Consumer rights in Russia

2022: Introduction of restrictions to ensure additional protection of consumers against unscrupulous sellers

Additional restrictions have been imposed on sellers and service providers. This became known on August 28, 2022. In particular, it is forbidden to refuse to conclude an agreement if the consumer has not provided personal data, to reduce the amount of a legal penalty, to sell smartphones that are not equipped with domestic programs. Two laws and a government decree on this come into force on September 1, 2022.

Unscrupulous sellers like to conclude contracts on terms that are beneficial to them, but violate the rights of buyers. At the same time, the consumer is powerless, he can only leave and spend money elsewhere. But more often people come to terms and agree to the format of relations imposed by the store. The legislator decided to stop this practice. The law, which comes into force in September, introduced a different wording - "unacceptable terms of the contract."

Thus, according to the federal law of 01.05.2022 N 135-FZ "On Amending Article 16 of the Law of the Russian Federation" On Protection of Consumer Rights, "the seller has no right to:

• Limit the consumer in choosing which court to sue in case of disagreement. And there is a choice - you can go to court at the location of the seller, conclude an agreement or at your place of residence.
• Set fines for refusal to perform the contract. The most common thing for August 2022 is not to return an advance payment as a fine if a person has refused to buy.
• Insist on a certain method and form of payment.
• Disclaim liability for failure to perform or improper performance of obligations. In one of the contracts, for example, the cleaning company indicated that it did not answer if stains remained on the furniture after cleaning, citing the fact that the effect of the chemical interaction of the cleaning substance and stains was unpredictable. And according to the law on the protection of consumer rights in this case, it is possible to demand a reduction in price.
• Impose additional works or services. A classic example when a bank issues a loan provided that the borrower's life is insured. The courts have repeatedly indicated that in addition to the loan, only property insurance is allowed, for the purchase of which a loan is issued - this is provided for by the law on mortgages.
• Reduce the amount of legal penalty. You can demand for each day of delay 0.5 percent of the paid cost for the delay in the delivery of pre-paid goods, 1 percent for dissatisfaction with the requirements for the sale of low-quality goods and 3 percent for the delay in the performance of work.
• Limit the right of the consumer to choose what to do if the product turned out to be poor quality. Some sellers provide in the contract only the replacement of the goods with the same. In fact, you can demand the return of all money, and reduce the price, and eliminate shortcomings at the expense of the seller, and replace another brand and price with a product. And the buyer himself decides it.

If the buyer suffered losses due to unfavorable conditions, then the seller must reimburse them. And, just as importantly, now, instead of refusing to buy or coming to terms with the role of the affected person in the rights, the consumer can insist on the exclusion of a discriminatory condition from the contract. Within 10 days, the requirement must be considered. Well, if this does not help, you need to go to Rospotrebnadzor or to court with a written answer.

By the way, the list of unacceptable conditions is not closed, judicial practice can supplement it. I must say that the courts before these short stories often recognized such conditions as illegal.

The amendments concern not only buyers of goods, but also recipients of any services, including banking. Moreover, it is now possible to demand compensation for losses not only from the seller, manufacturer of the goods, contractor of works or services, but also from the importer or owner of the aggregator - a site that posts information about goods from various manufacturers.

The second innovation will help stop the liberties of sellers and service providers who refused to enter into or change the contract only because the consumer did not provide personal data. The Code of Administrative Offenses from September 1 has an article punishing this. Exceptions are only when the provision of data is provided for by law or directly related to the execution of the contract. Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Alexander Khinshtein explained that such exceptions are, for example, obtaining a passport, applying for various benefits, placing a child in school, attaching to a clinic.

In addition, in some cases, the law obliges to provide personal data. For example, the anti-corruption law prescribes to indicate passport data when buying jewelry in the amount of more than 40 thousand rubles in cash and more than 100 thousand rubles in non-cash payments. And in accordance with customs legislation, if the goods are delivered from abroad, then you need to indicate the passport and TIN data.

If the buyer requests to inform him about the reasons and grounds on which the conclusion, execution, amendment or termination of the contract without his personal data is impossible, the answer must be given within seven days in the same form in which the request was sent - in paper or electronic. If the consumer needs such information orally, it should be provided immediately.

A year ago, Russia banned the sale of gadgets without equipping with domestic programs. And the absence of such programs began to be interpreted as the sale of goods of improper quality with all the ensuing legal consequences. Thanks to the Government decree, which comes into force in September 2022, equipping equipment with Russian software has been further developed. Now, when buying and turning on the device for the first time, it will not be possible to bypass the function of choosing programs. When the details of the mandatory introduction of domestic software were being worked out, many buyers feared that innovations would deprive them of the right to use their usual programs and applications. But the press service of the Ministry of Digital Science explained to the publication that the requirements for the preliminary installation of Russian software on smartphones, tablets and computers do not mean that there will be no way to choose. The buyer will be able to use domestic, foreign or all programs at once. The department also assured that all applications will be removable.

But if the buyer found that there is no Russian software on the device, such a product is recognized as low-quality, and the consumer has the right to declare demands for replacing the product, eliminating shortcomings or returning money.

The list of electronic devices that are subject to the requirement to pre-install programs has been approved by the Government. It includes:

• smartphones;
• tablet and stationary computers;
• laptops;
• TVs with a digital control unit, with Smart TV function, supporting the installation of programs from app stores^[1].

See also

• Consumer spending in Russia
• Consumption in Russia
• Russian economy

Notes