Poland’s consumer protection authority, UOKiK, has initiated proceedings against Amazon for what it says are misleading business practices. If found guilty, the firm could be fined up to 10% of its annual turnover.
The US e-commerce giant’s EU branch – based in Luxembourg and which launched a Polish website in 2021 – has been accused by UOKiK of misleading customers about when their purchase has been officially concluded, about the availability of products, and about delivery times and conditions.
In response, Amazon has issued a statement saying that it “complies with all legal requirements in the countries in which we operate”.
Prezes #UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny wszczął postępowanie przeciwko Amazon EU SARL🛒💻
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Zarzuty dotyczą:
❗️ wprowadzania w błąd co do momentu zawarcia umowy sprzedaży
❗️dostępności produktów
❗️uprawnień konsumentów https://t.co/MykYMVtCgL pic.twitter.com/ekzGzOPokw— UOKiK (@UOKiKgovPL) February 1, 2023
The first claim against Amazon relates to the fact that the firm does not treat the placing and confirmation of an order by a user as the conclusion of a sales contract, but rather as an offer to purchase a product by the consumer. Only once shipment of the product is confirmed does Amazon treat the sale as concluded.
UOKiK notes that Amazon does mention this in its terms of sale and at the final stage of purchasing a product. However, it says that the information is presented at the bottom of the page, using grey font on a white background, making it hard to notice.
Far more prominent are buttons saying “Buy Now” and “Proceed to Checkout”, terms that are associated with concluding a purchase, notes UOKIK.
“Such wording may suggest that when ordering a product, it is purchased, and the transaction takes place immediately upon payment for the goods,” writes the agency.
The second claim against Amazon alleges that, while information presented to the consumer may indicate that the seller is in possession of a product, that may not actually be the case.
“Products marked as available may in fact not be in stock or their shipment may not be possible to complete,” claims UOKiK, which also says that delivery times presented to users when making a purchase may not actually be accurate and that the firm’s “Delivery Guarantee” offer is not clearly presented.
Consumers making a purchase are influenced not only by price, but also by availability and delivery times, notes the agency’s president, Tomasz Chróstny.
“If consumers knew that placing an order is not yet a purchase, and that the availability of products and the delivery time provided are only estimates, they might not use the services of this business,” says Chróstny.
Konsumenci podejmują decyzje zakupowe pod wpływem różnych czynników. Oprócz ceny, istotne jest, żeby produkt dotarł w oczekiwanym terminie, a sugerując się ofertą Amazona konsumenci mogą być błędnie przekonani, że sklep im to zapewnia. pic.twitter.com/OGHmDdq25y
— UOKiK (@UOKiKgovPL) February 1, 2023
In response to the accusations, Amazon sent a statement to news website Gazeta.pl saying that it “complies with all legal requirements in the countries in which we operate”.
“Since the launch of Amazon.pl in 2021, we have been constantly working to offer our customers in Poland a wide range of products, attractive prices and convenient online shopping,” it continued.
“Thousands of Polish small and medium-sized enterprises selling on Amazon.pl have already created over 12,000 jobs in order to provide customers with access to their products. We are constantly looking for ways to further improve our customers’ shopping experience in cooperation with UOKiK.”
Main image credit: Christian Wiediger/Unsplash
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
