On 25 December 2014, the Act on Consumer Rights of 30 May 2014 will become effective, incorporating into Polish law Directive No. 2011/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights. The Act on Consumer Rights significantly expands the rights of consumers and by the same token also affects the corresponding rights of entrepreneurs.
Above all, it must be noted that the new consumer rights legislation broadens significantly the scope of the information disclosure obligations shouldered by the entrepreneur concluding a contract with the consumer. Significantly, under the new regime, the entrepreneur is in principle obligated to disclose to the consumer a range of information that is material for his legal standing, regardless of whether the goods are being sold on the business premises, away from business premises, or remotely; the said obligation does not apply to minor everyday contracts. It must be also noted that the entrepreneur will be also required to obtain the consumer’s express consent to any payment over and above the principal obligations arising under the concluded contract.
There are also significant changes to the rights of consumers in the event the contract is concluded remotely or away from business premises. In particular, the period of time in which the consumer is entitled to withdraw for convenience from the contract concluded in the above circumstances has been extended to 14 days. Notably, also the period in which the consumer will be able to exercise his right to withdraw from the contract concluded in the above circumstances if he is not duly advised of his right to do so has also been extended. Under the previous regime, if the consumer was not informed of his right to withdraw from the agreement, he could exercise his right within a period of three months after the execution date. Under the new legislation, the period in which the consumer, unadvised of his right to withdraw, is entitled to withdraw from the contract for convenience will be extended to 12 months. Interestingly, in the event of withdrawal from the contract in the above circumstances, any additional agreements concluded by the consumer associated with it also expire.
The new Consumer Rights Act introduces also the uniform regulation, as a matter of principle, of the liability for the quality of a thing sold. In particular, it must be noted that the new law adopts the seller’s liability for goods being contrary to the contract. What is significant, in the case of sale made to the consumer, public assurances of the manufacturer and parties marketing the product as part of their business operations are treated as equivalent to the assurances given by the seller. Further, the new consumer rights legislation also introduces detailed regulations of the entrepreneur’s liability for issuing goods to the consumer that are contrary to the contract, and in particular liability for accidental loss or destruction of the goods, which can be particularly significant in the case of mail-order sales.
It is also worth noting that the new regulations lay down detailed rules for pursuing claims on the grounds of defective products between the successive sellers. In particular, in the event a seller incurs costs as a result of exercise by the consumer of rights under warranty for physical defects of goods, the seller is entitled to a claim against that of the previous sellers, whose actions or omissions rendered the goods defective. Significantly, however, the above recourse claim of the seller becomes time-barred with the expiry of six months calculated, in principle, from the date the seller incurs costs as a result of exercise by the consumer of rights under warranty for defects of goods.