Author: Victoria Georgieva
On May 29, 2023, a webinar was held on representations to online merchants. The event was organised by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the European Consumer Centre (ECC). Speakers were experts from the Consumer Protection Commission /CPC/, the European Consumer Centre and GS1 Bulgaria. The event was opened by the President of BCCI Tsvetan Simeonov, who presented the objectives and the topics to be covered.
Mr. Igat Aresnov, who is the Director General of the Market Control Directorate at the Commission for Consumer Protection, explained that the main violations by traders are due to ignorance of important points in their rights. He explained that the basic necessary information is found in the Law on the provision of digital content and digital services and I sale of goods. The individual conformity requirements of the goods must correspond to the description, type and quantity and any possessed characteristics that are provided for in the contract. The goods shall be delivered with all accessories and instructions provided in the contract. The trader is obliged, when selling digital goods, to provide the necessary updates for a certain period of time. Another important point addressed is the liability of the trader for non-conformity in the case of delivery of goods without a digital element. The trader is liable for any lack of conformity for goods that occur within two years of delivery. For digital goods, the time limit is again two years, but this is in the case of a single supply of services. In the case of a contract providing for the continuous supply of digital goods and services over a period of time longer than two years, the trader is liable for any non-conformity that occurs within two years of the supply of the goods or the commencement of the continuous supply of the digital goods or services. In relation to the provision of digital services and products, several other hypotheses were also considered.
Another important topic that was discussed was the right of complaint. The consumer has the right to complain about any non-conformity of the goods with the agreed quality, including for second-hand goods in which a non-conformity has been detected after the initial inspection. It is the consumer’s right to choose which warranty to use, the commercial or the statutory warranty. The trader is not entitled to refuse a claim. Replacement of goods shall not be made with recycled goods. It is also the trader’s obligation to dismantle defective goods and he should not cause the consumer any significant inconvenience in removing them. The lecturer also considered other options where the complaint cannot be satisfied or is not satisfied in full, the cancellation of the contract or the reduction of the price if the trader has not carried out repairs and replacement. In addition to all this, Mr Arseneff explained the essence of the commercial guarantee, which consists of the trader’s freedom to grant it or not, to determine its duration and under what conditions it should operate.
The lecturer was also Hristo Trendafilov from the CPC, who explained the requirements for pre-contractual information on e-commerce websites and the conditions for the right of return. Velin Karchev, Chief Expert from GS1 Bulgaria, explained the standards imposed by GS1 and how they apply to online trade. And Sonia Spasova gave more information to the participants related to the activities of the European Consumer Centre and its functions.