Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications organized a public hearing on the Draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the protection of customers in Serbia, held on 16th July 2013 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.
Reasons for working on amendments to the existing Law on the protection of customers were primarily identified shortcomings in the two-year implementation, the need for further regulation of this important sector and the necessary adaptation to the changes in European law occurred, primarily, with the adoption of Directive 2011/83/EU on Customer Rights. The proposed amendments relate to, primarily, the duties of notification prior to the conclusion of the contract, prohibiting discrimination against customer protection to exercise their rights under the contract of sale of goods, the affected customer and, in this regard, the National Programme for vulnerable customer are protected from disconnection, jurisdiction, supervision, powers competent inspection bodies and the like. Accordingly, are amended and are supplemented by penal provisions. There are introduced new concepts: digital content, the commercial guarantee, warranty provider, technical goods. In accordance with Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices towards customers are introduced the concepts of the code of conduct and creator codes.
The proposition is clearly specified and defined obligations of trader in the pre-contractual informing customers to make rational economic decisions of customers.
Past practice has shown that traders are abusing the lack of sanctions for refusal of sales and inaccurate measurements, which provided the basis for the introduction of a new member who is related to discrimination of customers and prescribing authority of the inspection decision in this situation. The dealer is prohibited from refusing to sell customer goods and services and requiring the sale of goods or services by selling other goods or services.
The important proposed amendments concern the protection of customers in exercising their rights under the sales contract. For delivery the trader is bound to deliver the goods and deliver the documents relating to it in the maximum delivery period of 30 days. The innovations related with the delivery of the goods are the rules for the delivery of goods at the address of customer, then that delivery is not correct if the delivery is made by leaving goods in front of the door of the house or apartment of customer, as well as obligations to the trader to write on the account the delivery deadline. If the trader does not fulfil their obligation and refuse to deliver the goods or fails to deliver within the stipulated period, the customer has the right to terminate the contract with a trader, and trader is obliged to return to the customer paying amount with accrued interest.
The amendments to the Law is introduced a new obligation to the trader that when sold the goods to the customer should deliver the documentation and that in particular: the declaration, user guide, installation instructions, and to the sale of technical equipment and a list of authorized service on the territory of RS, which provides a higher level of customer protection for the purchase of certain product categories.
Further is defined content of fulfilling the contractual obligations and singing and term of conformity of the goods and it is off the possibility of liability for lack of conformity trader agreement limit or exclude. Trader is responsible for lack of conformity of the resulting from improper packaging, improper installation or assembly, as well as incorrect installation or assembly of the goods due to lack of instruction that is delivered to the customer for self-installation or assembly.
In terms of the provisions of the Law governing the lack of conformity, important innovation is the ability for the customer to verify the present determination of non-conformity of the goods to the trader is doing, while prescribing obligations of the trader that the customer is and allowed.
A very important proposal, which allows the customer higher level of protection concerns the occurrences in lack of conformity in first 6 months when customer can choose between the demands to remedy the lack of conformity by replacing for a new product, the corresponding reduction in price or to declare the contract avoided. In this case, removal of lack of conformity by repair it would possible only with the express consent of the consumer. The introduction of this provision would prevent the imposition of repairs to the consumer in the first 6 months, leading to a much smaller number of dissatisfy customers.
Edited obligation of the commercial guarantee and content of the warranty brings significant benefits to customers. Commercial warranty is voluntary and does not preclude or affect the rights of customers in relation to conformity of goods contract. An important change in customer benefit is that it introduces the requirement to teaching warranty to the customer in writing and in electronic form only if the customer agrees, which enables customers to comprehensively exercise his rights.
Considering that the expression guarantees in the past was often misused by trader, now is specify who the provider of commercial guarantees is and who bears responsibility for the misuse of the term guarantee. Providers of commercial warranty (manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers) are required to be in their advertising, refrain from using the word warranty or other term of this meaning if the customer does not acquire more rights than there are under the legal responsibility of the trader for correspondence.
Proposed amendments, from which will have concrete benefits to customers, are concerned and detailed regulation of complaint process, book keeping of complaints by trader and timelines for resolving complaints. It is proposed that the date by which the trader corresponds to customer complaints on declared complain should be reduced from 15 to 8 days. At new way is governing the obligations of the trader in case of destruction, loss or damage the piece given for repair, but it requires that the inability of customers to deliver goods packaging may not be required to resolve the complaint or reason for refusing to remove lack of conformity. It is proposed that the trader keep records of received complaints in the form of bound book or in electronic form and to keep it for at least two years from the date of filing customer complaints.
The concept of the vulnerable customer gets a wider scope and relates to the collection and use of goods and services, not only to services of general economic interest.
An important novelty is related to the protection of the suspension of the provision of services of general economic interest. If there is a danger in the customer household due to age, disability or illness it is not permitted suspension of heating service or supply of electricity or gas which the customer supplies for heating during the heating season. It also prohibits the trader gives authority or other legal or natural person that speaks to the customer, without the prior express consent of the customer, to the credit of the contract.
During the period when the current Consumer Protection Law showed that the provision of this law on unscrupulous traders are insufficient and in some cases inadequate, and that there is a lack of authority in the inspection provisions of the Consumer Protection Law. In accordance with the proposed amendments expanded the respective powers of inspection bodies and prescribes sanctions.
Further steps would be undertaken exactly in line with the findings of the public consultation process. If as result of the public debate necessary changes in a large number of members, which is beyond the scope of acceptable process of amendment, the Ministry will approach to development of a new, comprehensive, legal, solution. This should be done by the end of September this year.
Ljiljana Stankovic, Deputy Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications
