Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has accused the European unit of e-commerce giant Amazon of misleading business practices.
The office alleged that consumers on Amazon’s Polish website were mislead at the moment a sales contract is signed, product availability, shipping times, and consumer rights; if proven, Amazon EU might face a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue.
Aleksandra Zarychta-Kuzalska, the head of corporate relations for Amazon in Poland, told Reuters that the business respects all legal obligations in Poland and other countries in which it operates.
“We will continue to look for ways to further improve our customer experience, and we will cooperate with UOKiK” she stated.
According to a statement published by UOKiK, Amazon EU viewed orders it received through the Amazon.pl website as non-binding until it confirmed actual shipment, allowing it to cancel them.
According to UOKiK, terms such as “buy now” and “proceed to checkout” can imply that consumers are completing a purchase and that the transaction will occur promptly upon payment.
Tomasz Chrostny, the head of UOKiK, stated that if consumers realized that placing an order does not constitute a purchase and that product availability and delivery periods are merely estimations, they might not use this company’s services.
The office saw that these terms were listed on Amazon.pl, but their readability and placement made it impossible for consumers to read them.