Consumer rights or rather corresponding responsibilities of businessmen and business entities, which need to be observed during manufacturing and importing processes and during distribution and sale of products, may be found in wide variety of legal regulations, focusing on the applicable commodity, product or properties of the applicable product, etc. (for example sale of fuel for motor vehicles is described by Rule No. 311/2006 Coll., the Fuel regulation law. Sale of foods and the applicable regulations are described by Rule No. 110/1997 Coll., describing regulations relevant to food and tobacco products, whereas hygienic regulations focusing on product contents designed for children of up to 3 years of age, or products that come in contact with foods are described by Rule No. 258/2000 Coll., the Public health protection law).
Regulations contained in the Consumer right protection law are described in detail by the following Rules:
Rule No. 40/1964 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended
Mainly regulations relevant to purchase agreements, regulations relevant to so-called consumer contracts and also general regulations describing responsibility for damages.
Rule No. 513/1990 Coll., the Commercial Code, as amended
An important rule is the Rule No. 261, Item 4, which specifies that even contracts concluded under the Commercial Code and by a person who is not a business entity, should be governed by the Civil Code and by other special regulations, which protect consumer and his rights.
Rule No. 634/1992 Coll., the Consumer right protection law, as amended
This law specifies various responsibilities that need to be observed during product sale. As an example, we may mention regulation requiring the sale to be honest, disapproving unfair business practices, prohibiting consumer discrimination, specifying responsibilities to provide applicable information about the product properties and methods of use, requiring proper marking of the store, specifying the need to display information describing claim procedures, as well as formally correct process of claim proceedings and filing (not the correctness of the decision to proceed with the claim. In this case, the applicable arbitration court or jury shall decide disputes, if any).
Rule No. 321/2001 Coll., describing regulations relevant to some conditions of the consumer loan negotiation process, as amended
This law specifies (besides other regulations) applicable and relevant consumer rights if the purchased product is being paid for by monthly instalments.
Rule No. 102/2001 Coll., describing product general safety requirements, as amended
It also establishes general responsibility of manufacturers and importers to introduce or sell products, which comply with the applicable safety regulations. Dangerous products may be returned by the consumer at the manufacturer or distributor expense.
Rule No. 526/1990 Coll., the Pricing law, as amended
Besides other responsibilities, this law specifies how price should be established and how price label should be attached to the product.
Rule No. 59/1998 Coll., describing responsibility for damages, caused by product defects as amended
Provisions and regulations contained in this law shall not be confused with the seller responsibility for defects, as described in the Civil Code. Rule No. 59/1998 Coll., describing manufacturer responsibilities, if product defect caused injuries or death or damage to other property. The damaged party shall have an option to choose, whether it will require reimbursement for damages in accordance with this law, or in accordance with general regulations specifying the applicable responsibilities for damages.
Rule No. 455/1991 Coll., the Small business and occupational license law, as amended
Consumer rights relevant to defective product:
The seller is responsible to inform the consumer about the scope, method and other regulations relevant to claim processing and filing procedures, in connection with product or service defects/shortcomings, including applicable regulations relevant to purchase agreement disputes (hereafter referred to as the “claim” only), as well as information specifying where claim may be filed and where warranty repairs may be done (Rule No. 13, Rule No. 634/1992 Coll., as amended).
As far as consumer rights are concerned, the seller shall be solemnly responsible for product defects. If claim is filed, the seller shall accept the defective product. Often we may see that the consumer turns toward the manufacturer, importer or repair shop when claiming defective product. These establishments have nothing to do with the claim. These establishments are not responsible to accept the claim, even though the seller refers the consumer to them. However, they may accept the claim voluntarily, but the consumer may not claim his rights through them.
The only exclusion is an exception described by regulation No. 625, Rule No. 40/1964 Coll., of the Civil Code as amended, when the seller specifies in the warranty policy, other business entity, which is responsible for performing warranty repairs, instead of the seller (so-called warranty repair services). Warranty services established and specified in this manner must be used by the consumer in case of a warranty repair, providing that such service shop is located at or near the seller´s property or it is close to the consumer location. That means, if the warranty service shop is more distant from the consumer location then the applicable service shop located at the seller´s property, the consumer may claim defective product at the seller´s property and not in the warranty service shop. However, it is important to point out that warranty repair service shop shall handle only repairs. Claiming other rights, such as right for product exchange, or right to withdraw from purchase agreement must be claimed exclusively at the seller´s property (or at any branch of the seller).
If, the repair does not fall under the warranty service, then in accordance with regulation 19, Rule No. 634/1992 Coll., as amended, the seller must accept the claim at any of his location/branch, where it is physically possible to accept such claim, while taking into consideration the assortment of goods and services provided at that location, or possibly at the seller´s headquarters or place where the seller conduct its business.
Therefore, if a consumer purchases a product at a store, which belongs to a chain of stores, providing that many such stores are located throughout the Czech Republic, then the consumer may claim his rights at any of such locations/
Such branch/location must have a responsible employee who is taking care of claims and who must be present at that store during working hours.
