As you know, in the world there are much more consumers than manufacturers and sellers. Most Russians have heard of a law protecting consumer rights. But is there a law protecting seller’s rights? The answer will be received in this article.
Does the Federal Law "On Protection of the Rights of the Seller" exist?
Is there a federal law that could contain clear information about the rights and freedoms of manufacturers, sellers and consumers? Unfortunately, at the moment in the Russian Federation there is no such normative act. There are only a few bills that partially affect the rights of sellers. What is the reason for such "discrimination" of representatives of the production sphere? First of all, with the fact that there are not so many sellers today. Moreover, today every citizen is the buyer.
What do sellers do? It all depends on the circumstances. If the situation is really in conflict, of which the buyer is one of the parties, then the best option would be to consult with a lawyer or hire a lawyer. In other cases, it is worth paying attention to the provisions of certain regulatory acts related to consumers. All these provisions are collected in this article.
Legal basis
Oddly enough, the only law that clearly regulates the rights of sellers is the 1992 Federal Law on Consumer Protection. It is there that the basic requirements for the seller are prescribed, as well as his responsibilities.
Protection of seller’s rights is also regulated by the Federal Law of 2008, called the “Law on the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individuals in the Implementation of State Control". The third chapter of this regulatory act states the rights of the seller in carrying out state inspections.
Rights of the seller during state and regional inspections
What does the third chapter of the Federal Law No. 294 contain? Article 21 refers to the following types of rights:
- familiarization with the results of inspections, as well as the opportunity to express disagreement with the data specified in the compiled protocol;
- the presence during the implementation of control measures, as well as the giving of explanations related to verification work;
- appeal of the actions of controlling persons in an administrative or judicial procedure;
- receipt of compensation for losses incurred during state supervisory activities.
- submission on own initiative of all the necessary documentation requested as part of the state audit;
- attraction of a person authorized by the Russian President to protect entrepreneurial rights and freedoms in a particular subject of the Russian Federation.
It is also worth paying attention to article 22. Protection of the seller’s rights is regulated here in the form of the possibility of claiming compensation from the state or regional authorities that arranged the inspection. Perhaps this is in the following cases:
- in the presence of lost profits, that is, lost income;
- determining the clear size of the harm done.
It is also worth noting that the subjects of the Russian Federation can establish their own rules for inspecting sellers.
Rights and obligations of the seller in the field of setting deadlines
Finally, it is worth paying attention to the Federal Law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights". The rights of the seller are regulated here in the fifth article - but only in the field of establishing specific service periods, the shelf life of a particular product, as well as warranty periods. Here is what is fixed here:
- The manufacturer has the right to establish a specific service life of a product that can be sold by consumers. In this case, for all the shortcomings available on the product, and therefore, shortening its service life, the seller (or manufacturer) is responsible.
- The manufacturer must satisfy the requirements of customers during the warranty period of a product.
- The seller has the right to establish the warranty period of the goods if it is not installed by the manufacturer.
Thus, the law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights" builds a system in which the mutual protection of the rights of sellers and buyers would help the quality sale of goods. Prove this position and subsequent articles.
Obligations and rights of the seller in the field of repair of goods
Article 6 of the bill "On the Protection of Consumer Rights" stipulates that the manufacturer or seller must maintain the quality condition of the goods until its sale to the buyer. For this, of course, it is necessary to periodically work with existing products. The work includes the maintenance of goods and their repair. The seller or the manufacturer has the right to send goods to repair or trading organizations, where they would be carried out with full or partial work.
Section seven of the same regulation states the consumer’s right to the safety of a service or product. The law, thus, ensures the quality functioning of the system for the sale of products.
Seller Information
The law states that the manufacturer, seller or contractor is required to bring to the attention of consumers full information about themselves. This includes the name of the organization, and its location, and the mode of its work. An individual entrepreneur, for example, is required to provide information on his own state registration. The same goes for licensed businesses. If the buyer requires a document confirming the accreditation of the manufacturer, then the request must be immediately granted.
In fact, Article 9 of the Federal Law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights" thus enshrines the obligations of sellers and manufacturers. However, a certain system of balances is triggered here, which allows, thus, to ensure the rights of sellers and manufacturers in another industry.
Product information
It is worth noting that the law in question very sparingly reveals the fundamental rights of sellers. Rather, their main responsibilities and functions are indicated here. In particular, article 10 states the obligations of manufacturers and sellers to provide the consumer with all the necessary information about the available product. What requirements are included here? This is what the law says:
- the product must necessarily contain the name of the relevant technical regulation;
- the product must have information about its consumer properties (in other words, the composition must be written);
- the price in rubles must be indicated, as well as the conditions for the purchase of goods or services;
- must be present expiration date or service of the goods, as well as many other information.
The manufacturer must indicate on the product all of the above information. The seller has the right to change the information if he finds a discrepancy, or to install it on his own if the manufacturer has not established the necessary information.
Article 11 states sellers' business hours. According to the law, the heads of organizations engaged in the sale of household, commercial or any other type of service can set hours of work on their own. It is the seller’s responsibility to bring this information to the attention of the consumer.
Seller Responsibility
Protection of consumer rights from the seller is recorded in article 13 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". This is shown in the instructions on the responsibility of the manufacturer, seller or contractor.The law says about the need to pay the buyer an amount corresponding to the amount of non-pecuniary damage. Payment of the penalty, however, will not be able to relieve the seller of obligations to the consumer.
The seller has the right to prove that the damage to the buyer was caused due to force majeure unrelated to the seller himself. In this case, liability is waived. Separately, it is worth noting the seller’s ability to defend their rights during the trial.
Protection of seller’s rights when returning goods
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in particular its 486th article, speaks of the seller’s right to demand payment of interest for non-fulfillment of monetary obligations by the buyer. We are talking about cases where the seller demands a full refund of the cost of the goods due to late payment of the product.
Consumers often abuse the opportunity to return a product. The law on the protection of the rights of sellers and consumers has long taken this point into account. So, the buyer can intentionally cause damage to the product, demanding to return its value and pay moral damage. The seller in this case has the right to a special examination. However, its price is quite high, and the seller himself will have to pay. Then you can pay attention to the following requirements established by law for the exchange or return of goods:
- exchange is prohibited if the 14-day period for making a purchase is exceeded;
- exchange seems impossible when the buyer wants to exchange a non-marketable product;
- the consumer has no check left;
- the buyer returns an item not in the return list.
The seller or manufacturer has the full right to refuse the buyer to exchange or refund the value of the goods in the presence of at least one of the above requirements.
Other rights of sellers and performers
Protection of the seller’s rights from the buyer can take many forms. So, it is worth paying attention to article 36 of the Federal Law No. 2300-1, which defines the obligations of the manufacturer in the field of timely informing consumers. If the seller or manufacturer is not able to complete the work on the production of goods or the provision of services in the right time, then civil liability will follow with full compensation for losses. The seller, therefore, has the right to postpone work, but only in accordance with a reasonable time frame.
The reverse situation applies here. So, the consumer can set deadlines, which are not the most convenient for the contractor. The Contractor has the right to warn the consumer about a possible change in the quality of services. If the consumer does not make any changes, the contractor, seller or manufacturer may refuse to execute the contract and demand damages.