President Tomasz Chróstny said that the allegations concern misleading consumers as to the moment of concluding the sales contract, product availability, delivery dates and consumer rights. From September 2021, UOKiK conducted explanatory proceedings, and now the company has received allegations of practices infringing collective consumer interests.
If UOKiK’s allegations are confirmed, a company may be fined up to 10 percent of its annual turnover.
Amazon accused by UOKiK. The payment for the goods does not equal the purchase
The head of UOKiK explained that despite the fact that consumers placed orders and paid for them, he believed that he was not obliged to deliver the goods and could freely cancel the transactions. As determined by UOKiK, placing an order and receiving its confirmation on Amazon.pl is not tantamount to concluding a sales contract, it is only an offer to purchase a product from the consumer. The right time to purchase goods, in accordance with the company’s rules, is therefore only the moment of shipment.
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UOKiK points out that this information is included in the terms and conditions and the company informs about it at the final stage of purchases. At the same time, however, the Office notes that it is difficult to read them by using a gray font on a white background and placing information at the very bottom of the page, which may require scrolling the screen.
According to the office, consumers focus rather on the bright “Buy now” or “Go to checkout” buttons, which may suggest that the purchase takes place when we pay for the goods.
Amazon does not properly inform about shipping and availability of goods?
Another objection concerns the presented information on the availability and delivery dates of products, which are only estimates, of which consumers are not informed. Tomasz Chróstny emphasizes that the availability of goods is an important factor influencing the decision to buy them.
– Consumers make purchasing decisions under the influence of various factors. In addition to the price, it is important that the product arrives within the expected time, and based on Amazon’s offer, they can be convinced that the store will provide it. They have the right to rely on the declarations provided to them on the website and assume that the available functions are not misleading. If consumers knew that placing an order is not yet a purchase, and that the availability of products and the delivery time provided are only estimates, they might not use the services of this entrepreneur – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.
Doubts also arise with offers with “Delivery Guarantee”. The rules for this option are only available at the checkout summary stage, unless the consumer chooses to read the subsequent delivery details links. If he doesn’t, he may not apply for a refund and may not receive it. “Delivery Guarantee” is also not included in sales confirmations. According to UOKiK, “information on the rights to which you are entitled should be provided in a clear and unambiguous manner and at the right time, i.e. already in the product details, so as to enable it to be compared with other purchase options”.
Source: Gazeta
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