• The President of UOKiK became a member of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.
• UOKiK gains the right to impose penalties on managers who deliberately violate collective consumer interests or allow their companies to use abusive clauses.
• On December 15, some provisions of the amendment to the Act on Strengthening Supervision of the Financial Market enter into force.

“New competences of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection are another step in the fight against fraud in the financial market. We will use new tools because our experience shows that decisions and supervision of managers have a huge impact on companies’ practices that violate the consumer rights. This could be, for example, exercising pressure on sellers to attract as many customers as possible, even at the cost of misleading them,” says Marek Niechciał, the President of UOKiK.

As of Saturday, 15 December, the President of UOKiK can impose a financial penalty on a member of a company's management if it is found they contributed deliberately to the violation of collective consumer interests or to the use of abusive clauses. The amount of these penalties is a maximum of PLN 2 million, and in the case of a manager from the financial sector - PLN 5 million. The financial sanction can be imposed on an individual as part of a decision with which the President of UOKiK imposes a fine on an undertaking. Until now, this has been possible in the case of violating the competition protection law.

Penalties imposed on the financial sector will feed the newly established Financial Education Fund. Its aim is to increase financial awareness of Poles and run educational activities in this area.

The amendment will improve communication between administrative bodies, as the President of UOKiK became a member of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) and will take part in its meetings with an advisory vote. “I am also glad that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority composition has been extended. This allows a broader perspective on the financial market issues,” Niechciał adds.

The communication regards the amendment to the act amending certain other acts in connection with the strengthening of supervision over the financial market and the protection of investors in this market. Part of its provisions, including those concerning the new competences of UOKiK, enter into force on Saturday, 15 December 2018.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Branches of the Consumer Federation
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or district
Financial Ombudsman – when your complaint has been rejected

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office 
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: +48 695 902 088 or +48 22 55 60 314
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL