Misleading as to the date of filing a complaint - this is one of practices applied by Europejska Szkoła Kształcenia Korespondencyjnego that was questioned by the President of UOKiK. The undertaking has been punished with a fine of over PLN 15 thousand

The President of UOKiK decided that ESKK broke the law. For applying practices violating collective interests of consumers, Europejska Szkoła Kształcenia Korespondencyjnego was imposed a  total fine of PLN 15,116. The company ceased the contested practices. The decision is not final so the undertaking may appeal to court.

Europejska Szkoła Kształcenia Korespondencyjnego (ESKK) from Poznań deals with mail-order sale of educational materials, such as language courses and professional trainings. The proceedings were initiated by the President of UOKiK in January 2012 following a consumer’s complaint. Information provided to consumers by the undertaking raised doubts of UOKiK.

As a result of the proceedings, the Office has found out that in the standard form of agreement determining conditions of service provision, there was a clause restricting consumers’ right to file a complaint. ESKK informed that if a complaint relates to faults of the materials sent, you should report it within 7 days upon their reception by sending back to ESKK the damaged materials together with written information on the defect. However, pursuant to the law, a consumer is entitled to file a complaint concerning the non-compliance of the goods with the agreement within two years upon their reception, but not later than two months after detecting the fault. According to the Office, the undertaking was misleading its customers by exposing them to resign from their right to file a complaint.

Moreover, standard forms of agreements used by ESKK contained provisions identical with prohibited clauses. Pursuant to one of them, the undertaking remarked that the price of the course may alter within its duration, not giving a consumer the possibility to resign from the contract. According to law, the change of the course price always constitutes a change of the agreement, which in practice gives a consumer the possibility to dissolve the contract free of charge.

The President of UOKiK decided that ESKK broke the law. For applying practices violating collective interests of consumers, Europejska Szkoła Kształcenia Korespondencyjnego was imposed a  total fine of PLN 15,116. The company ceased the contested practices. The decision is not final so the undertaking may appeal to court.

More information on consumer rights concerning mail-order sales is made available on the Office’s website in section FAQ. At the same time let us remind you that consumers may obtain free assistance regarding their rights from poviat or municipal consumer ombudsmen or under the phone number 800 007 707 from Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am till 5.00 pm. You may also seek help at local offices of the Polish Federation of Consumers.

Additional information for the media:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Phone: +48 22 55 60 106
Fax: +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [SCODE]bWFsZ29yemF0YS5jaWVsb2NoQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]