The Supreme Court summarized the practice in cases of consumer rights protection

How to resolve the issue pre-trial

Any information that pre-trial protection of consumer rights is mandatory is only partly true. The Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” adopted in Russia does not provide for mandatory out-of-court settlement of disputes arising with the seller. The exception to this are two situations: when it comes to a dispute with a telecom operator or with a carrier, including regarding the transportation of baggage or cargo. In these situations, you first need to try to resolve the issue out of court; in other cases, the consumer has the right to file a statement of claim in court.

In practice, it is better to first try to resolve the issue with the seller of goods or services, without resorting to the help of a court. Most Russian companies protect their reputation and try to meet the consumer halfway by finding a compromise solution, but within the framework of current legislation.

How to write a complaint

To launch a mechanism for solving the problem out of court, you need to file a pre-trial claim for the protection of consumer rights. The document does not have a strictly established form, but it must contain the following information:

• data of the addressee and contacts of the applicant indicated in the header of the claim;
• a detailed description of the purchased product or service provided, regarding the quality of which there was dissatisfaction;
• date of purchase of goods (provision of services), cost;
• the essence of the claim in free form;
• requirements for the seller, taking into account current legislation (it may be mentioned that in case of refusal to satisfy the requirements, the consumer reserves the right to appeal to the court or Rospotrebnadzor);
• listing of documents if they are sent along with the claim (warranty card, check, etc.).

You can download sample claims on the Rospotrebnadzor website, but it is better to entrust this issue to a lawyer who can state the essence of the claim as accurately as possible and confirm their legality with appropriate references to the laws.

Pre-trial procedure for protecting consumer rights

The claim is drawn up in two copies. The first document is sent to the head of the organization where the consumer was served. This can be done by leaving the document with the seller, secretary or other authorized person. On the second claim, the employee must put a date of receipt and signature, as well as certify it with a seal. The second copy remains in the hands of the consumer. If an employee refuses to accept a claim, it must be sent by registered mail with notification to the head of the organization.

The claim is reviewed by the company's management and must receive a response in writing within ten days. The document must contain information about whether the consumer's requirements will be satisfied and, if so, in what form. The seller is responsible for refusing to satisfy a claim; this is provided for in the “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.

If the seller refuses to satisfy the consumer’s requirements or the option offered by the company does not suit the buyer, you can safely file a claim in court. The same reaction should occur if the claim has not been considered within ten days and the consumer has not received an appropriate written response.

Most often, it is beneficial for the consumer to resolve the dispute out of court. Consult with a lawyer to understand how high the chance of achieving the desired result is and how best to proceed. Our specialists will draw up a claim and tell you where to go if the answer is unsatisfactory.

What can be demanded from the defendant

The basis of the statement of claim in any situation is the norms of the current legislation.
This strictly regulates the rights of citizens in relations with the seller. Consequently, it is allowed to demand from the latter only what is specified in the articles of Law No. 2300-1 (listed above). Judicial practice shows that the largest number of claims are related to reimbursement of costs for a defective purchase. In addition, the court may recover the following from an unscrupulous supplier:

• a fine of half the amount won by the plaintiff;
• penalty;
• compensation for moral damage, if any is claimed;
• legal costs, including the costs of engaging an expert and lawyer.

The court will award compensation if the buyer proves that, due to the fault of the seller, he could not use the damaged item.

Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 “On the protection of consumer rights”

Violations of the seller, appealable in court

Law No. 2300-1 contains many subtleties of the relationship between consumers and distributors. Thus, a citizen can make a claim against the latter not only when transferring defective goods. Stores often commit other violations. Namely:

• unauthorized reduction in terms of return of acquisitions;
• unreasonable requirement to conduct an examination of defects at the expense of the buyer;
• failure to comply with deadlines for the transfer of: funds for illiquid assets;
• exchange goods;
• temporary accommodation (if one must be provided by law);

Hint: the buyer can appeal any violation of his consumer rights.

