• We inspected 84 parking lots and 125 car washes – a total of 209 businesses.
• Nearly 23% of them do not properly inform consumers about the prices of their services.
• No price lists, ambiguous or illegible prices for approaching drivers – these are the main irregularities.

Does a consumer at a car wash know exactly what they are paying for and how much? Do drivers have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the price when entering a parking lot? In 2023, we inspected 84 parking lots and 125 car washes across Poland. We verified whether the businesses were properly fulfilling their obligations to inform customers about prices.

“The basic right of the consumer is the right to information. A business cannot prevent access to the price list of services. It must be visible, clear, unambiguous, and make it possible to compare prices. The consumer should be able to determine how much they will actually pay for parking their car or getting it washed, as well as choose the most favorable offer for themselves,” says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

According to data collected by the Trade Inspection Authority, nearly 23% of the inspected businesses do not properly inform consumers about the prices of their services.

No price list, “from PLN 19 to PLN 59”

We identified pricing display irregularities at 26 parking lots and 22 car washes – a total of 48 businesses. The main problem at parking lots is displaying the prices of services in a way that makes them unreadable for approaching drivers. Both at car washes and at parking lots, we found that there were no price lists or not all prices of services were included. There are also cases where businesses present their prices in a way that raises doubts, such as using “from…” or “from… to…”. However, the price must be clear to the consumer – they have the right to know how much the services cost in order to make an informed decision about which ones they wish to use.

Businesses that fail to properly inform consumers about the prices of their services face fines of up to PLN 20,000. As a result of the inspections, more than half of the businesses where irregularities were found made voluntary corrective efforts. We imposed financial penalties totaling around PLN 40,000 on 32 businesses. In 6 cases, we refrained from imposing fines due to the minor nature of the violations and the fact that the businesses ceased the questionable practices.

UOKiK for drivers

The Trade Inspection Authority’s inspections at car washes and parking lots are not the only actions taken by UOKiK aimed at protecting drivers – for years, it has been monitoring the quality of fuels, and the results are regularly published at uokik.gov.pl.

The President of UOKiK also challenges unfair practices by parking lot operators, such as limiting the methods for filing complaints or imposing additional fees for unpaid parking fees – these issues result in several proceedings each year.

Consumer, know your rights

• When entering a parking lot, you should know how much you – the price should be visible, displayed in a clear and unambiguous way.
• You have the right to know exactly how much you pay for parking your car or getting it washed – check the price per minute or hour.
• If a business advertises a special offer, you have the right to know the lowest price from the 30 days before the discount.
• Did you not find a service price list? Report it to the Trade Inspection Authority in your region.