From May 2022, new rules will come into effect to prevent tricky price reductions.
The government will further strengthen consumer rights from May 2022, when new rules will come into effect to prevent tricky price reductions, announced the Parliamentary and Strategic State Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday.
Tamás Schanda said: according to the changes due next year, it will only be possible to announce a price reduction if the previous price was listed as the lowest in the thirty days prior to the promotion.
The provision puts an end to the practice of drastically increasing the price of a product for a few days and then offering a seemingly deep discount on it.
The government's goal is that the Hungarian people can buy from honest, predictable companies, and that honest domestic traders do not suffer a disadvantage due to those who apparently make a better offer, but in fact are defrauding their customers, said the state secretary. He recalled that since 2010, the government had introduced several strictures in the field of consumer protection. As an example, he mentioned that new rules regarding the warranty entered into force this year. Previously, the warranty period was generally one year,
from this year, however, more expensive products have a longer warranty, two years over HUF 100,000 and three years over HUF 250,000
he reminded. The state secretary drew attention to the fact that if the price of a product is only a few forints below one of the limits, the warranty period will also be shortened, so it is worth considering how to make the purchase more worthwhile.
Tamás Schanda/Source/Origo
In connection with the upcoming Christmas shopping period at the end of the year, he emphasized: at this time, you really have to pay attention to what and under what conditions consumers buy either in a traditional store or in a webshop. The merchant must always indicate the actual sales price to be paid by the customer in the store.
If you list two different prices, you must sell the product at the lower one, even if the lower amount was only due to a knock.
In the case of discount prices, it is not enough to just list the percentage of the discount, the buyer must also see the full original price, explained the state secretary.
In the case of webshops, it is worth checking what is under the "connection" menu item. In the case of foreign companies, different rules may apply than in Hungary, so it is advisable to consider whether it is worth buying the given product even under other warranty conditions. It may happen that shipping the defective product across the country's border costs more than the purchase price, he added.
It is not worth buying from a site that does not have a company name, the contact information provided is only an e-mail address, because there is a high chance that it is a fraud or a scam. The state secretary indicated that the employees of the consumer protection department have compiled a database of illegal online stores. In the list available at www.jogsertowebaruhazak.kormany.hu, it is also indicated if a given company has already fulfilled the conditions that it did not during the previous inspection, so it is already operating properly from a consumer protection point of view.
He also touched on the following: when ordering fragile technical or other items, it is worth checking whether the online store provides a delivery method that allows you to verify the product's integrity in the presence of the courier.
In the case of a product ordered or purchased online, the customer has 14 days to cancel the purchase, with the exception of certain special product groups. The customer has the right to cancel even if he received the product ordered online in the store, and it is also illegal if the company makes the return of the product dependent on the presence of the original packaging, pointed out Tamás Schanda.
Source and image: mandiner.hu / MTI
