Which authorities should I contact in case of violation of consumer rights?
If your consumer rights have been violated, you can seek help:
- To Rospotrebnadzor;
- To the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights;
- To the Department of Trade and Services
In addition, in the event of serious violations, it is recommended to obtain advice from a qualified lawyer in advance. If none of the three above authorities could solve your problem, you can file a claim with the court located:
- At the place where the transaction was actually carried out, the agreement was signed;
- At the place of legal registration of the defendant;
- At your place of residence/registration.
The consumer has the right to demand the return of money paid for a low-quality product or service, both in pre-trial and judicial proceedings, and also to count on compensation for moral damage, the amount of which does not depend on the amount of property damage caused in accordance with Art. 15 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.
If the injured party refuses to comply with the demands within the due time, the defendant-violator will have to pay a penalty and a fine in the amount of 50% of the amount of the judicial penalty under Art. 13 clause 6 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.
justice pro...
If defects in the product are discovered, the consumer has the right to demand immediate, free of charge elimination of the defects in the product. From the article you will learn what is the deadline for eliminating defects and what are the consequences for the seller/manufacturer for violating this deadline.
Deadline for eliminating product defects: Civil Code of the Russian Federation
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 475) does not establish an exact period in days for eliminating the identified defects of the goods: “If the defects of the goods were not specified by the seller, the buyer to whom the goods of inadequate quality were transferred has the right, at his choice, to demand from the seller:
- proportionate reduction in the purchase price;
- free elimination of product defects within a reasonable time;
- reimbursement of their expenses for eliminating defects in the goods.”
Deadline for eliminating product defects under the Consumer Rights Protection Law
In accordance with Article 20 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, the period for eliminating defects in a product depends on whether it is determined by agreement of the parties in writing or not. If the deadline for eliminating product defects:
- is not determined in writing by agreement of the parties, these defects must be eliminated by the manufacturer (seller, authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) immediately, that is, within the minimum period objectively necessary to eliminate them, taking into account the method usually used;
- determined in writing by agreement of the parties, the period for eliminating defects in the goods cannot exceed forty-five days.
The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights establishes a limit on the period for eliminating defects in a product, determined in writing by agreement of the parties.
Agreement on a new period for eliminating defects in a product.
If, during the elimination of defects in the product, it becomes obvious that they will not be eliminated within the period specified by agreement of the parties, the parties may enter into an agreement on a new period for eliminating the defects of the product. The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights states that the lack of spare parts (parts, materials), equipment necessary to eliminate defects in the product, or similar reasons:
- are not the basis for concluding an agreement on such a new period
- and are not released from liability for violating the deadline initially determined by agreement of the parties.
The deadline for fulfilling the consumer’s request to provide him with a similar product for the period of elimination of defects
In relation to durable goods, the manufacturer, seller or authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur is obliged, upon presentation by the consumer of the specified requirement, within three days, to provide the consumer free of charge for the repair period with a durable product that has the same basic consumer properties, ensuring delivery at his own expense. However, this rule does not apply to all durable goods (the list of such goods is established by the Government of the Russian Federation).
Violation of the deadline for eliminating product defects
In case of “missing” the deadline established by law for eliminating defects in the product, the consumer has the right, at his choice, to make other demands in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights (Clause 2 of Article 23 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights).
Penalty for violation of deadlines for eliminating product defects
For violation of the deadline established by law for eliminating defects in the product, as well as for failure to fulfill (delay in fulfillment) the consumer’s request to provide him with a similar product for the period of repair (replacement) of a similar product, the seller (manufacturer, authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur, importer), who committed such violations, pays the consumer for each day of delay a penalty in the amount of one percent of the price of the goods (Clause 1 of Article 23 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights).
So, the Consumer Rights Protection Law sets a deadline for eliminating product defects. When determined in writing by agreement of the parties, the period for eliminating defects in the goods cannot exceed 45 days. The law provides for sanctions for violating the deadline for eliminating product defects.
Posted by:
Ralenko Anton Andreevich
Moscow 2020
Elimination of deficiencies in the work performed.
The rights of the consumer when identifying deficiencies in the service received are established by Art. 29 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.
The quality of the service provided is assessed by its results. In the event of a non-conforming result, the consumer has the legal right (at his or her discretion) to demand:.
- Termination of the agreement to perform the work and return of funds given to the contractor;
- Compensation for expenses incurred in eliminating deficiencies in the service provided. It does not matter whether the defects and malfunctions were eliminated independently or with the help of third parties;
- Repeated (if possible) work;
- Free production of a similar item of appropriate quality;
- A proportionate reduction in the cost of the service provided.
In addition, the consumer may insist that deficiencies in the work performed by the contractor be corrected free of charge.
Within what time frame must the service provider satisfy the requirement to eliminate deficiencies?
In order to fulfill the reasonable requirements of the consumer and eliminate the shortcomings of the results of his work, the contractor is assigned:
- 14 days is the standard period regulated by law;
- More or less time - if this is stipulated in a written agreement between the provider and the recipient of the service. In this case, the period for eliminating deficiencies specified in the agreement cannot be more than 45 days.
