On 3 November 2022, the Senate approved the government’s amendment to the Consumer Protection Act and the Civil Code (link). The amendment was delivered to the President of the Republic a week later and awaits only his signature and promulgation. Upon publication in the Collection of Laws, a 30-day period will begin, after which the law will come into force. We bring you an overview of the most important changes that the legislators have prepared for consumers and entrepreneurs. 

Why do we actually need changes in consumer protection? There are several reasons for this amendment. The first, a formal one, is the fulfilment of the requirements imposed on the domestic rule of law by European regulations. However, a more important argument of the legislator is to improve the competitive environment for entrepreneurs and to fight against traders using unfair practices. According to the drafters of the law, who also penned the explanatory memorandum, such an objective can be achieved by ensuring the possibility of enforcing compliance with the obligations of entrepreneurs through more effective administrative punishment combined with increased emphasis on the protection of the weaker party.  

The amendment will affect practically all sellers entering into contracts with consumers. Therefore, if your company operates primarily in the B2B (business to business) mode, you are practically unaffected by the legislative novelties. The new legislation reacts to many previously unpunishable commercial practices that abused the position of the consumer and at the same time tries to cope with the changes that digitalisation and online shopping bring to the lives of sellers and customers. 

No more discount tricks 

Deceptive behaviour on the part of traders, who present the original prices to customers under the guise of bombastic discounts, is unfortunately no exception in practice nowadays. Once the amendment takes effect, these practices should be a matter of the past. For discounted goods, traders will be obliged to state the lowest price they offered the product at before special offer was first applied, for a period not shorter than 30 days. If they have been offering the goods for a shorter period of time, they will state the lowest price for the time that has elapsed. This means that announcing the original price as a new, special price will be prohibited. Only perishable goods (such as fresh baked goods or deli products) are exempted from the new obligation. The rule also does not target loyalty programs, through which customers earn rewards for past purchases. Discounts due to impaired quality or defects are not covered by the legal obligation either. This legal obligation applies to both physical shops and e-shops. 

Reviews only from real people and the end of dual quality 

When looking for a place to eat, you may have come across establishments that seemed like a “tourist trap” at first glance but have great ratings and positive reviews. Recently, journalist and youtuber Janek Rubeš drew attention to this phenomenon, for example, when he addressed the questionable sale of meat in the Old Town Square (link). Foreign-language five-star reviews are often authored by accounts created solely for this purpose, not by actual customers. The legislation now requires sellers to provide consumers with clear and verifiable information that the reviewer actually purchased or used the product or service. Of course, this does not need to apply only to food sales, but to any product or service that is being reviewed. Publishing false reviews will be an unfair commercial practice under the amendment, as will claiming that a review comes from consumers who have purchased a product without the seller verifying or ensuring that the claim is true. The legislator also focused on the targeted distortion of consumer reviews by deleting negative ones. Such conduct will also be included in the list of unfair commercial practices. If a consumer becomes a victim of an unfair commercial practice, he has 90 days to withdraw from the contract under the new wording of the law. However, checking purchased “likes” is rather difficult to imagine, especially when even real reviews are often without verbal comments and the full name of the reviewer, only in the form of “star ratings”. 

Another novelty added to the list of unfair commercial practices is the marketing of dual quality products. It is defined as a product that has a substantially different composition or characteristics, unless this is also justified by legitimate and objective factors, and is at the same time identical to a product marketed in at least two other EU Member States. We are familiar with the ban on dual quality from the food sector. We will see how effective and verifiable the extension of this requirement to other products will be. 

One month for delivery of goods, contracts concluded in the consumer’s home and over the telephone 

If a seller rings the consumer’s home without prior agreement with an offer of goods, the withdrawal period increases from the current 14 days to 30 days. In case the consumer is contacted by phone, the requirement to confirm the contract in text form is introduced (e-mail or SMS will suffice), otherwise the consumer will not be bound by the contract. At the very beginning of the telephone call, the seller must also introduce himself and give his contact details. 

A new feature of the delivery of goods is the 30-day delivery period, unless the trader and the consumer have agreed otherwise. In the event of a dispute, the entrepreneur will have to prove the extension of the time limit by agreement. 

Conclusion 

The amendment to the Consumer Protection Act in conjunction with the amendment to the Civil Code brings a number of changes that will affect the business life of entrepreneurs and consumers. It will be important for entrepreneurs to familiarize themselves with the changes in detail and take them into account in their business practice. The consumer can look forward to a higher level of protection against previously overlooked unfair commercial practices and a higher level of compliance with the digital age. Hopefully, however, the amendment will lead to development of the market due to fair setting of legal rules of competition between entrepreneurs and a healthy competitive market environment.

Author: Veronika Odrobinová, Adam Simota