How to protect your rights in a supermarket

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lawyers advise on how to deal with the most controversial situations that buyers face.

1. You have broken the item

You walk down the aisle with the goods and touch a bottle of olive oil with a bag. The vessel falls and breaks. The store employee says that you are obligated to pay for the damaged item.

What to do

By law, the risk of accidental loss or damage to property is borne by its owner. So until you have paid for the goods, you do not owe anything to the store. But only if you broke something by accident.

Accidental damage and careless damage are not the same thing.

When you did not calculate your strength, took too many bottles in your hands, and one slipped out onto the tiled floor, this is entirely your fault. You will have to pay for the damaged product. And all the more fair will be the requirement of the store to compensate for the damage when you broke something on purpose.

If you think you are not at fault, the store may seek compensation through the courts. But they have no right to detain you in the supermarket. If this happens, call the police.

2. Your child has broken the product

While you carefully read the labels of the canned peas, your child has decided that a rounded can of pickles is perfect for the role of a soccer ball. But the sports equipment did not survive the tests. The floor is in fragments, the child is in tears, the salesman is angry.

What to do

By law, parents are obliged to look after their children and are obliged to pay for the damage caused by them. Therefore, if a child damages something in the store, you will have to pay for it.

Orest Matsala Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

The best option is to pay the damage on the spot and fix it in a loss settlement agreement or pay for the goods at the checkout.

According to the lawyer, there are often disagreements between the parents and the store about the amount of damage. In this case, you need to propose to fix the circumstances of what happened in a photo or video and resolve the issue through negotiations with the management of the shopping facility or in court. It should be borne in mind that in the second case, the parents will have to compensate for legal costs and expenses.

3. You are forced to leave your bag in the locker

You are returning from a hike with a backpack and decide to go to the supermarket for bread. But the guards say they won't let you in until you leave your bag in the locker.

What to do

When inviting you to leave your bag in the cell, the supermarket invites you to conclude a storage agreement in exchange for a key with a number. And you can refuse - no one has the right to force you.

If you are not allowed to enter the store with a bag, it violates your right to make a purchase. It is against the law for a supermarket to choose who to sell a product to and who not. A record of the violation should be left in the book of complaints and suggestions, photograph it and contact Rospotrebnadzor.

4. Your bag was stolen from the luggage room

You dropped your backpack into the storage room and did not find it there when you returned. The security and administration of the store point to a sign that says that employees are not responsible for the contents of the cells and refuse to talk.

What to do

Such signs are illegal: as soon as you put the bag in the storage room and take the key with the number, a legal relationship arises between you and the store. On this basis, the commercial facility assumes the obligation to store the buyer's item and return it in safety.

Vladislav Varshavsky Managing Partner, Varshavsky & Partners Law Firm

The store must reimburse the buyer for losses caused by the loss of the bag and its contents. The victim can also file a claim for compensation for the moral damage caused.

Varshavsky also advises to file an application for the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of theft to the police

5. You are suspected of theft and are trying to search

You went to the store for feijoa jam, but it was not there, so you had to leave without shopping. At the exit, the security stops you, says that he suspects you of theft, and offers to go into a separate room to inspect things.

What to do

Only police officers can check the contents of your bags and carry out body searches. Store employees do not have this right.

If the security officer of the store exceeds his authority, warn him about criminal liability for arbitrariness and illegal imprisonment. The use of force will add beatings to the list of violations.

Orest Matsala Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

The expert recommends attracting the attention of eyewitnesses and asking them to record everything on video. Take their phone numbers so they can testify of the wrongdoing. And, of course, it is worth calling the police on your own in order to stop the arbitrariness of the guards.

6. The price of the goods at the checkout does not correspond to the price tag

You took a bottle of liqueur from the shelf at an attractive price and happily carry it to the checkout. But there they are trying to sell the drink for 500 rubles more. You say there was a different value on the price tag. But the cashier claims that they simply did not have time to change him, but in the system everything is already different.

