• A shop may tempt customers with offers and promotions, but when UOKiK asks for the basis of its advertising messages, the business has a duty to respond.
• The President of UOKiK has imposed a fine of nearly PLN 8.5 million – the equivalent of €2 million – on Beliani for failing to provide the requested information.
• UOKiK is investigating whether the company is misleading consumers by presenting price reductions and encouraging them to make quick purchases.

In e-commerce, purchasing decisions are often made ‘on the spot’ – influenced by promotions, time pressure, and messages suggesting limited availability. This is precisely why UOKiK regularly checks whether information on prices and discounts is presented accurately. UOKiK required explanations regarding such practices from Beliani (PL) GmbH – a Swiss company involved in the manufacture and online sale of furniture. However, despite its requests, it did not receive them. Consequently, for failing to provide the information requested during the preliminary investigation, the President of UOKiK imposed a fine of PLN 8,453,400 on the company, i.e. the equivalent of €2 million.

– An online shop may attract customers with promotions, but it cannot hide from UOKiK’s questions. If a business operates on the Polish market and sells products to Polish consumers, it must also cooperate with the Polish authority. A lack of response hinders the investigation and the protection of consumers; it cannot be a way of doing business – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Two requests for information, no response

The President of UOKiK initiated a preliminary investigation during which he examined messages displayed on the beliani.pl website. These could have created pressure to buy quickly – e.g. “Hurry! Only a few left” or “This product has found [number] happy owners in the last 24 hours”. The manner in which price reductions were communicated was also examined, including the lowest price that had been in force during the 30 days prior to the promotion.

In order to assess the matter properly, UOKiK required explanations and documents from the company – including answers to questions about how it presents promotions and what, in practice, the messages encouraging a quick purchase mean. UOKiK requested Beliani to provide information, and when no response was received, it repeated the request. Despite the letters being duly served, the company failed to respond.

Why was this penalty imposed?

Several factors influenced the imposition of the penalty and its amount. The decision of the President of UOKiK does not concern the lack of a satisfactory response, but the absence of any response at all – despite the letters having been duly served and the deadlines having expired. It should be emphasised that the company had two opportunities to become familiar with UOKiK’s requests. In addition, UOKiK attempted to contact the company through other channels – by approaching its affiliated entities in Poland. Despite these attempts and the passage of time, Beliani did not cooperate with UOKiK. The company also failed to respond to the notice initiating proceedings concerning the imposition of a financial penalty and did not address the allegations made against it.

The lack of data on the company’s turnover meant that the President of UOKiK could apply a statutory maximum fine – up to PLN 8,453,400 (€2 million) – instead of a penalty calculated as up to 3% of turnover. However, the fact that the fine was imposed at the maximum level was determined by the extent of Beliani’s lack of cooperation: the company failed to respond to two formal requests for information, did not respond to attempts to contact it, and did not take a position in the proceedings concerning the imposition of the fine.

An appeal against the decision may be lodged with the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection within one month of service of the decision.

We would like to remind you that it is the duty of every business to cooperate with UOKiK during proceedings. UOKiK may send a written request for explanations and information necessary for the proper and effective handling of the case, and shall also set a deadline for their submission. In the event of failure to respond, responding after the deadline, or providing false information, the President of UOKiK may impose a fine of up to 3% of the undertaking’s turnover. However, if it is not possible to determine the turnover, the fine may amount to a maximum of €2 million.