Unfortunately, at present, state and municipal hospitals prefer to provide medical care at the expense of citizens’ personal funds or through voluntary health insurance contracts, where the employer pays for the care.
The law gives the right to a medical institution to provide paid medical services on conditions other than those provided for by the program of state guarantees of free provision of medical care to citizens, territorial programs of state guarantees of free provision of medical care to citizens and (or) targeted programs. Roszdravnadzor says that paid medical services are an addition to the legally guaranteed volume of free medical care.
However, the hospital may abuse its right and the desire to make money may take unethical forms when the patient has no choice but to pay.
For example, the hospital administration builds a complex and time-consuming route for obtaining a consultation or examination. Let’s say you can get an appointment with the right doctor either for a fee or for free by referral. The referral has been received, but appointments are only available on a first-come, first-served basis. The wait in line is a month. Earlier dates can only be accessed for money. This becomes important when medical attention is needed at short notice.
Article for imposing services
Article 16 of the PPA regulates the relations between the parties.
According to paragraph 3, the contractor does not have the right to carry out any actions and collect fees from the consumer without the buyer’s consent. If the services were provided without verbal or written consent, the buyer has the right to refuse them and demand a refund.
Also, the relations of the parties in case of violation of consumer rights are regulated in Article 14.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Punishment is provided for the following violations :
- If the contractor has not provided reliable and complete information about the service.
- If the contractor introduced additional conditions into the contract, but did not inform the consumer about this.
- If the seller deliberately misinformed the buyer about the terms of the contract.
An agreement drawn up with violations is subject to termination and reimbursement of funds to the recipient of the service.
Getting a loan
The insurance service when obtaining a bank loan is in most cases a voluntary procedure.
Only in certain situations is insurance required :
- If the borrower takes out a mortgage, it is necessary to insure the home.
- If the mortgage is issued under a government support program, life insurance is required.
- If a consumer pledges property when applying for a loan, then it must be insured.
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In all other cases, when a bank forces a client to take out insurance, this is an imposition of services and the opportunity for the bank to receive additional profit. If the bank offers the client to take out life insurance, job loss insurance or another type as a voluntary additional service, then such actions are legal.
You need to carefully study the loan agreement provided by the bank. If it contains information that insurance is a mandatory addition to the loan, or there is no clause under which an additional service can be refused, then such an agreement is unprofitable for the client and the service is imposed.
In addition, it is worth paying attention to the presence of information that when purchasing an insurance package, the contract is drawn up on more favorable terms. This is nothing more than a veiled imposition.
The client has the right to refuse additional insurance. But everyone knows that the bank has the right to refuse to issue a loan without giving reasons. Therefore, although the law is on the consumer’s side, disputes with the bank do not always lead to a favorable resolution of the issue for the consumer.
Purchasing an MTPL insurance policy
There are often cases when insurance companies, when purchasing a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, impose on car owners the service of additional life insurance, health insurance and other packages. If the client does not agree to pay extra for the service, they try to refuse registration, citing the lack of forms, non-working databases and other reasons.
It is important to know that, according to Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a company providing services for concluding a public contract does not have the right to refuse a consumer if there are no grounds for this.
In turn, Article 445 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates the obligation of organizations to conclude an agreement with the car owner within 30 days.
Purchasing an additional policy is possible only if the consumer wishes.
Telephone services
Annoying calls offering various services are made numerous times without the consent of the consumer. Advertisers buy up customer bases and push their services with impunity.
Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to bring them to justice, there is a law prohibiting such activities.
Article 18 of Law No. 38-FZ “On Advertising” states that an advertiser is prohibited from disseminating information about its services using communications without the consent of the subscriber.
If a subscriber contacts an advertiser with a demand to stop phone calls and SMS, the violator must comply with this requirement and remove the phone from the contact database.
Medical services
The imposition of additional paid examinations and the prescription of related medications occurs both in public medical institutions and private clinics.
As for paid non-state clinics, the task of understanding the advisability of using certain research methods and purchasing expensive drugs falls on the shoulders of patients. You need to take a judicious and thoughtful approach to choosing an institution and prescribing treating doctors. Many clinics impose unnecessary services in order to make money.
In a public clinic or hospital, when offering paid services, you need to make sure that these appointments are not included in the list of compulsory medical insurance , which can be done for free.
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When prescribing paid procedures and studies, a contract for the provision of paid medical services must be concluded with the patient.
Paid work in the housing and communal services sector
Decree of the Government of Russia No. 290 dated April 3, 2013 established a list of services and work that must be performed to ensure proper maintenance of common property. The list of works included in it can be analyzed according to the contract concluded with the consumer and according to receipts for payment of utility services.
Unscrupulous management companies violate the law :
- Include in the contract or receipt additional services that are not included in the list, under the guise of mandatory ones;
- They charge for work and services that are already covered elsewhere;
- At the expense of consumers, various expenses of the organization are compensated.
If imposed services are discovered, the consumer has the right to submit an application demanding a refund of the funds paid and refusal of further payment.
What it is?
