Office for Competition and Consumers Protection

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection implements the governmental policy of consumer protection. The primary objective of the OCCP in this area is to represent the public interest, i.e. to initiate administrative proceedings in case of practices infringing collective consumer interests. In consequence, the President of the OCCP may issue decisions prohibiting practices infringing the rights of weaker market participants and impose a fine up to 10 percent of the revenue earned in the accounting year preceding the year within which the penalty is imposed.

The OCCP cooperates with municipal and district consumer ombudsmen and non-governmental organisations financed by the State Budget (Consumer Federation, Polish Consumer Association) that provide free of charge legal services in individual cases.

The OCCP President's right to control contract provisions used in relations with consumers also constitutes an important role. As a result lawsuits demanding contractual clauses to be considered illegal are submitted to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection. The provisions registered in the Register of Abusive Clauses on the basis of valid-in-law court verdict may not be used in the legal system towards consumers.

Every year the OCCP opines hundreds of drafts of legislative acts and other legal documents ensuring that these suitably cover the interests of consumers. The Office also initiates legislative changes aimed at providing weaker market participants with the most comprehensive protection. Due to this, for example in 2004 it was possible to delegalize companies operating in the so-called Argentinean system, which was related to numerous infringements of consumer rights. The Office also prepared a draft of the Act on Consumer Credit, which contains a series of solutions advantageous for the weaker market participants.