• Renting electric scooters, power banks, bikes, motor scooters or cars – it's simple. But could it have long-term financial consequences?
• Please read the terms and conditions before ordering a service. Check if by any chance it is a subscription. Read the terms and conditions of equipment rental.
• Also, check which company you are concluding an agreement with, Polish or foreign, how long it has been in business, what kind of opinions it has on internet forums.

When you install a mobile app, do you read the terms and conditions? Do you pay attention to the terms of service when you buy a scooter ride? Do you know what you are agreeing to when you rent a power bank, bike or a scooter? Do you think that the entrepreneur will not surprise you with anything? Before using a particular service, make sure that it is not based on mechanisms and methods of operation that have been challenged by the President of UOKiK or other supervisory authorities.

UOKiK would like to remind you that when you pay for a product or service, you enter into an agreement with the entrepreneur. Therefore, first check if the company is widely recognised, whether it is a Polish or foreign entity, how long it has been in business, what kind of opinions it has on Internet forums and how you can file complaints.

Then carefully read the terms of service. Particular problems may arise with subscription-based services for which payment is charged on a recurring basis. Withdrawing from such an agreement may be much more difficult than concluding it – on holidays, we might forget about it in the heat of the moment.

"Before we take up the offer of a particular company, let us carefully read all the terms and conditions of the agreement and check whether they are clear and understandable to us. Let us also make sure we know how much we are agreeing to pay and what exactly we are paying for. It is worth knowing how to terminate the agreement and what the consequences are. Pay particular attention to how you will be paying for the service – whether it is a one-off or recurring payment. In the latter case, we may, often unknowingly, agree to a subscription that can significantly strain our budget. Especially during holidays we are not always cautious and check whether a seemingly ordinary and temporary service does not turn out to be a long-term financial commitment," says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The President of the Office has initiated explanatory proceedings to investigate the terms and conditions and practices of the company Qool Rent, which offers short-term rental services of power banks and scooters in more than 20 tourist destinations in Poland. The entrepreneur running the Qool Rent service is associated with another scooter rental company, Logo-Sharing, which was fined PLN 750,000 for acting to the detriment of consumers. People renting scooters thought they were paying for a single ride, when in fact money was being taken from their accounts periodically.

We would like to remind you what you should know before the holiday season. Above all, let us not forget that as consumers we can never take a break from exercising caution; moreover, we have certain rights and sellers have an obligation to respect them.

What should you pay attention to?

• the charges and what the service packages cover,
• the mechanism by which you pay for the services – in particular, make sure that there is no "hidden" subscription in the terms and conditions, meaning that you pay a fee not for a specific (one-off) use of the service, but you pay daily (or weekly/monthly) on a subscription basis,
• payment method – beware when payment for the service is made by connecting your credit card to a payment intermediary service by providing the following data: card number, expiry date, CVC/CCV number,
• the conditions under which we can withdraw from the agreement (read the agreements starting from the end, as it is usually in the last paragraphs that you will find information on this) and what costs may be involved,
• how to make a complaint, whether the entrepreneur provides customer service by telephone or only via an app or email.

Be particularly careful when using:

• popular personal transport vehicles i.e. scooters, electric bikes, motor scooters,
• electronic devices that we do not usually take on holiday, but which can be rented at our holiday destination (e.g. power banks),
• Internet services, including streaming platforms,
• water, sports or leisure equipment rentals in tourist resorts,
• gyms, solariums (in the case of bad weather) or fitness centres.

We must be informed of the terms and conditions of using the equipment we rent or the services we are provided with. We also need to know the price list, which should indicate exactly how much we are paying and for what – all taxes and charges should be included in the price. The duration of the service and any access limits or extensions should be clearly stated in the terms and conditions.

Where can you go for help?

• No price list – report it to the Trade Inspection.
• You want to withdraw from the agreement; you unknowingly agreed to a subscription – the consumer ombudsman in your place of residence will help you.

Advice is also available by telephone at 801 440 220 and by email at porady@dlakonsumentow.pl.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL