• Over 37 thousand applications for amicable settlement of disputes were submitted in 2017-2018 to authorised entities.
• Consumers most often turned to the Trade Inspectorate for mediation or conciliation - with more than 17,000 applications.
• The majority concerned the financial sector. The Financial Ombudsman, the Arbitration Court at the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the Bank Arbitrator received over 14 thousand applications in total.

The possibility of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was introduced by the Act on out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes, which entered into force on 10 January 2017. Authorised entities can assist with reaching an agreement. They are certified by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, independent and impartial.

At the end of April 2019, authorised entities published reports on their activities in 2018 on their websites and provided the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), who supervises the ADR system in Poland, with a summary of their activities to date.

ADR - statistical data

Reports from ADR entities show that Poles (both consumers and traders) are increasingly aware of alternative dispute resolution methods. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of ADR requests.

Between 2017 and 2018, 37 036 applications were submitted. Most often they concerned disputes related to complaints about industrial goods (mainly shoes) and financial services (most often mortgage loans).

Most of the applications were received by: Trade Inspection (17,496), Financial Ombudsman (7,755), Court of Arbitration at the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (5,348), President of the Office of Electronic Communications (3,364) and Bank Arbitrator (1,665). The Passenger Rights Ombudsman at the Office of the President of Railway Transport pointed to a very large increase in the awareness of the institution - in 2018, the office received 70% more applications than in the previous year.

The basic principle of an amicable settlement is its voluntary nature. In practice, this means that proceedings can only be conducted with consent of both parties to the dispute. The Arbitration Court at the Financial Supervision Authority noted an increase in the interest in participation in arbitration proceedings, as evidenced by the percentage of consents to participate in the proceedings (in 2017 - 38%, in 2018 - 44%).

On average, amicable proceedings lasted 89 days. The shortest - 28 days on average - were held before the President of UKE (telecommunications), the longest - 316 days on average - before the Financial Ombudsman.

Where to report to if you want to resolve a dispute amicably?

• Trade Inspection - disputes relating to the sale of goods and services,
• Financial Ombudsman - financial and insurance disputes,
• Court of Arbitration at the Financial Supervision Authority - financial disputes,
• Bank Arbitrator at the Polish Bank Association - only disputes with banks,
• President of the Office of Electronic Communications - telecommunications and postal disputes,
• Negotiation Coordinator at the Office of the President of the Energy Regulatory Authority - disputes with suppliers of electricity, gas, heat,
• Ombudsman for Railway Passengers at the Office of the President of the Railway Authority - disputes with railway companies,
• Passenger Rights Ombudsman at the Office of the President of the Civil Aviation Authority - disputes with airlines over denied boarding, cancellations or delays,
• Chamber of Electronic Economy - disputes concerning the sale of goods and services over the Internet with members of the Chamber,
• Centre for  Amicable Settlement of Food Disputes - disputes over the sale of food products.

In the event of a dispute about goods or services purchased online, the request may also be made through the platform: ODR (Online Dispute Resolution). It is a website run by the European Commission, available, among others, in Polish, useful especially when trying to solve a conflict with an entrepreneur from another EU country.

Amicable settlement

• It is a post-complaint procedure - before filing out an application for  initiation of the proceedings, you need to have submitted a complaint and waited for it to be processed by the entrepreneur.
• It is based on goodwill and willingness to reach an agreement, and therefore requires consent of both parties to the dispute. The trader may refuse to participate in the proceedings, in which case the ADR entity is obliged to terminate the amicable settlement proceedings.
• This does not require physical presence of the parties to the dispute - proceedings may be conducted by e-mail.
• It should be completed within 90 days of receipt of a complete application by the eligible entity.
• It is (in principle) free of charge.
• It may have a positive impact on building friendly relations with consumers, and thus strengthen the reputation of the entrepreneur.

Additional information for consumers:

Contact Point for ADR/ODR (information on ADR entities, assistance with filling in applications)
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 22 55 60 332, 22 55 60 333
E-mail: kontakt.adr@uokik.gov.pl

Additional information for the media:

Press Office UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. 695 902 088, 22 55 60 314
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL