Poland's UOKiK Alleges Amazon EU SARL of Infringing on Consumer Interests, Probes into Misleading Practices

Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is alleging that Amazon EU SARL, based in Luxembourg, has been engaging in practices that infringe on collective consumer interests.

According to the President of UOKiK, placing an order on Amazon.pl and receiving confirmation does not automatically result in a sales contract, and the company reserves the right to complete or cancel the transaction.

Poland Probes Alleged Amazon Violations

According to a press release, the website's information about product availability and delivery dates may also be misleading. The President of UOKiK believes that consumers would refrain from using Amazon's services if they were aware of these practices.

Due to consumer complaints, UOKiK has been investigating Amazon since September 2021. If the allegations are proven, Amazon could face a fine of up to 10% of its local turnover, TechCrunch reports.

UOKiK President, Tomasz Chróstny, says that consumers have the right to rely on the information provided on Amazon's website and not be misled.

The investigations by UOKiK found that Amazon does not treat placing an order as a sales contract and that the company's terms specify the moment of shipment as the binding sales contract. Still, this detail needs to be clearly communicated to consumers.

The "Buy now" and "Proceed to checkout" buttons on the website appear to imply that the sales contract is finalized upon payment, but this is not the case, as stated by the Polish authorities.

Additionally, consumers are not adequately informed about their rights in relation to Amazon's "Delivery Guarantee" offer, and the information Amazon provides regarding product availability and delivery dates "may not be true."

Amazon does not include information about the right to a refund in order confirmations for "Delivery Guarantee" offers; instead, it only displays information about the right to one at the checkout summary stage or if a user clicks through to delivery details.

UOKiK is concerned that, as a result, consumers might not be aware of their legal rights and might not get what they are owed.

Amazon and Legal Hurdles

Amazon has previously faced criticism in Europe for engaging in dishonest business practices. Amazon and European Union (EU) authorities reached an agreement in December 2022 that calls for significant adjustments to the e-commerce behemoth's business practices.

The agreement ended two European antitrust investigations. It would compel Amazon to grant rivals the same access to essential online space. Additionally, Amazon is prohibited from influencing its product offers by using private information about independent merchants.

After complaints from several consumer groups successfully brought changes to the Amazon Prime subscription service across Europe, EU bigwigs implemented a new rule in July 2022.

Amazon replicated the move throughout the United Kingdom. The retail giant now allows European users from EU member countries to unsubscribe from Prime services with just two clicks via a prominent and clear cancel button.

Before the move by authorities, users need to click on several links before they can successfully cancel their Prime service.

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