Appeal to the consumer court

If the issue of violation of consumer rights cannot be resolved out of court, you will have to go to court. There are also a number of nuances that you need to be aware of. The Supreme Court has issued a ruling relating to consumer protection and regulating the judicial review of civil cases. Let us dwell only on some important points for the consumer.

Jurisdiction

The task of the consumer protection court is to carefully consider the claim and make a decision on it in favor of the plaintiff or defendant. To initiate legal proceedings, you need to have an understanding of jurisdiction.

In accordance with Art. 17 of Law No. 2300-1, the consumer can independently choose where to send the statement of claim geographically: at his place of residence, at the location of the seller or at the place of the transaction. In this case, the following principles are often adhered to:

• if the defendant is an individual entrepreneur, then the claim is sent to his place of residence;
• if the defendant is a legal entity, then the document is sent to the court at the place of the company’s legal address;
• if it is difficult to attend a court hearing of a claim in another city, then the claim is filed at the plaintiff’s place of residence.

If the defendant is a legal entity with several branches and consumer rights were violated in one of them, he can file a claim at the location of this branch, regardless of the territorial location of the main office.

As for the choice between the magistrate and district court, it depends on the requirements of the plaintiff. The cost of the claim also affects the amount of money that the plaintiff demands to recover from the defendant. This may take into account the cost of the purchased product or service, penalties and losses incurred by the consumer due to the sale of low-quality goods or negligent provision of services. Moral damage is not included in the cost of the claim.

According to paragraph 5 of Art. 23 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, if the value of the claim is less than 50,000 rubles, a statement of claim must be filed in the magistrate’s court. If the amount of recovery from the defendant is more than this amount, then the claim is sent to the district court.

A number of requirements that the magistrate cannot consider:

• the plaintiff’s demands are not of a property nature (he asks to eliminate defects without returning the cost of services provided);
• it is impossible to estimate the value of the claims;
• among the requirements there is a mention of compensation for moral damage.

A statement of claim with such requirements should be sent to the district court.

How does the consumer protection court work?

The first thing you need to do is consult with a lawyer about drawing up a statement of claim in court for the protection of consumer rights. It must comply with the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation and not have ambiguous wording.

Contents of the claim:

• address and name of the court;
• details of the plaintiff and defendant;
• the essence of the problem (there may be circumstances of purchase, complaints about the quality of goods or services, information about the cost of the transaction and other information);
• information about the procedure for out-of-court resolution of the problem, if there was one (here you can indicate the dates of filing the claims, the company’s response to them);
• references to laws confirming the legitimacy of the requirements;
• the requirement is to return the goods, return its cost, terminate the contract, compensate for moral damages, compensate for damages, etc.;
• list of attached documents.

At the conclusion, the plaintiff signs and dates it. The statement of claim is sent to the court according to jurisdiction. If the interests of the consumer are represented in court by another person, information about him must be indicated in the statement of claim. A power of attorney certified by a notary is also attached to it.

The statement of claim will be considered at a court hearing, the date and time of which the plaintiff will receive appropriate notification. During the trial, the court will consider all the circumstances of the case and carefully study the plaintiff’s evidence, including:

• expert opinions;
• witness statements;
• documents (response to a claim, purchase and sale agreement or provision of services, etc.);
• explanations from each side;
• video and audio materials.

At the end of the meeting, a court decision will be made to protect consumer rights or to reject claims. An oral explanation will also be given regarding the decision and the time frame for appealing it. Copies of the court decision will be sent to the parties within five days after the court decision is made.

The most difficult thing to win is if the defendant is a bank, a car dealer, or a medical organization. But even if the defendant’s field of activity is different, there is a risk of losing the trial. Therefore, it is advisable to hire a lawyer who will help at all stages: from collecting evidence and drawing up a statement of claim to representing the interests of the plaintiff in court. This approach increases the chances of success.

Methods of protection

This type of relationship between buyer and seller is civil in nature; they can be extrajudicial and judicial . (, GK).

The consumer can choose any method convenient for himself, since the PPA does not contain strict requirements for the method of resolving relations.

The consumer has every right to satisfy the following requirements in case of detection of defects in goods or services:

1. elimination of inconsistencies or costs for this;
2. cost reduction;
3. replacement with the same products (except for real estate);
4. Refunds ;
5. compensation for material and moral damage.

As for technically complex goods , the discrepancies must be significant (formulation of the Supreme Court, decision No. 17 of June 28, 2012), namely:

• without the possibility of repair;
• repairs are too expensive ;
• reappearing after repair, and more than once.

Particular attention should be paid to agreements between the parties, into which dishonest sellers may introduce clauses that contradict the provisions of the Civil Code and the Civil Code.

In this case, the protection of rights consists of canceling only that section of the contract where such nuances are found.

Penalties and fines for violation of consumer rights

The consumer has the right to indicate in the statement of claim requirements for payment of a penalty. It is calculated on the date of filing the claim. However, the plaintiff still has the opportunity to recalculate the penalty as of the date of the court decision. If the defendant refuses to pay, the plaintiff has the right to file a separate lawsuit to recover the lost funds.

The amount of the penalty is usually determined by the relevant law or an agreement previously concluded between the seller and the consumer. Otherwise, 1% of the amount of claims is taken into account, as defined in Article 23 of Law No. 2300-1. Under shared construction agreements, a special rate is provided for calculating penalties. So, if the developer violated the delivery deadlines or failed to eliminate defects that arose through his fault on time, he will have to pay a penalty in the amount of 1/150 of the Central Bank rate for each day of delay.

There are many difficulties in determining the amount of penalties for consumer protection issues. To solve them, you need the presence of a lawyer during the trial of the case. Citizens who refuse legal assistance are more likely to lose their cases.

Additional Information

The judicial procedure for protecting consumer rights is not the only possible one. The affected client also has the right to contact the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor. This organization has the authority to understand the essence of the conflict that occurred between the seller and the client.

If the seller (manufacturer) is found to be at fault, Rospotrebnadzor employees may impose a penalty on him or force him to accept the defective product back. Also, Rospotrebnadzor employees have the right to act in court hearings as independent plaintiffs against negligent sellers.

Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date!

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Common causes of disputes

In the field of judicial practice, a range of reasons has been identified for which controversial situations most often arise in the consumer area:

1. A significant defect in a product is a malfunction or low quality, the elimination of which is impossible or is possible only at the expense of disproportionately large expenses.
2. Disadvantage - identifying differences between the purchased goods and the provisions stated in the contract or agreement or from the mandatory requirements regulated by law.
3. Non-compliance with safety standards – cases in which the use of purchased products for their intended purpose creates a risk of threat to health and life.

Potential areas of controversy

Most of the proceedings aimed at resolving disputes arising in the consumer sphere are implemented in the following areas:

1. Sales and acquisitions. More often, disputes arise due to the poor quality of purchased products, defects, or their non-compliance with previously stated criteria.
2. Providing energy resources – conflicts between management companies and purchasers of services. A common practice is the lack of necessary measures when residents contact management companies in connection with emerging problems, the responsibility for eliminating which lies with the management company.
3. Rental Property. Frequent reasons are the presence of errors and inconsistencies in the drawn up rental agreements or failure to fulfill the main points of the contractual terms.
4. Products provided by banking organizations. Incorrect wording of contracts or communication of terms and proposals by a bank representative to the final purchaser often leads to the need for civil proceedings. The priority in this case is identified in the field of lending.
5. Paid services in the fields of medicine, insurance and others. Failure to fulfill accepted obligations in accordance with the provisions of the contract by the selling party or deliberate misleading of the consumer for the purpose of enrichment.