The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being, or Rospotrebnadzor for short, which sounds more familiar, stands guard over the consumer rights of Russian citizens. Everyone should know how to complain to Rospotrebnadzor. After all, it is this controlling body that is the first instance where a citizen should contact in case of violation of his consumer rights. How to write a complaint, as well as when and why to file it with Rospotrebnadzor, will be discussed in this article.
Federal Service Functions, or Complaints
Before filing a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor, it is necessary to find out what measures this regulatory body will be able to take to restore the violated rights and punish the offender. And this, first of all, depends on the managerial functions and powers delegated by the state to such an authority. Rospotrebnadzor performs the following monitoring functions:
- sanitary supervision;
- epidemiological surveillance;
- consumer protection;
- supervision of compliance with licensing requirements of controlled licensees.
Consequently, the service accepts complaints of violations of consumer rights when purchasing goods or services, as well as non-compliance with licensing conditions that caused or could cause harm to a citizen. Violation of sanitary and epidemiological standards, in fact, is a private violation of consumer rights or licensing conditions, and therefore there is no need to explain how to file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor regarding these tortures.
Who can write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor?
The scope of control of this service is so wide that, by and large, an application to Rospotrebnadzor can be made by anyone, but the complaint will be satisfied only if the violations described in it really concern the subject of appeal. Now more about this.
Consumer Complaint
If a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor is filed for violation of consumer rights, the person who initiated it must be the consumer (or his representative) whose consumer rights are violated.
Consumers in Russia are considered only citizens who buy goods or services that are not related to the implementation of commercial activities. Consequently, only citizens can complain about violation of consumer rights. It should be noted that an individual entrepreneur may also complain about a violation of his consumer rights if the purchase or service he made is not related to his entrepreneurial activity.
But, in fact, the initial non-commercial purpose of such a product or service matters. For example, an individual entrepreneur purchased a car for use in taxi mode for his business. Since there are no vehicles on the market that are produced and sold exclusively for taxi operation, its buyer, an individual entrepreneur, falls under the protection of Rospotrebnadzor.
But the loan that a taxi driver took in a bank to buy a car as an individual entrepreneur (that is, such a loan product is sold by the bank only for business entities), will not be considered a consumer acquisition.In this case, an individual entrepreneur does not fall under the protection of Rospotrebnadzor, and the bank, selling this service, is not obliged to be guided by the legislation on consumer protection.
Of course, there are many other legal mechanisms for protecting the rights of business entities (both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs), for example, appeal to the arbitration court, but this is a completely different story.
Licensing Complaint
Licensees of the Rospotrebnadzor are business entities whose activities are associated with the use of products that are very dangerous for human life and health, such as infectious agents that emit ions of substances and objects. Representatives of such a business are subject to very strict licensing conditions regarding both the equipment of working premises and the distance from residential buildings, etc.
Of course, non-compliance with licensing conditions, which can lead to the leakage of a dangerous virus or radiation infection, is fraught with consequences not only for citizens, but also for business. For example, radiation leak in recreation area often leads to the complete closure of balneological institutions, and, as a result, entails losses to their owners. Thus, legal entities can also complain of non-compliance with licensing conditions.
Representatives of the subjects of appeal
A complaint to Rospotrebnadzor can be filed either by the applicant himself or by his authorized representative or legal representative. The latter must have a power of attorney, which is duly executed, that is, notarized. Legal representatives include parents and guardians of young and minor children, as well as persons whose legal capacity is limited.
Submission of complaints by public organizations
Although legal entities are not consumers, they may well represent such in the process of appealing against the unlawful actions of sellers of goods and services. In addition to them, public organizations can represent the interests of citizens.
Rospotrebnadzor complaint form for citizens
The subject of appeal lodges a complaint in the form of an appeal. It should be borne in mind that the procedure and grounds for appeal by citizens, legal entities and public organizations are different.
The algorithm for applying to citizens in institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership is established by the federal law “On the procedure for considering applications from citizens of the Russian Federation”. So, any appeal of a citizen concerning his rights and legitimate interests, as well as the powers, rights and obligations of the institution or organization to which he applies, is subject to consideration. Some institutions have a special procedure established by special laws and codes.
The complaint to Rospotrebnadzor is examined on a common basis within one month. If for some reason difficulties have arisen that make it impossible to provide an answer in a timely manner, Rospotrebnadzor is obliged to notify the applicant in writing about the extension of the time period for considering the complaint, but no more than for 15 days.
Rospotrebnadzor complaint form for legal entities and public organizations
Non-governmental organizations have the right to file complaints with Rospotrebnadzor in the interests of their members. In this case, they act within the limits of their statutory goals and objectives, which should be spelled out in the statutory documents.
Legal entities and institutions that are not public organizations are not authorized by any law to appeal to state bodies, and, therefore, are entitled to such treatment only in cases expressly specified by legislative acts regulating the activities of a particular state body or service.
Rospotrebnadzor, in accordance with applicable law, considers complaints from enterprises on the actions of its employees and subordinate structures, as well as complaints about non-compliance by licensees with license conditions that caused or could cause damage to the activities of such a legal entity. Such legislative uncertainty is associated with the fact that enterprises usually have a lawyer or a person who is partially knowledgeable in legal issues, who needs to know how to write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor (the sample is probably stored in its working folder).
Complaint structure
For the complaint to be considered, the document must be kept in a clear structure. This will allow the supervisor to correctly understand what you are asking for.
A sample complaint to Rospotrebnadzor can be requested from the service itself. Of course, it is not always suitable for each specific case. That is why it is important to know yourself how to write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor.
A similar document should consist of three main parts. Among them are the following:
- introductory;
- descriptive;
- pleading.
In the introductory part, you should state about yourself, your offender, as well as the legal relations that bind you. For example, you can write that Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich bought bread in the Zvyozdochka store, etc.
The narrative requires a detailed statement of the circumstances in which the consumer's rights were violated. It is important to indicate as much as possible known information about the intruder - the exact time, name and surname of the direct seller, who of the other store employees was present in circumstances that entailed a violation of your rights, etc.
The petitioning part of the complaint is the most important, because it is precisely on how you write it that the subsequent actions of the supervisory authority will depend. Rospotrebnadzor can be asked to take the following penalties regarding the violator: collect a fine, deprive a license or oblige the business entity to restore the violated rights.
It should be understood that Rospotrebnadzor may impose sanctions on a business entity and, in the future, petition for their collection in case of refusal of voluntary payment. As for the restoration of violated rights, Rospotrebnadzor can establish the fact of violation and indicate to the subject under control the need to eliminate it. But it is only the court that can oblige a business entity to take specific actions with respect to a citizen.
Of course, having the response of Rospotrebnadzor on the verification and identification of these violations in hand, winning a trial against a negligent enterprise is not difficult. But you need to understand that this burden lies with the citizen himself. As a rule, after the detection by Rospotrebnadzor of violations, the business entity voluntarily fulfills the requirements of a citizen.
The application to Rospotrebnadzor, the sample of which is practically the same for both citizens and legal entities, should contain a reference to the law, giving the subject of appeal the right to contact this service. For citizens, public organizations and other legal entities, the laws are different.
Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor for further appeal to the court
Although the powers of the service in question in the field of consumer protection are quite broad, they do not include upholding the interests of consumers in the courts. But Rospotrebnadzor can provide the consumer with a good evidence base. For example, violation of consumer rights resulted in the provision of knowingly false advice. The assurances of sales consultants and bank employees are not recorded on video and are not recorded in the protocol.
Only witnesses who heard the consultation will be able to verbally confirm the essence of the information presented to the consumer in the store.But the court’s decision cannot be based solely on the testimonies of witnesses, because written evidence is also needed, which may well be the response of the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare to a consumer’s complaint (which sets out the progress and results of the verification service, revealed violations and confirmed facts). The main thing is to know how to write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor correctly.
How to apply to Rospotrebnadzor
You can file a complaint in three ways:
- personally to the office of Rospotrebnadzor or its regional divisions;
- sending by mail;
- by sending an email.
In the first case (an example of a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor was considered above), the document is submitted in writing, signed by the applicant, while the cap indicates the applicant's last name, first name and patronymic, as well as his address to which the response should be sent. If a representative lays a complaint, you must have a power of attorney from the applicant with you.
By mail, the complaint is sent by registered mail (preferably with a notice). On the envelope you need to write the full name of the service and its address. The document must necessarily indicate the filing date. If there are any doubts about the design, a sample letter to Rospotrebnadzor can be studied on the service website.
In connection with innovations in the legislation, you can also contact Rospotrebnadzor by e-mail. The official website of the service describes how to complain to Rospotrebnadzor via the Internet. The following requirements apply to the email: the heading must indicate the body to which the applicant applies, information about the applicant himself and his email address to which the response to the complaint should be sent. The applicant can also indicate the mailing address if he wishes to receive a response in the traditional way.
Helpline
Fortunately, the days of the NKVD and similar structures, which even responded to a very dubious signal of violations, punished people in the most brutal way without trial and investigation, groundlessly incriminating them for serious crimes, are over. Therefore, today an anonymous complaint is not being submitted to Rospotrebnadzor.
However, a way to report a violation of their rights anonymously exists. To do this, call the helpline and state your problems. Specialists of the service will give a general consultation on the violated rights. That is, the caller tells his problem, and the representative of Rospotrebnadzor explains to him his rights, lists the possibilities for their restoration, and also tells where to get a sample complaint to Rospotrebnadzor. Having received such a telephone consultation, the applicant will be able to assess his chances and decide whether to file a formal complaint or not.