Please note that the contractor can proportionately reduce the cost of the service provided within 10 days after receiving the relevant claim. Within the same period, the agreement between the parties to the transaction may be terminated, and compensation must be provided for the costs of eliminating shortcomings in the work performed, free production of a similar item of proper quality, or urgent re-provision of the service.
The service provider violated the specified regulated deadlines; for each day of delay, he will have to pay the consumer a penalty in the amount of 3% of the cost of the poor-quality work performed. The penalty can be collected peacefully or through court. In both cases, we recommend that you obtain prior legal advice.
CLAIM
03.10.2012 I and __________________ concluded 2 Agreements for the delivery of building materials and the construction of a house, entitled “Agreement of Assignment” and “Agreement for the provision of services for the construction of a country house.” From the texts of the contracts it follows that these are construction contracts.
The obligations assumed under the Contracts were fulfilled by me in full, within the time limits established by the contract.
At the same time, the obligations assumed by the Contractor were fulfilled improperly: there are multiple defects. The beams, floorboards and linings are infected with fungus and have turned black. There are also other shortcomings indicated in the consumer’s first application to your organization.
The above is considered poor quality performance of work by the Contractor under contracts.
In accordance with Art. 4 of the above Law, the contractor is obliged to perform work for the consumer, the quality of which corresponds to the contract. If there are no conditions in the contract regarding the quality of work, the contractor is obliged to perform work suitable for the purposes for which work of this kind is usually used.
Oral and written appeals regarding the elimination of deficiencies in the work performed and non-compliance with construction deadlines did not lead to a positive result.
According to the provisions of Art. 13 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” of 02/07/1992, for violation of consumer rights, the manufacturer (executor, seller, authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) bears responsibility under the law or contract. The Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” provides for a penalty in the amount of 3 percent of the price of the work for each day of delay for violation of deadlines for fulfilling consumer requirements to eliminate defects in work (Article 31).
Based on the above, guided by the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”
ASK:
- eliminate the shortcomings of the work performed, set out in the consumer’s claim statement before December 10, 2012, including replacing low-quality timber, or treating it with an antiseptic, as well as replacing unsuitable building materials with high-quality ones.
Art. 15 of the Law on PPP establishes that a consumer whose rights are violated is compensated for moral damage caused by such a violation. Considering the circumstances, namely the possibility of a pre-trial settlement of this issue, the consumer is not currently claiming compensation for moral damage caused.
Please inform me of the decision taken regarding this complaint at the above address.
In case of failure to comply with the above requirements or evasion of their fulfillment within the time limits established by law, I will file claims in court for compensation for all losses caused, penalties for delay in voluntary satisfaction of consumer demands, penalties under Art. 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, on the recovery of compensation for moral damage, a fine in the amount of fifty percent of the amount awarded in favor of the consumer, provided for in paragraph 6 of Article 13 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, in addition, a state duty may be collected from your organization and performance fee.
Applications:
— A copy of the claim statement.
“___”____ 20__ __________________/__________________/
Download the document “Claim with a requirement to eliminate defects in work”
How to submit a requirement to eliminate the shortcomings of a poor-quality service?
If you are faced with losses resulting from improper provision of services, you should:
- Record the low quality of work by drawing up the appropriate document (act), or making a corresponding note in the “Book of Complaints and Suggestions”;
- 2. Submit a claim to the contractor with a requirement to eliminate the shortcomings and compensate for the damage caused. It is recommended that the claim be submitted in two copies, one of which must be kept for yourself. The performer must leave a signature and date on your copy.
You can submit demands to the contractor:
- After the service has been provided during the warranty period;
- When accepting the results of the work;
- During the provision of the service.
If there is no warranty period, then you need to make claims and insist on eliminating the defects within a “reasonable period”.
As for the performer, he must:
- Fulfill consumer requests to eliminate deficiencies;
- Officially refuse to comply with the demands. An official refusal will mean not only an oral or written response, but also the absence of any response.
After the service provider refuses to fulfill the requirements pre-trial, you can file a claim in court. The claim must be accompanied by a copy of the claim sent to the violator and copies of all documents directly or indirectly related to the case.
Please note: if there are obvious (obvious) violations in the results of work (for example, a beauty salon or dry cleaning), they must be reported when accepting the service, i.e. immediately.
How to file a claim for elimination of defects
It is mandatory to prepare and submit a claim for elimination of deficiencies in writing. It is not enough to call or orally report the presence of shortcomings, because very often the Law or the text of the contract itself includes a requirement for pre-trial settlement of the dispute, without which the judge will rule on the return of the statement of claim.
When making a claim, you must immediately determine the requirements: in the case under consideration, this is a requirement to eliminate the deficiencies free of charge. Therefore, it is advisable to include in the text of such a claim:
- a reference to the basis in connection with which legal relations arose between the parties - an agreement, law, etc. For example, the fact of concluding a purchase and sale agreement can be confirmed by checks, witness statements, etc.
- a list of identified deficiencies when they are not specified in the contract. This means that, as a general rule, the product (work, service) is assumed to have no defects, unless they have been specifically stated.
- requirement to eliminate deficiencies.
- the period within which corrective action must be taken (the deadline is usually 30 days).
About independent examination
It happens that the contractor refuses to eliminate the shortcomings, arguing that he provided high-quality services. But the results of the work turned out to be poor and/or defects arose subsequently due to the fault of the consumer. In such cases, it is worth conducting an independent examination.
Please note: only an independent specialist who has a valid license to carry out this type of work can conduct an expert assessment. Otherwise, the results of his work will be considered invalid.
The service provider is required to pay for the examination. However, if it turns out that it is not his fault for the appearance of defects, the consumer will have to compensate for all costs associated with the assessment.
The results of the expert's examination can be challenged in court. Another option is to order another inspection at your own expense.
Elimination of shortcomings of the purchased product.
45 days is the maximum period for eliminating defects in purchased goods. For every day of delay, you can demand a penalty from the seller (1% of the purchase amount).
If you do not want to return a durable product and decide to correct its shortcomings, remember that within 3 days maximum, the seller, upon receiving your request, must provide you with a similar product free of charge for the entire repair period. At the same time, there is a specific list of things that cannot be replaced with similar items during the repair period:
- Civilian weapons;
- Technically complex products (electric kettles, toasters, microwave ovens, electric toothbrushes, hair dryers, and other devices of the same nature);
- Furniture;
- Transport (ships, motorcycles, cars).
may also not be provided if there is a corresponding condition in the agreement with the seller.
If you want to eliminate the shortcomings yourself or by third-party specialists...
If you want to eliminate the defects of the product yourself or by turning to third parties for help, you can demand a reduction in the cost of the non-conforming product or compensation for the costs of eliminating the defects. In accordance with Art. 22 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, the Seller must satisfy this requirement within the next 10 days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
What are the terms for warranty repairs?
According to paragraph 1 of Article 20 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the warranty repair period cannot exceed 45 days from the moment the goods are handed over by the buyer until the moment they are returned.
Malfunctions are eliminated immediately or within a period determined by the parties. In this case, the repair period under no circumstances can exceed forty-five days. The seller is obliged to inform the buyer about the timing of repairs.
Is the warranty repair period subject to suspension? No, the repair period is not affected by the examination and court hearings.
The warranty repair period can be extended with the consent of the buyer and the signing of an additional agreement. The warranty period is extended for the period of repair.
Regulated deadlines for eliminating defects (repairs) of the product.
We have already said that the seller is obliged to eliminate defects and inconsistencies of the product within 45 days maximum. However, this does not mean that he must “wait” for the entire specified period. According to Art. 2 clause 1 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, a minimum period also exists and is defined as “objective for eliminating deficiencies”.
Other important deadlines:
- 1 week is given to replace the product if for some reason the defects cannot be eliminated;
- 20 days are allotted for additional assessment of the quality of the product (if necessary). The period is counted from the day the buyer submits the claim;
- 1 month is given to replace an item if the item needed for replacement is not available at the moment.
.You can become familiar with the permissible fines, penalties, penalties and other sanctions, including those provided for delays on the part of sellers, by studying Art. 30 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”
Deadline for eliminating product defects, judicial practice
Info
However, the plaintiff’s claims based on Article 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” were stated in connection with the presence of, in his opinion, a significant defect in the purchased car, and not only in connection with the inability to use the goods during each year the total warranty period is more than thirty days due to repeated elimination of its defects.
This is due to the fact that the period for eliminating the defect depends on which product and what defect must be eliminated, which, due to the variety of types of goods, cannot be provided for in the law for each type. In relation to eliminating the defect in your TV, it is necessary Based on the period initially given to you for repairs - one week.
This period will be objectively necessary for repair (elimination of the defect).
In addition, while your TV is being repaired, you have the right to demand that another TV be provided to you. This right is granted to the consumer by paragraph 2 of Article 20 of the Law.
Let us recall that a significant defect of a product is an irremovable defect or defect that cannot be eliminated without disproportionate costs or time, or is detected repeatedly, or appears again after its elimination, or other similar defects.
Now, if you bought a washing machine and on the second day, for example, the control panel buttons began to stick, you should hurry to return the product to the seller within 15 days, because there is a high probability that this defect will not be recognized as significant.
If you miss this deadline, you can only demand that the defects of the product be eliminated free of charge, but not the return of the money paid for it (you can also demand a proportionate reduction in the price, but the likelihood of reaching a compromise with the seller on the issue of “proportionality” is low).
How long will it take for our TV to be repaired? ANSWER: Clause 1 of Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” establishes that if the period for eliminating defects in a product is not determined in writing by agreement of the parties, these defects must be eliminated by the manufacturer (seller, authorized organization or authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) immediately, that is, within the minimum period objectively necessary to eliminate them, taking into account the method usually used.
Cases when satisfaction from a purchase is overshadowed by a complete breakdown of the product or a defect that was not immediately detected are not uncommon. When trying to return a product for repair free of charge, certain difficulties may arise. For example, the period for eliminating defects in the product is greatly delayed, or the seller refuses to accept the application altogether, explaining the presence of the defect as careless operation. Knowledge of the provisions of current legislation will help achieve a fair result.
