The complaint book has been cancelled: handling complaints in 2021

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April 14, 2021

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The complaint book has been canceled since the beginning of 2021. Already on January 1, changes to the rules of retail sales began to take effect. One of the innovations was the abolition of the book of complaints and suggestions for consumers. From now on, retail outlets are not required to have a complaint book. Accordingly, the presentation of this book at the request of the client now remains at the discretion of the owner. However, the legislation has not proposed a similar replacement for the complaint book, so the issue of working with consumer complaints remains open. Moreover, according to the new rules on trade, if a consumer makes a complaint about a store, management is obliged to respond to it. So how will claims from citizens be processed now, and what alternatives are there to the complaint book? In this article we will try to understand all the issues related to the cancellation of the complaint book in 2021.

In what areas has the complaint book been canceled since 2021, and in what areas has it not?

So, let's take a closer look at who is not required to have a complaint book behind their counter. According to the new legislation, such a book may not be available in retail stores, namely online and offline stores.

Note!

If you are the owner of a restaurant business, beauty salons, dry cleaners, travel agencies or other types of business providing any services, then you must leave a book of complaints and suggestions.
Indeed, according to the law, organizations that provide services to consumers are required to have a complaint book. If your business does not fall under the category of retail stores, then do not rush to get upset, because maintaining a complaint book in general is not a very difficult process. There are no special criteria for maintaining complaint books. It is enough that it is at your counter and can be given to the buyer if necessary. Even the form of the book can be chosen independently: you can take a regular notebook or purchase a special notebook for complaints. Often, for convenience, owners set up a consumer corner, and the complaint book is located there.

It is worth noting that for the absence of a guest book, owners are subject to a fine (according to Article 14.4 of the Administrative Code). Namely:

• For individual entrepreneurs, the fine ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles;
• For legal entities, the fine will range from 20,000 to 30,000 rubles.

The response to an entry from the complaint book depends on the nature of the entry in the book. For example, if a consumer in his post expresses gratitude to an employee or organization, or suggests various activities for development, then he may not give feedback, but simply take note. Most often, organizations leave short responses to comments and suggestions when checking the guest book daily. For example, “Thank you for your feedback, we will take note and take it into account!” This is done to avoid problems during inspection by the relevant authorities.

Difficulties arise when a book contains negative reviews containing various requirements from consumers. For example, a person may demand a refund of the cost of a product or service. Such records may be regarded by inspection authorities as claims, which means that this type of record requires a mandatory decision and response. In addition, the law establishes a special period for solving the problem, after which a fine will be imposed.

Step-by-step instructions - how to lace correctly?

The process of flashing such a book will not cause any difficulties. The correct firmware of the book is carried out as follows:

1. Using a hole punch, make two holes in the document . You can also do this using an awl or other similar tool.
2. Next, all sheets should be numbered . The numbering of this document should be maintained throughout the document.
3. Next, the sheets of the document should be sewn together with thread or cord.
4. On the back side, the threads or cord are tied in a knot and sealed with a piece of sheet .
5. seal is placed on the sheet holding the ends of the thread together . The manager’s signature is also placed there and the number of pages and the date when the firmware was installed are written.

KOiP is an official document. This document must be stitched and numbered. The firmware will protect the book from being replaced and from tearing out pages from it.

IMPORTANT. Part of the seal should extend beyond the leaflet, i.e. part on the sheet, and part printed on the cover.

That's it, your document is ready, the book is bound as required by law. But it is not necessary to do the firmware yourself; nowadays it is not difficult to purchase such a document.

The concept of a complaint and how to respond to it

Regardless of whether the book of complaints and suggestions has been canceled or not, the consumer has the right to send a complaint to the owner. A claim can be statements, demands, complaints. However, in essence, the consumer simply wants something from you and believes that he can legally demand it. For example, a person may demand a refund of the amount of money paid if the product turned out to be of poor quality. Or demand a replacement of a product or service if it does not correspond to the configuration or is of poor quality.

If the consumer makes mistakes when drawing up a complaint (incorrect formatting, errors in the name of the company), the judicial authorities can also recognize the completed claim as valid. The main factor is the presence in the complaint of a requirement that does not need to be justified by regulations.

Thus, if your company has received any, complaints and their contents must be dealt with as quickly as possible. If the consumer is right, all his demands must be satisfied. And in case of incorrectness, it will be necessary to draw up a response to the claim, preferably taking into account the legal justification for the refusal. If the company ignores the complaint or wrongfully refuses to comply with the requirements, the judge may impose a fine, referring to Article 13 of the Consumer Protection Law, which is:

Half of the amount requested by the consumer. This means that if the plaintiff demanded 30,000 rubles, then when a fine is imposed, the company will pay them plus 15,000 on top towards the fine.