The imposition of services refers to an attempt by a dishonest seller to force a consumer to purchase a particular product using various tricks. As a result, the buyer incurs unnecessary costs. Such actions on the part of the seller are illegal.
Reference. An example of a typical imposition of a service is the inability to purchase a product without purchasing related products. Thus, the consumer's right to freedom of choice is violated.
The most common options for imposed services:
- imposing insurance when drawing up a loan agreement;
- imposition of additional medical studies and related medications;
- imposition of mobile communication and Internet services;
- inclusion of extra clauses in housing and communal services contracts;
- provision of notary services;
- advertising spam calls and SMS mailings;
- imposing services under the guise of promotions;
- imposing an intermediary service for processing large purchases.
Consumer rights
It is important to study your rights in order to prevent unscrupulous sellers from taking advantage of ignorance and imposing unprofitable and unnecessary services.
Consumer rights enshrined in law:
- Has the right to freedom of choice.
- No one has the right to put pressure on the buyer.
- Imposing options is unacceptable.
- Has the right to demand reimbursement for expenses incurred.
- The right to receive all the necessary information about the service of interest.
Where to complain about unlawful actions of a seller of goods and services
A consumer who knows the provisions of the law can independently insist on his right to free choice, and, if necessary, involve the management of the company (store, credit institution, etc.)
If it is impossible to achieve a legal right to solve the problem, Rospotrebsoyuz, public organizations, and judicial institutions should be involved.
If your rights to free choice of goods and services are violated, enlist our support. experienced lawyers - and we are guaranteed to achieve justice without bringing the case to court:
How to restore violated rights
If violations are detected on the part of the contractor, the buyer must contact him with a demand to reimburse the costs associated with the imposed service.
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And only if the authorized person refuses to comply with the requirements, you need to contact government agencies.
Rospotrebnadzor
A deceived buyer can write a statement to the consumer rights protection authority with a request to check the company’s activities.
Rospotrebnadzor will conduct appropriate inspections and, in case of violations identified, will impose penalties and try to resolve the applicant’s issue.
Federal Antimonopoly Service
It makes sense to contact the FAS only to resolve issues related to the amount of tariffs .
It supervises the amount of payments established by regulations in the field of housing and communal services, communication services and others.
Prosecutor's office
An appeal to the prosecutor's office is justified if fraud has been , as well as in the event of damage to the health of the consumer.
Court
The last authority that can solve the problem is the court. You should write a statement of claim to the authority.
Legislation of the Russian Federation
Article 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation reflects the fundamental principle according to which the parties to the contract are free to choose any conditions that do not contradict the law. Compulsion to enter into an agreement is unacceptable, except in legally established cases.
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Code of Administrative Offences, the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and other special norms establish the procedure for concluding public transactions. Its goal is to prevent infringement of consumer rights.
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When a service or product is considered imposed
Entrepreneurs (legal entities) extracting additional profit insist on their demands by:
- Concluding a deal on unfavorable terms. The buyer (recipient) is forced to purchase an accompanying item along with the necessary product. The price increases by the cost of the unnecessary product.
- Refusal to conclude a public contract. For example, insurers refuse to enter into a MTPL contract without a set of additional services attached to it.
- Carrying out work without the customer’s consent and demanding payment in excess of what was agreed upon. The situations are most often found in household contract agreements.
- Termination of an agreement unilaterally as a penalty for failure to fulfill obviously illegal obligations. For example, realtors enter into exclusive agreements, according to which property owners are prohibited from putting their property up for sale on their own.
- Inclusion of an illegal penalty in the terms of the contract. Example: a consumer leaves a deposit for a deferred item, and if the transaction fails, it turns into a fine.
- Carrying out warranty service work in exchange for the purchase of additional services or goods.
Attention! These situations should not be confused with legal actions:
- Offering a set of items assembled by the manufacturer and offered as a complete product (for example, a sushi making kit).
- Selling one product with another as a gift.
- Availability of interconnected services. An example would be the actions of a bank to insure a loan provided against non-repayment by the client.
Consumer rights
When concluding a public contract, the rights of the buyer must be respected:
- do not interfere with free will;
- take into account the interests of the acquirer;
- provide all necessary information;
- do not offer products using prohibited methods;
- the terms of the contract should not be deliberately unfavorable;
- exclude restrictions not provided for by law;
- do not cause losses.
Actions of the buyer (customer) whose rights are infringed:
- refuse to conclude the contract and return the money;
- require a legal agreement;
- invalidate the transaction;
- recover losses incurred, moral damages;
- take measures to restore rights;
- seek protection.
Responsibility when imposing services
Imposing services is an administrative offense. Damages caused are recovered through civil proceedings.
Civil liability arises in accordance with Article 393 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in the form of compensation for losses incurred for expenses, the amount and existence of which must be proven by the buyer.
According to Article 14.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the imposition of services provides for the following punitive measures:
- Warnings and fines.
- Reimbursement of incurred expenses and losses to the consumer.
Penalty
Violation of the law entails the imposition of penalties on officials from 1,000 to 2,000 rubles , on legal entities from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles .
