Rospotrebnadzor wants to return business inspections in case of complaints

Rospotrebnadzor considers it necessary to return to business inspections in the event of mass customer complaints against the enterprise. Rospotrebnadzor proposes to work out this risk criterion by the Ministry of Economic Development, report “Izvestia” with reference to the department’s report on the enforcement practice of the law on the protection of consumer rights.

It is noted that from 2013 to 2022. the service identified more than 56,000 violations under Art. 16 “Unacceptable contract terms that infringe on the rights of buyers”, of which 15,100 are in retail trade, and 9,500 are in financial services.

Rospotrebnadzor documents state that almost every second contract that the service analyzed contained conditions that infringed on the rights of consumers. In particular, companies included paid services without the consent of the consumer, prescribed the opportunity for businesses to unilaterally refuse and terminate agreements, etc.

Previously the government extended a moratorium on business inspections for 2023. The secretariat of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko clarified that the resolution does not imply a complete abandonment of inspections; a risk-based approach is now being used in Russia.

The head of the “Public Consumer Initiative” Oleg Pavlov explained that inspections are now allowed to be carried out either based on risk indicators, or if there is a threat of harm to the life or health of consumers. According to him, only one risk indicator associated with signs of counterfeit has been approved for Rospotrebnadzor. At the same time, there are no risk indicators for monitoring consumer protection yet, he added.

Grigorenko’s secretariat noted that consumer complaints can be taken into account by Rospotrebnadzor in risk indicators. They explained that this would make it possible to stop violations and take response measures, including bringing the perpetrators to justice. The Ministry of Economic Development emphasized that inspections based on risk indicators in Russia are not limited.