The Consumer Protection Commission has banned unfair misleading commercial practice, which is that when formulating the clauses in the contract regarding consumers’ right to withdraw from the contract, the trader conceals essential information, which influences consumer behaviour.
The contract contains the following clauses:
Item 7 - The buyer has the right to unpack and inspect the goods for defects before their acceptance ... By signing a handover protocol, it is considered that the goods are accepted without remarks ...
Item 8. The buyer has the right to withdraw from the contract ... within 14 days from the date of acceptance of the goods ...
Item 9. 1. For woollen products, the goods shall be delivered sealed for reasons related to health hygiene. When printing the package, the buyer loses his right of withdrawal ... Unpacking means any violation of the integrity of the control seal of the package.
Item 9. 2. For electric household appliances, utensils and cooking utensils, the goods are delivered sealed and completed ... In case of withdrawal from the contract ... the buyer must return the goods fully packaged and equipped with all accessories within 14 days of declaring the refusal. Proper packaging ... means its delivery in original packaging with intact integrity, with all accessories in good condition ...
Item 9. 3. In case the buyer does not fulfil his obligation under Art. 57, item 5 and under Art. 55, para. 1, item 1 of the Consumer Protection Act, the parties accept that the right of refusal has not been duly exercised and the seller has the right to refuse to receive the goods.
Item 9. 4. The parties agree that in case of valid withdrawal from the contract if the goods are unpacked or used, the buyer owes the seller a penalty for the necessary costs of cleaning, disinfection, diagnostics from a licensed service, re-equipment and accessories of the returned good, etc. in the amount of 50% of the agreed price.
The CPC accepts that the clauses provide divergent and contradictory information about the existence of a right of withdrawal and the manner of exercising it. The CPC accepts that in practice there is only one possible hypothesis in which the consumer can withdraw from the contract without penalty, and this is the case where the goods are returned unpacked. In all other cases, the consumer does not have the rights granted to him by law. However, it would be difficult for the average consumer to reach this conclusion by reading the vague and incomprehensible information provided by the trader.