Conventional shops

It is important for both consumers and businesses to be aware of their rights and obligations, so that they can act in an informed way. This factsheet contains the most important information on the legislation concerned for traditional shops.

One of the main objectives of the National Authority for Trade and Consumer Protection is to protect the financial interests of consumers, to detect price indication and price application irregularities that lead to consumer fraud and misleading consumers, and to inform businesses about the most important legal requirements in this respect.

It is clear that a significant proportion of consumers make their purchases on the basis of promotions, i.e. they consciously seek out offers from commercial outlets to stimulate their purchases, and therefore particular attention should be paid to checking the price indications of goods and services offered for sale.

The consumer protection authority examines the general commercial terms and conditions, including.

• Opening hours: whether they have been posted and, if changed, whether consumers have been informed.

• Customers' books: they must be displayed in a clearly visible and easily accessible place, be properly authenticated and have pages numbered consecutively. A complaint in the book is considered a written complaint and the business must respond in writing, in a substantive and verifiable manner, and take steps to communicate the complaint within 30 days of its registration.

• Investigation of complaint handling by enterprises.

• Information on the location of complaint handling and arbitration bodies.

• Security services: where security services operate in commercial establishments, their name and location, and the rules governing their operation in relation to customers, must be clearly displayed to customers.

• Obligation to provide a receipt or invoice.

• Provision and continuous availability of electronic payment facilities: this means the possibility to pay by card or to make an instant bank transfer.

• Authenticity of measuring instruments: where the measurement has legal effect, the measuring instrument must be certified. The use of weight substitutes is prohibited.

• Checkweighing scales must be placed in the shop.

We recommend that you pay particular attention to the above information when shopping in traditional shops, so that you are much less likely to be scammed as an informed consumer.