Amazon was going crazy. He will pay a huge fine in Poland

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chróstny, decided to impose a fine on Amazon. The company, according to officials, was misleading consumers. For this reason, he must pay as much as PLN 31 million in fines unless he decides to appeal to court, which in this case is practically certain.

Amazon in the crosshairs of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Amazon was guilty of misleading consumers as to the moment of conclusion of the sales contract, product availability, delivery dates and consumer rights regarding the “Delivery Guarantee” service. The office received numerous complaints from dissatisfied customers who did not like the platform's behavior.

The average consumer has the right to assume that the purchase options, availability and delivery times offered by traders are not misleading. He should not be forced to take additional actions to check the credibility of the offered functionalities or presented information. In the decision issued against Amazon, we questioned the misleading of consumers, including practices classified as so-called dark patterns, i.e. putting pressure on consumers by displaying a time counter in which the order should be placed, even though there is no guarantee of delivery within this time.

– says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Customers drew the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection's attention, among other things, to frequent cancellations of orders by Amazon, e.g. for the popular Kindle e-book readers. The store argues that simply placing an order or even paying for it does not constitute concluding a contract. The correct moment of purchase, according to the platform, is when the item is actually shipped. However, information on this subject is included in the sales conditions, but it is written in gray font on a white background and may be difficult to access for the consumer.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection argues that Amazon also misled customers regarding the delivery date. The platform put pressure on the user to make a purchase as soon as possible, and treated the delivery date only as an estimate.

Information about product availability and its fast shipping is very valuable for consumers and for many people it may be the main reason why they make a purchase decision. However, such information cannot be a lure. If the entrepreneur provides a specific delivery date, he or she must meet it. This practice by Amazon is classified as so-called dark patterns because it uses pressure to get the consumer to order the product as soon as possible

– says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Officials also did not like the “Delivery Guarantee” offer, under which Amazon guarantees delivery on a specified date. If this deadline is not met, the consumer has the right to claim a refund of delivery costs. The thing is that information on this subject is unclear and difficult to access, so many people may not be aware of their rights.

Therefore, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a total fine on Amazon EU SARL of PLN 31,850,141. Additionally, the office's decision must be published on the company's website and social media. The decision is not final and the company may appeal against it to court.

UPDATE:

We received a comment from Amazon's press office:

Fast and reliable delivery of a wide range of products is one of our priorities. At the same time, Amazon.pl customers have access to millions of products with free Prime shipping. Since the launch of Amazon.pl in 2021, we have been constantly investing and working to provide our customers with precise and reliable delivery information at the order finalization stage, and the vast majority of orders arrive on time. Customers can always contact us and receive support, even in the occasional case of order delay or cancellation. Over the last year, we have cooperated with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and proposed a number of voluntary solutions aimed at further improving the customer experience when shopping on Amazon.pl. We strictly comply with the law in all countries where we operate and we strongly disagree with the decision issued and the penalty imposed by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. We will appeal against this decision.