There are a number of institutions in Poland providing free legal assistance in individual consumers cases.

The first point of contact is the consumer helpline and contact form. This help is provide by non-governmental consumer organisations and financed by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Assistance with more complex matters requires contact with a consumer ombudsman. Consumer advice is also provided by the Trade Inspection.

There are over 370 municipal and district consumer ombudsmen which provide free of charge consumer help and advice, mediation and legal assistance in court proceedings. Consumer ombudsmen are not subordinated to the President of the UOKiK. However, these institutions cooperate closely: the ombudsmen report problems relating to consumer protection and notify the Office of suspected infringements of collective consumer interests. Moreover, ombudsmen’s representatives form the National Board of Consumer Ombudsmen, an advisory body to the President of the UOKiK.

In the most complex cases – industry-specific, e.g., financial, telecommunications, transportation, energy – the consumer can get help from specialized institutions.

The ECC-Net‘s legal experts assist consumers to solve their cross-border problems free of charge by providing legal expertise.

Consumers may also opt for mediation or arbitration (ADR – alternative dispute resolution, also known as out-of-court mechanisms) as an inexpensive and efficient alternative to formalised and lengthy court procedures. A network of consumer courts of arbitration operates at voivodship inspectorates of the Trade Inspection. Other ADR institutions deal with industries such as: financial services, telecommunications and postal services, energy services and transport.