GDANSK (Reuters) – Poland’s competition watchdog has accused the European arm of e-commerce firm Amazon of misleading sales and delivery practices, the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (UOKiK) said on Wednesday. .
The office states that consumers on Amazon’s Polish website are misunderstood about product availability, delivery times and consumer rights at the moment the sales contract is concluded and that, if proven, Amazon EU said it could face penalties of up to 10% of its turnover.
A representative for Amazon.pl was not immediately available for comment.
According to a statement issued by UOKiK Amazon EU, orders received through the Amazon.pl website are treated as non-binding until the company confirms actual shipment, leaving the option to cancel the order.
Using phrases like “buy now” and “proceed to checkout” can suggest that the consumer is making a purchase and that the transaction will take place as soon as payment is made, UOKiK said.
“If consumers knew that an order is not a purchase and product availability and delivery times are just estimates, they may not use this company’s services,” said Tomasz Chrostny of UOKiK. said
The Secretariat noted that while these terms were detailed on the Amazon.pl website, the readability and placement were difficult for consumers to read.
Guaranteed delivery terms with the option to get a refund in case of delay were not readily available to consumers, according to the office.
UOKiK said it launched an investigation into the practice in September 2021 following consumer complaints.
(Reporting by Karol Badohal, Editing by Jason Neely)