Neither the provisions of the Civil Code nor the provisions of the Act of 30 May 2014 on Consumer Rights explicitly require a consumer returning the goods or making a complaint to present a receipt/or an invoice as a proof of purchase. However, in practice, many sellers condition acceptance of returned goods or acceptance of a complaint on the proof of purchase, i.e. a receipt or an invoice. This kind practice may be contrary to ethical principles and may infringe best interest of consumers.
In the decision of 4 May 2015, no. RBG – 7/2015, the President of The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) deemed the notice “You are required to have a receipt to make a complaint!”, included on the seller’s receipts, as violating best interests of consumers. In the reasons behind the decision, the President of UOKiK emphasized that none of the sellers’ liability regimes with respect to goods offered by the seller conditions an effective complaint of a consumer on the consumer’s possession of a receipt. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection pointed out that although a consumer has to prove the fact of purchasing goods from a particular seller, he/she may use other type of evidence such as testimonies of witnesses, bank statements or simply specific circumstances of the case. In opinion of the President of UOKiK, the aforementioned practice of sellers may mislead the consumer as to the justified basis of a complaint, as a result the consumer may waive his/her right of making a complaint if their receipt has been destroyed, has faded or got lost. Finally, the President of UOKiK obliged the sellers to include the following information on their receipts: “A receipt may facilitate the complaint procedure, however it is not necessary to make a complaint” for 2 years as of the date the seller ceased to continue the said practice.
In its judgment of 2 June 2016, no. XVII AmC 695/16 the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection stated that a consumer is not obliged to prove the purchase with a receipt, either if the goods he/she wants to return were prior purchased on the Internet (consumer’s right to return a product within 14 days). Pursuant to this judgment, a provision “Note! Goods are not refundable without a receipt!” being a template term and condition of sale and purchase contracts has been listed as abusive contract terms (abusive clause no. 6526).
In conclusion, a consumer who wants to make a complaint or to return goods is obliged to prove the fact of purchasing goods from a particular seller. However, this fact may be proven with a number of different types of evidence, such as a credit card statement, a debit card statement, a bank statement, a warranty document (signed and dated by the seller) or even testimonies of witnesses. As a rule, a receipt or an invoice is the simplest form of evidence, but not the only one to prove a purchasing transaction, which can later make up the basis for making a complaint or returning of goods to the seller.
Author: Grzegorz Czajkowski