What a store visitor needs to know: legal answers

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

When we find ourselves in an awkward situation in a store, most of us are lost due to ignorance of our rights. The life hacker answers the most common legal questions regarding retail businesses.

1. Is the store responsible for things left in the storage room?

Article 891 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states:

The keeper is obliged to take all measures stipulated by the storage agreement in order to ensure the safety of the thing transferred for storage.

It may seem that since you did not enter into a storage agreement with the store, it will not bear responsibility for your goods. However, things are not so simple. Article 887 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states: “The simple written form of the storage agreement is considered to be complied with if the acceptance of the thing for storage is certified by the keeper by issuing to the depositor: a numbered token (number), another sign certifying the acceptance of things for storage, if such a form of confirmation of the acceptance of things for storage is provided by law or other legal act, or is usual for this type of storage”.

The fact that you leave things for storage and take the key at the same time can be legally interpreted as the conclusion of a contract. In this case, the store is responsible for the safety of your belongings and, in the event of their loss, is obliged to compensate for your loss.

2. Is the buyer obligated to deposit items for storage?

Article 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states:

Citizens and legal entities are free to conclude an agreement.

Thus, the store cannot impose its will on you regarding the conclusion of a storage agreement. The guards may ask you to leave your belongings. They have no right to demand.

3. You accidentally spoiled an item before making a payment. What to do?

It all depends on the circumstances.

To begin with, you can demand from the seller to show you proof that you did it. If there is no video recording, and witnesses can only say that you were near the goods at the time of its damage or destruction, but they did not pay attention to exactly how this happened, the store has no evidence. Stand your ground, because theoretically the broken bottle could not stand correctly on the shelf (at the very edge), and you just sneezed in its direction, so it fell. If, nevertheless, it was not possible to portray an innocent lamb and you were provided with evidence of your guilt, take heart, the battle is just beginning.

So, to get out of the water, you will need to turn the simple fact “I dropped the bottle and it crashed” into the situation “The bottle fell because …”. After all, article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states:

A person who has caused harm is exempted from compensation for harm if he proves that the harm was caused through no fault of his.

Next, find fault with everything you can: the floors in the store are wet, so you slipped; the room is not ventilated, and you fainted for a moment from lack of oxygen; it is too dark around, which is why you were not able to correctly calculate the trajectory of the hand movement.

The main thing is to show that, theoretically, the fault can lie with the seller himself. Specialized knowledge that can help you is contained in the documents GOST 51773-2001 “Retail trade. Classification of enterprises "and SanPiN 2.3.5.021-94" Sanitary rules for food trade enterprises ". Here are some of these provisions.

• The distance between the shelves should be at least 1, 4 meters.
• Food retail floors should be made of moisture-proof and moisture-proof materials, approved for this purpose by health authorities, and have a level surface.
• All premises of food retail establishments must be kept clean. At the end of the work, wet cleaning should be carried out with the use of detergents.
• Containers, inventory containers (carts, baskets), as well as weighing cups and platforms should be washed daily with detergents and dried.
• The noise level at the workplaces of retail premises and on the territory of the enterprise should be no more than 80 dB.

There are many requirements for retailers. Flaunting the knowledge of their violation, you will surely cool the ardor of the seller. In any case, he can continue to insist on payment for the damaged thing only in court.

4. Does the store guard have the right to search customers?

It doesn't, only the police can do it. The rights and obligations of security guards are regulated by the federal law "On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation", the first article of which says:

Citizens engaged in private detective and security activities are not subject to the laws that secure the legal status of law enforcement officials.

Thus, even if the guard has an assumption that you stole something, he has no right to detain you, because otherwise he will have to deal with Article 127 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal imprisonment of a person, not related to his abduction). The guard can only call the police, which you don't have to wait.

However, article 12 of the law "On private detective and security activities in the Russian Federation" states:

A person who has committed an unlawful encroachment on protected property can be detained by a guard at the scene of the offense and must be immediately transferred to the internal affairs body.

If you have stolen a bottle of ketchup and its contents are dripping from your sleeve, and the guard also managed to record the moment of theft on the camera, he has the right to detain you.

5. Can I go to one store with goods purchased from another?

Can. The presumption of innocence assumes that if a store fails to prove that the item in your bag was previously on the shelves of that store, then no one will do anything to you. Another thing is that a situation of suspicion may be unpleasant for you. Therefore, it is better to just warn someone from the store staff in advance.

6. Can salespeople at the checkout inspect the contents of the bag?

No. As in the case of the search, security guards and sellers are not empowered to search citizens. All they can do is call the police.

7. What to do if the price tag of a product contains an incorrect price and it was found out only at the checkout?

Demand (of course, if the difference is in your favor) to sell the product at the specified price.

On your side is Article 10 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights", according to which the seller must promptly provide the consumer with reliable information about the product so that he can make the right choice.

If the price was indicated incorrectly, it means that at the time of choosing the product you did not have reliable information about it. Consequently, the seller is not fulfilling his obligations.

8. What to do if the buyer's rights are violated?

It all depends on how great your indignation is. You can leave a record in the book of reviews and suggestions, write a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor, contact the police or even the court for compensation for material or moral damage. But remember that there you will have to present evidence of a violation of your rights.

9. Can the buyer not be given a complaint book?

According to the law "On the protection of consumer rights", the seller is obliged to have a book of reviews and suggestions, which is provided to the buyer at his request.

Have you faced violation of your rights by the store employees? Let us know in the comments.