Conversation | Anna Rak, lawyer, trainee advocate at FKA Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz law firm

Rz: The first reading of the draft Act on Out-of-court Consumer Dispute Resolution took place recently. Is that a good move?

Anna Rak: The act is intended to implement EU regulations. The aim of the directive is to create a uniform system to resolve disputes between consumers and companies in all EU states. It has particular significance in trans-border transactions. The date for implementation passed a year ago, so the more intensive work on the bill is undoubtedly a good move for Polish companies offering services or goods to consumers from other member states. The rules of the regulation on online dispute resolution (ODR) have already been applied since 9 January 2016. The ODR Internet platform is available to ADR entities (those resolving disputes by alternative methods to common courts, which were to resolve consumer disputes via the platform) for registration purposes and to acquaint oneself with the system. Unfortunately, some dispute resolution entities are not yet available.

How will launching the platform facilitate dispute resolution between consumers and companies?

Proceedings in out-of-court dispute resolution will be free of charge for consumers. The regulations of an ADR entity which will be resolving a specific dispute may provide for consumers to be charged fees if their total amount does not make access to out-of-court dispute resolution excessively difficult (in the previous draft that value was estimated at PLN 30). One advantage of the proceedings will be speed – the total time for conducting proceedings online will be six months at the most. The regulation also provides for contact points to be set up where advisors trained in ODR will advise the parties. Unfortunately, in Poland (as in Romania and France) these contact points are still missing.

Are alternative methods of resolving consumer disputes popular in the EU?

A European Commission survey made available in January 2016 reveals that 45 per cent of EU consumers believe that resolving disputes using alternative methods is easy. As many as 70 per cent of clients were satisfied with the resolution of their dispute. However, Polish consumers rarely choose ADR methods. The reason for this is the poor knowledge of alternative methods available and a consequent lack of confidence in them. However, the popularity of amicable proceedings depends to an enormous degree on their costs, so there is a good chance that companies and consumers will want to use the ODR platform.

How does this look in the case of companies?

In the EU, only 30 per cent of companies know about ADR methods and would like to use them, while 40 per cent have no idea about them. Among companies, 15 per cent would like to use the alternative dispute resolution system but operate in an industry where such methods are unavailable. The changes introduced will cover companies operating in almost all market sectors – they will not apply only to agreements on education services provided by public schools and universities and to agreements concerning health services provided by health service employees, regardless of whether they are offered via health care institutions. Making use of an alternative method of resolving disputes with consumers will not be obligatory. A company can turn down a complaint by a consumer, who will then have no choice but to pursue his claims in court. The regulation clearly indicates that the ODR system in consumer cases cannot block the parties’ access to the judicial system.

— in conversation with Szymon Cydzik