Month: November 2014

(Partial report of 3rd quarter of 2014)(Prague, November 27, 2014) Purchases within special offers or discounted goods are something that many consumers think about. Such consumers buy goods that they sometimes don’t even need, pay unfavourable prices too and hence help vendors get rid of remains from seasonal or favourably purchased products. If a discount is significant, it can even be caused by certain defects with which products should not even be offered to consumers, e.g. missing marking of material composition, incomplete or missing info...

(Prague, November 25, 2014) Christmas time is closing in and decorations have filled shops offering various products that should make long evenings more comfortable to consumers. Therefore there is so many candles in the market, too. However, not all of them are safe within usual way of use as confirmed by a gel candle made in China whose selling was prohibited by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority due to high risk of fire several days ago. The respective candle imitating fruit compote burned with irregular flame, smoked heavily, and set on f...

(Prague, November 24, 2014) Offer and sale of counterfeits of world known brands, especially at marketplaces in border regions, has been a long-term problem that several inspection authorities have dealt with. In addition, consumers know that no company would allow selling of their products at a marketplace stall. Thus, the fact that fakes of famous trademarks were also offered in luxury shops in the very centre of Prague can be a very unpleasant information. Within an extraordinary inspection action at two shops of the same owner on Friday Nov...

(Partial report on results of inspections of fuel quality in October 2014) (Prague, November 20, 2014) Within inspections of fuel samples collected at filling stations during October, deviations from quality were detected concerning 7 fuel samples in total. All defects were serious deviations from quality parameters as stipulated in applicable technical standard. Such deviations could be caused either by production defect or intentional manipulation with fuels. Administrative proceedings will be held concerning all the cases and lawful decision...

(Partial report of 3rd quarter of 2014)(Prague, November 10, 2014) Results of 150 inspections carried out by CTIA inspectors concerning sellers of products and services at presentation sales events confirmed that a number of them do not fulfil their obligation to announce organization of such events and information obligations towards consumers as stipulated by the Act on Consumer Protection. “They avoid announcement obligations by presenting these events as tasting sessions or as opportunities for favourable purchases of food. Some sellers kee...

When monitoring market with toys, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority found out that a product that poses serious risk of injury to children users is offered to consumers. It is a plastic toy for smallest children which is composed of small segments that are easy to separate and that fit in testing tube for small parts. This means that when playing, a child can easily separate a small piece of the toy and swallow or inhale it. The Czech Trade Inspection Authority warns against purchases and use of the pull-along toy FUNNY originating in China ...

(Prague, November 6, 2014) All Soul’s Day is traditionally the time for devotion and thinking about life not being endless and for a silent memory of all nearest ones who passed away. We place candles and lay flowers at memorial places where also vendors offer various assortment such as wreaths and floral arrangements with candles, candles etc. CTIA inspectors focused on this assortment as well as on flower shops and other sale spots in relation to All Souls’ Day. Unfortunately, these inspections were with shortcomings and subsequent fines. Ins...

(Central Bohemia, November 4, 2014) On November 1 the Czech Trade Inspection Authority inspected sellers of coal – this time in the Central Bohemian Region. The action was carried out in collaboration with Customs Office for Central Bohemian Region in Benešov, Police of the Czech Republic Benešov and an expert who collected 1 sample of coal right on the spot. During Saturday morning, CTIA inspectors inspected two vendors and proved that they failed principles of fair selling and other provisions of the Act on Consumer Protection. The complete ...

(Final report for 2014)(Praha, November 5, 2014) More than 1,300 inspections were carried out by CTIA inspectors all around the country and inspectors detected breaches of obligations in almost 40% of cases. Inspections were especially aimed at places widely visited by both locals and tourists, such as natural and artificial swimming pools, burgs, castles, museums, sport venues, accommodation facilities as well as facilities of alimentation services and refreshments. Vendors most frequently breached principles of fair selling, failed to inform ...

(Partial report of 3rd quarter of 2014)(Prague, October 31, 2014) Results of inspections of tour operators and travel agents in the 3rd quarter proved that they most frequently fail concerning provision of information about consumer rights. This stems from defective performance as well as incorrect settling of claims. More than a half of all findings related to these shortcomings. One third of 74 inspected subjects violated one or more obligations stipulated by legal regulations. During the monitored period, in total 27 finals amounting to 292,...