Document preparation

Currently, the registration of the book of reviews and suggestions is carried out in accordance with the rules specified in Order No. 346 of the USSR Ministry of Trade dated September 28, 1973. It establishes the following requirements for this document:

• The pages of this book must be numbered and bound . In order to prevent the removal of sheets from it, the book must also contain the official seal of the enterprise, made of sealing wax, and the signature of its boss;
• The title page of the book must contain the name of the enterprise, the signature of the boss and the start date of maintaining the book;
• The first page should contain instructions for completing the book;
• The second page details the contact details of the company and its management team;
• The third page is reserved for indicating the telephone numbers of regulatory organizations , to which the client has the right to contact to protect his rights.

A book and pen for making entries that cannot be erased must be in a place accessible to any visitor.

Contacts on social networks or by email

Pre-trial claims are included in the list of legally significant communications that cannot be ignored by companies. This means that they fall under paragraph 65 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces. According to this clause, legally significant messages can be sent to companies' emails or through other types of communication, unless this is prohibited by law or specified in the contract. The main thing is the ability to reliably identify the sender and addressee of the claim.

Simply put, if there are no prohibitions in the contract on the use of email, instant messengers or SMS services of the company (if they are publicly available), the buyer has the right to submit claims in any available way. If submitted claims are ignored, the company will be fined.

However, despite the abolition of the complaint book in 2021, many companies have no plans to abandon them. Although some note that consumers themselves rarely take advantage of the opportunity to write reviews in books. Increasingly, people are using other available ways to get the information they need: feedback on websites, online support chats, and company contact centers. In addition, Internet users often write reviews on various websites and social networks.

Responses to complaints from the complaint book

The basic rule for responding to a complaint sent to a company is to analyze the problem at the legislative level. After all, when submitting a claim, the consumer refers to the law, according to which he has the right to sue the company. Thus:

• 1. If the consumer is right, it is necessary to immediately satisfy his demands, for example, exchange the purchase, issue a refund, provide repair services.
• 2. In case of a consumer error, it is necessary to justify the refusal to comply with the requirements and explain what the error is. It is best to justify the refusal at the legislative level: in this way the reason for the refusal will be clearer to the consumer and perhaps he will reconsider his arguments.

The deadlines prescribed by law for a company to respond depend on the composition of the claim. They can be found in the article “Consumer Protection Law”. For example, the most popular reasons for filing claims:

Refund for the purchase of an item that does not fit - the buyer can return the item to a retail store within 14 days, and to an online store within 7 days. The company must issue refunds within three days in a brick-and-mortar store and within 10 days online.

Refund if you purchase a defective product. Claims for repairs or compensation for defective goods are also taken into account here. The seller is given 10 days to determine the reasons for the poor quality and resolve the problem. This time is enough to conduct examinations.

Exchange of low-quality goods. In this case, the purchase must be exchanged within a maximum of 7 days. However, if an examination is necessary, the period is extended to 20 days. And if the product is out of stock, the company has a month to deliver the product.

Warranty repair of goods. The repair period for low-quality goods should not exceed 45 days. This period also includes the time spent on the examination.

Refund of prepayment. When a company cannot deliver a paid product on time, the consumer may request a refund of the prepayment. In addition, he has the right to demand payment of a penalty from the company, which is 0.5% of the prepayment for each day of delay. Such a claim must be satisfied within 10 days.

Complaint: essence, types

Before moving on to the topic of the article, it is worth considering the concept of a complaint and its types, since the construction of the correct answer, and therefore the reputation of your company, largely depends on understanding its essence.

A complaint is a type of appeal from a citizen to an individual or legal entity, the text of which contains a demand to eliminate violations of rights and interests. An example of a complaint and a response to it is now quite easy to find on the Internet, but we must not forget that each case is individual.

Currently, it is possible to classify types of complaints according to different criteria.

By the number of applicants:

• individual;
• collective complaint.

By type of addressee:

• to individuals (for example, individual entrepreneurs);
• to legal entities (government bodies).

By subject:

• to actions;
• to inaction;
• regarding legally significant documents (adopted acts, decisions).

By area of ​​appeal:

• in the consumer sector (from the client to the contractor, to Rospotrebnadzor);
• in the housing and communal services sector;
• legal complaints, etc.

It is worthwhile to dwell separately on the types of judicial complaints.

By area of ​​law:

• in civil law;
• in arbitration;
• in criminal law;
• according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation;
• according to the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation, etc.

In accordance with the stages of legal proceedings:

• on appeal;
• in cassation;
• to the supervisory authority;
• private complaint.

Thus, this list can be continued for a very long time, since there are a lot of criteria. This article provides only the main classification.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say exactly why the book of complaints and suggestions only for retail companies was canceled. However, all other businesses are required to have it in stock, since failure to do so can result in a fine of up to 30,000 rubles. Companies don't have to respond to every entry in the book; positive reviews can be left unanswered. At the same time, regardless of the presence of a book of complaints, companies are obliged to respond to pre-trial claims of consumers, and, if correct, satisfy the requirements within the time period specified by law, so as not to receive a fine.

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