Consumer rights and duties

A consumer is a citizen who buys goods, orders work or services, or intends to do so, for personal or household needs not connected with making a profit; so a person who buys wholesale to resell is not a consumer. Consumer rights are protected by the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” (adopted in 1996 and amended many times since). The seller must give full information on goods: main consumer properties, manufacture date, warranty obligations, shelf life, storage rules and addresses of repair firms; the price must be shown in so‘m. The document confirming a purchase is a cash-register receipt or goods receipt (today often electronic, with a QR code); it is needed for exchange, return and as proof in a dispute. A product whose conformity with safety requirements has been confirmed receives a certificate of conformity, and the consumer has the right to information about this. If a poor-quality or defective product is sold, the consumer may choose one of the following: replacement with a proper-quality item of the same model; replacement with another model with the price recalculated; a price reduction proportionate to the defect; or cancelling the contract and compensation of loss. A demand to exchange or return a proper-quality product must be made within the short period set by law and is met if the product has not been used, its properties are preserved and it is proved to have been bought from that seller. Consumers also have duties: unless they have a legal basis to refuse, they must accept the goods handed over by the seller and pay for them.