I bought a mirror, and when I unpacked the one they gave me from the warehouse in the store, I saw that it was broken. I returned it to the seller in exchange for a correct one, and again I received a defective product - the screws for mounting the mirror on the wall were missing. Annoyed, this time I referred to the Law on Consumers and a possible report to inspections, and after the sellers first looked at me as if everything that happened was my fault, they still managed to find the correct product in the end, this is the experience of the "Vijesti" reader. .
Although her case did not have an institutional epilogue, judging by the data of competent inspections, citizens are increasingly demanding their rights.
Thus, from the beginning of the year until September 24, 473 complaints were submitted to inspections, of which 252 were resolved in favor of the consumer. Last week, the former Administration for Inspection Affairs responded to "Vijesta" that the most common reasons are defective products, price discrepancies on the shelf and at the cash register, and deficiencies in service provision.
Sanctions are effective, according to competent inspectors, but citizens complain more often about some shops than others.
"The most common types of complaints are related to the defect in the goods - the non-conformity of the product, the prices, the complaint to exercise rights from the warranty and the defect in the service", they said.
"A slightly smaller number of applications refers to the denial of the consumer's right to purchase the product in the exact measure and quantity, to purchase the product according to the published conditions of sale, to accurate information about the product, or the consumer is suspended from providing a public service by being disconnected from the distribution network during the procedure in which the account is disputed, failure to provide the necessary documentation accompanying the goods in circulation, failure to deliver the goods paid for, conditions on the consumer when purchasing the product, failure to return change in denominations of less than five cents, charging for carrying bags with the company's logo, failure to match prices on the shelf and cash register, failure to display prices , failure to respond within the legal deadline to the trader's complaint, etc."... the competent inspectors explained.
Some of the reasons for rejecting consumer applications, they state, are the lack of proof of purchase in the form of a receipt, but also the inability to determine the merchant's identity when it comes to online purchases.
"This most often refers to sales through pages on social networks," they said.
They specified that there were 2021 consumer applications in 873, 2022 in 986, and 2023 applications in 862.
"The number of reports is quite high every year and the market inspectors try to act and respond to them as soon as possible", said the inspection.
They emphasized that they cooperate with all organizations dealing with consumer protection.
"We can say that the cooperation in that segment is successful, a large number of round tables and discussions were organized in which the subjects of supervision themselves participated", they said.
The Center for Consumer Protection (CEZAP) previously told "Vijesti" that "they have the impression that consumers do not use all protection mechanisms".
"Most often, they are demotivated by the procedures and deadlines required for the implementation of the procedure, and this usually benefits the traders. We advise that consumers demand their rights more, because only an informed and active consumer is a protected consumer", said the NGO.
CEZAP, as they explained at the time, receives an average of 2.500 to 3.000 requests for advice per year.
They specified that in addition to a large number of complaints about the amounts of electricity and water bills, citizens most often complain about the collection of outdated debts, they also complain about the quality of technical devices that show malfunction already in the first days of use.
"Complaints are almost always rejected without explanation, or most often it is physical damage, without specifying the profession of the person or commission that made such an assessment. The center also receives a large number of complaints when it comes to furniture showrooms: damaged furniture, wrong dimensions, unprofessional assemblers are delivered. "Delivery is delayed for months, even though the contract stipulates the day of delivery of pre-paid furniture," CEZAP stated earlier.
Citizens, in CEZAP's experience, also complain about the services of mobile and cable operators, and the reason for this is most often non-delivery of the contracted service, failure to fix a fault in the network within 48 hours, extension of the contract without the consent of the consumer, poor service, inability to terminate the contract .
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