What to do

The seller is obliged to provide the consumer with reliable information about the goods in a timely manner, and the price refers to this data. If there is a price tag on the shelf with products, this is recognized as a public offer.

The seller is obliged to sell the goods exactly at the price specified in the offer, that is, on the price tag. And selling at a higher price qualifies as a consumer's calculation.

Vladislav Varshavsky Managing Partner, Varshavsky & Partners Law Firm

It is better to take a picture of the price tag so that you have proof of your case. This will make it easier to understand when talking to the store administration and provide evidence in court if the supermarket refuses to act according to the law.

7. There is excess goods in the check

You paid for your purchases and you see that the check contains a product that you did not take.

What to do

Contact the cashier, he will issue a refund. If the store employee refuses to do this, start by writing a complaint to the store administration. At this stage, enlist the support of witnesses to help prove the case.

Usually the money is returned, but if the situation reaches a dead end, write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor. Attach photos of your receipt, purchases, and a written complaint against the cashier.

8. You bought a damaged product

You were very hungry, went to the store, bought drinking yogurt, took a sip and were terribly upset. Instead of a fermented milk product, there are some flakes in the bottle, and it is impossible to drink it. The expiration date is all right.

What to do

Demand replacement of the product with a similar one or a refund. In this case, you must give back a poor-quality product.

If the seller refuses, the buyer can complain about the sale of damaged goods to Rospotrebnadzor and go to court with a demand for a refund or replacement of goods.

Orest Matsala Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

Before that, send a complaint to the store management in writing in order to have further proof of the appeal.

9. You are not allowed into the store

You are walking with a baby. The child is asleep, and you decided to quickly run into the supermarket for milk. But you are not allowed into the store with a stroller. I don't want to wake up the kid and get him out of the stroller, and it's scary to leave the transport unattended.

What to do

Usually, security guards refer to some local regulations when they prohibit someone from entering the supermarket. But such documents apply only to employees. Such prohibitions violate the consumer's right to purchase goods. A record of this should be left in the book of reviews and suggestions of the outlet.

As for baby carriages, this is a special case. People with such transport belong to low-mobility groups of the population. Store representatives, who prohibit strollers from entering, put such groups in an unequal position, which is prohibited by law.

Vladislav Varshavsky Managing Partner, Varshavsky & Partners Law Firm

10. The cashier refuses to accept change

You paid in a minibus with a five-thousandth bill, and you were given change in change. You wanted to make a payment with coins at the checkout in the supermarket, but the seller looks at you contemptuously, refuses to accept change and asks you to give him “normal money”.

What to do

Remind the cashier that this is illegal. Coins are unconditional means of payment, and you must accept them in exchange for a product or service.

If the seller refuses, ask for a book of reviews and suggestions, make a record of the violation, photograph it and contact Rospotrebnadzor.

11. The cashier does not sell the product, because he has no change

You came to the store with a thousandth bill and bought a chocolate bar for 30 rubles. The cashier says that there is no change, so he cannot sell you anything. And I really want chocolate.

What to do

The seller has no legal right to refuse to sell the goods to the buyer.

By simply saying that he will not sell you the goods due to lack of change, the cashier violates Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. By law, the store must serve everyone who turns to them for a product and tries to exchange it for money.

Orest Matsala Leading Lawyer of the European Legal Service

If you still received a refusal, write about this in the book of reviews and suggestions, record the fact of the complaint (for example, take a photo of the page with the entry) and contact Rospotrebnadzor.

12. The store employee is rude to you

The seller makes comments about the contents of your grocery basket, accuses you of choosing the dirtiest bag of potatoes on purpose, and is rude. You are in doubt if this is a violation of consumer rights, and you do not know how to put it in place.

What to do

The rudeness of a seller or a cashier is indeed a violation of consumer rights. The buyer must leave a note about this in the book of reviews and suggestions.

It is advisable to write a complaint about the seller to the store administration. In this case, the management will be obliged to bring him to disciplinary responsibility.

Vladislav Varshavsky Managing Partner, Varshavsky & Partners Law Firm