The seller or other authorized employee shall decide about the claim immediately. If the claim is more complex, than the claim shall be decided within thirty days. This time period does not include the time necessary to evaluate the product defect/claim, while taking into consideration the type of the product or service. Claims and defect repairs, must be processed without undue delay, but no later than within 30 days from the day when the claim was filed, unless the seller and the consumer agree on longer time period. After this time period is over, the consumer shall have the right to claim the defect as irreparable (the defect is considered permanent and irreparable) – regulation 19, Rule No. 634/1992 Coll., as amended.
How to file a claim
Due to possible involvement of legal proceedings, it is recommended to file a claim in a written form or to request a written confirmation showing that the claim was filed, providing that the seller did not do so automatically. A claim must always include a description of the defect discovered by the consumer and on what legal grounds or in accordance with what law the consumer files the claim.
The seller is responsible to provide the consumer with a confirmation stating when the claim was filed, what the subject of the claim is and what kind of result or processing method the consumer requires. Further, the seller shall provide a confirmation about the date of the claim and about the method, specifying how the claim will be processed, including confirmation about repair, the duration of the repair, or a written description explaining why the claim was rejected. These responsibilities shall also apply to other persons who are authorized to perform repairs.
Consumer rights relevant to claim filing process
Should the consumer, during the first six months after he purchased the product find out that the product is defective and therefore does not comply with conditions described in the purchase agreement, he may claim his right to request the seller to remedy the situation without undue delay, so the product complies with conditions specified in the purchase contract. The consumer may ask the seller to either exchange the defective product for a new one or to repair the product in accordance with regulation 616, Rule No. 40/1964 Coll., as amended.
Should the defect appear or be discovered after the six months period is over, and should such defect be considered as repairable, then the consumer has right to request the repair of the defect for free and in timely manner and the seller shall repair the product without unnecessary delay. Based on the nature of the defect and if the seller considers it doable, the consumer may requested the seller to exchange the defective product for a new one. Or, if the defect affects only a part of the product, he may request the seller to exchange the defective part for a new and good part.
If the defect is considered as irreparable and permanent, the law differentiates between two situations. Irreparable defects, which are characterized as defects that prevent the product from being used for its intended purpose. If the consumer discovers such defect, he may either ask the seller to exchange the defective product for a new one or he may choose to withdrawal from the purchase agreement. The consumer has the same rights in situation when the same defect appears for the third time, even after the same defect was repaired twice by warranty service shop, as well as in scenario, when at least three different and repairable defects appear at the same time, which prevented the consumer from using the product. Should the product show irreparable defects, which however, does not prevent the consumer from using the product, he may ask the seller to exchange the defective product for a new one or he may choose to withdraw from the purchase agreement, or he may ask for a discount.
Therefore, during the first six months, the consumer always has the right to choose between having the product exchanged or repaired, without the need to comply with other regulations. After the six month period is over, the consumer may not ask the seller to exchange the defective product for a new one, if the seriousness of the defect does not qualify for the exchange. When an exchange is adequate and when not, depends on the nature of the defect.
Claim processing
Claim may be processed and solved in two ways.
The seller or the warranty service shop may completely or partially satisfy the claim and comply with the consumer requirements (the claim is completed), or the claim may be rejected. However, the claim maybe rejected by the seller only if the claim is unjustified. That means that the seller is not responsible for the defect or for discrepancy in connection with the purchase agreement, or the defect is not considered as a defect or there is no discrepancy with the purchase agreement.
The seller may not reject the claim due to reasons other than described by the applicable law. Therefore, the seller may not reject the claim because the consumer does not have the original packaging available or because the consumer does not have purchase receipt, or because the consumer has only warranty card/document.
As stated earlier, a claim must be processed within 30 days, unless the seller and the consumer agree on longer time period.
However, the seller is not responsible to inform the consumer about the fact that the claim was processed and completed. It is the responsibility of the consumer to contact the seller and find out about the status of the claim.
Competencies of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority
It is necessary to point out that the Civil Code does not authorize the Czech Trade Inspection Authority to enforce the applicable regulations. Therefore, the Civil Code may not be considered as a unique set of legal regulations pursuant to Rule No. 2, Rule No. 64/1986 Coll., as amended. It is a set of privately oriented regulations, specifying civil relations between equal participants, unlike public statutory relations, where state bodies may influence and affect the status of the involved participants. As far as this field is concerned, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority focuses on activities as described by Rule No. 634/1992 Coll., as amended, and namely on violations of regulations included in Rule No.13 and 19 of this law.
If the consumer is not satisfied with processing of his claim, it shall be considered as a civil dispute, which may be decided by court or jury only. Before filing a lawsuit, a consumer may try to solve his dispute through offices, which provide alternative dispute resolutions (outside-the-court) resolutions.