use a service. The complaints we received show that the scooters were often rented spontaneously by holidaymakers who did not realise they ordered a subscription. The applications through which we order such a ride should be simple and understandable, without hidden tricks, multi-page terms and conditions and lengthy legal analysis. Right from the start, the consumer should know what they are paying for and how much it costs. The Logo-Sharing mobile app did not ensure this," says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

In the decision, the President of the Office questioned the following:

• Creating the impression that the consumer was purchasing a one-off scooter ride, whereas it was an automatic paid subscription. The packages available in the application: "PLN 20/day PASS", "PLN100/week PASS", "PLN 300/month PASS" - meant, in fact, the frequency of charging the customer's account, not the time for which they could use the scooter. No clear indications appeared in the application to explain this to the customer.
• No information about the price and duration of the contract or how to terminate it. These must appear before the order is placed so that the consumer knows under which conditions they are purchasing the service.
• The failure to mark the order button with the words "order with obligation to pay" or equivalent.

For the violation of collective consumer interests, the President of UOKiK imposed on Logo-Sharing Sp. z o. o. Sp. k. in Sopot a penalty of almost PLN 750 thousand (PLN 744,472). Information about the decision is to appear in a national daily newspaper and the costs will be borne by the entrepreneur. The decision is legally binding.

Since May 2021, Logo-Sharing in Sopot is no longer a scooter operator – these tasks have been taken over by Logo-Sharing LLC in Tbilisi (Georgia), against which UOKiK is conducting investigation in relation to the violation of collective consumer interests. The President of UOKiK notified the Public Prosecutor's Office about the actions of both companies. The case is being investigated by the Municipal Police Headquarters in Sopot. Individuals who believe they have been misled and caused to disadvantageously dispose of their own property may report to the police. The President of the Office has also requested that mobile app stores such as AppStore, AppGallery and Google Play remove the LOGO Sharing app from their offers. As a result, these services prevented the download of the misleading app to mobile devices, protecting consumers from unwanted services and payments.

Consumer support:

Phone: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
 Email: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer Ombudsmen – in your city or county
 Provincial Inspectors of Trade Inspection

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