As European Consumer Center in Poland informs, in the first three quarters of 2012 consumers in Poland have submitted inquires and complaints more frequently, buying different things and services in the European Union, Island and Norway. Until the end of September, 1105 inquires and 968 complaints have been submitted. These data are currently comparable with these which comprised the whole 2011 year: 1237 inquires and 931 complaints respectively.
The main subjects of complaints are still transport issues, including the purchase of used cars, air passengers rights and problems with luggage – it’s 41% of all inquires. The next is recreation with tourist packages and Internet games constituting 19%. Problematic are also cases concerning: the purchase of household equipment (10%), followed by clothing (8%), accommodation (hotel services, timesharing – 7%) and electronic communication (Internet services, mobile operators – 2%).
First and foremost, the nature of complaints mainly relates to products or services (40%), delivery (22%), compensation (12%), terms and conditions of the contract (9%), price (7%) and other issues such as selling techniques or frauds (less than 10%). These values were shown similarly in 2011.
Considering selling methods, it is important to underline that in the first three quarters of 2012, as well as throughout 2011, the complaints were mainly related to the contracts of sale by Internet. At present, it represents 57% of the total number of complaints, a year ago it was one percentage point more. In 2011, the sale on the premises constituted 27% followed by the distance selling (without e-commerce) accounting for 11%. In comparison with this year, the first one is 21%, and the second – 19% respectively. So it is clearly visible that we have less problems with the cross-border contracts concerning selling on the premises.
– In the first three quarters of 2012 we have observed the maintenance of trends concerning all our basic indicators of consumers activity. We have special tools which allow us to classify properly every single inquiry and complaint. We care not only about the fact the consumers know their rights in the UE, but also where they may find help and essential information – says Piotr Stańczak, Director of European Consumer Center in Poland. – The increased consumer awareness means faster development of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), including mediation. The development of such mechanisms allows for the growth of confidence to cross-border trade for both – consumers and entrepreneurs – as Mr Stańczak adds.
Besides the increase in complaints and inquires, the ECC Poland notes more unique users on its website: www.konsument.gov.pl. The monthly average of unique users visits was 8003 in 2011, during in the three quarters of this year it has been about 357 more.
The European Consumer Centre helps consumers who have problems with sellers, but also informs about their rights and promotes conscious purchases on European Single Market as well as the Alternative Dispute Resolution methods. The ECC Poland participates in many social and specialised consultations as a part of ECC-Net and cooperates with other stakeholders, including the national and European Union authorities.
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