There are a number of institutions in Poland providing free legal assistance to consumers. At the local level, there are around 370 municipal and district consumer ombudsmen which provide free consumer advice, mediation and legal assistance in court proceedings. Consumer ombudsmen are not subordinated to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection; however, these institutions cooperate closely: the ombudsmen submit yearly reports on their activity to the appropriate UOKiK Branch Office, report problems relating to consumer protection and notify the Office of suspected infringements of collective consumer interests. Moreover, ombudsmen’s representatives form the National Board of Consumer Ombudsmen, an advisory body to the President of the Office.

Another important part of the Polish consumer protection system are non-governmental consumer organisations. Consumer NGO’s provide consumers with free advice and legal support, release publications, organise information campaigns, etc.

Consumers may also opt for mediation or arbitration (ADR - alternative dispute resolution, also known as ‘out-of-court mechanisms’) as an inexpensive and efficient alternative to formalised and lengthy court procedures.

A network of consumer courts of arbitration operates at Voivodship Inspectorates of the Trade Inspection. Currently, there are 16 consumer courts of arbitration with 15 branch offices. Other ADR institutions are: the Banking Ombudsman, the Insurance Ombudsman, the Court of Arbitration by the Office of Electronic Communication, the Ombudsman by the Energy Regulatory Office.

See also:

• European Consumer Centre Poland (EEC-Net)