The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, UOKiK, has imposed a fine of PLN 8,453,400 on Beliani (PL) GmbH, equivalent to EUR 2 million. The sanction concerns the company’s failure to provide information requested by the authority during explanatory proceedings. UOKiK was examining advertising messages and the way promotions were presented on the beliani.pl website.
According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the case concerns a Swiss company selling furniture online. The authority was analysing whether the messages used in the online store could have put pressure on consumers to make quick purchases and whether information about price reductions was presented in line with the regulations.
The explanatory proceedings concerned, among other things, messages displayed on beliani.pl, such as “Hurry! Only a few left” or “This product found [number] happy owners in the last 24 hours”. According to UOKiK, such messages may influence customers’ purchasing decisions by suggesting limited product availability or strong interest in the offer.
The authority was also examining how information about price reductions was presented. This included, among other issues, the display of the lowest price applicable during the 30 days before the promotion was introduced. This is one of the key obligations imposed on sellers under rules on price transparency in retail trade.
To assess the company’s practices, UOKiK requested explanations and documents from Beliani. The authority wanted to determine, among other things, how the company presents promotions and what the messages encouraging customers to make quick purchases mean in practice.
Two Requests Left Unanswered
UOKiK stated that it had sent Beliani a request to provide information. When no response was received, the authority repeated the request. Despite effective delivery of the correspondence, the company did not reply.
The authority also tried to contact the company through other channels, including entities linked to it in Poland. These efforts also failed to produce the required information. Beliani also did not respond to the notice of initiation of proceedings concerning the imposition of a financial penalty and did not address the allegation.
“An online store may attract customers with promotions, but it cannot hide from UOKiK’s questions. If a business operates on the Polish market and sells products to Polish consumers, it must also cooperate with the Polish authority. Failure to respond makes it harder to clarify the case and protect buyers; it cannot be a way of doing business,” said UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
UOKiK emphasises that the fine imposed on Beliani concerns the lack of cooperation with the authority, not a finding that the company violated consumer rights through the way it presented promotions. At this stage, the authority was conducting explanatory proceedings and needed information from the entrepreneur.
Under the regulations, an entrepreneur is obliged to provide UOKiK with the information necessary to conduct proceedings. For failing to respond, providing a response after the deadline or submitting false information, the President of UOKiK may impose a fine of up to 3 percent of the entrepreneur’s turnover.
In this case, the authority did not have data on Beliani’s turnover. For that reason, the fixed amount limit was applied, which is up to EUR 2 million. The fine was imposed at the maximum level, amounting to PLN 8,453,400.
According to UOKiK, the amount of the sanction was determined by the scale of the lack of cooperation. The company failed to respond to two requests, did not react to additional attempts at contact and did not present its position in the proceedings concerning the imposition of the fine.
The Company May Appeal
Beliani has the right to appeal the decision of the President of UOKiK to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection. The company has one month from the delivery of the decision to do so.
The Beliani case forms part of UOKiK’s broader activity concerning the e-commerce market, including the presentation of promotions, price reductions and messages that may influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. For some time, the authority has been stressing that online stores should provide customers with reliable information about prices, product availability and promotional conditions.
For businesses operating online, the decision is also a reminder that the obligation to cooperate with UOKiK also applies to foreign companies if they direct their offer to Polish consumers.
Source: CEO.com.pl
