Consumer extremism article. The essence of consumer extremism and how to defend against it. Seller's legal shield

The field of consumer protection is full of different situations where the law restores justice to disadvantaged buyers. However, today some of them use legal instruments to unreasonably file complaints against sellers in order to get rich several times over. This is called consumer extremism.

The concept of consumer extremism is a certain behavior of consumers (buyers) in order to get more benefit from the seller. For this, it is most often violated the legislative framework plus are used psychological techniques aimed at manipulating sellers for material reasons.

However, at present, the law does not describe in any way measures of protection against consumer extremism, therefore the concept is informal in nature. For the first time such a case was recorded in the United States, when an elderly lady burned herself with a cup of McDonald’s coffee. Then she won the case, proving that there were no high temperature warnings on the glass. Now the inscription "Caution, hot!" can be seen on every glass in any fast food restaurant.

Examples of consumer extremism

To describe the process of extremism on the part of buyers, one should turn to specific situations. The first one, mentioned above, is one of the most striking, however, for a better understanding, several life examples will be presented below that show the essence of consumer extremism.

Example 1

The practice of extremist behavior of customers is very common in the restaurant world. Let's say a waiter brings soup or any other dish to a visitor. However, soon it turns out that someone's hair was found in the dish, and it is rather difficult to prove to the staff that it is not his fault.

As a rule, such situations end up with a free meal for restaurant visitors. Every year, on average, one restaurant loses about 50 thousand rubles in revenue due to consumer extremism.

Example 2

Another well-known method of extremist behavior of people is the return of goods. For example, in the retail network of store X, goods are purchased with the possibility of returning in case of technical breakdowns. It often happens that people buy inexpensive goods, use them for about 7 days, and then return them. Naturally, the client gets the money back, but he managed to use the product or service to the fullest.

Some stores have learned how to deal with these problems by using the function of repairing a returned item or replacing it with new product... Therefore, extremists began to use this method less and less.

Example 3

The next example will be directly related to construction. Citizen X enters into a contract to repair his apartment. On the last day, the client kicked the builders out for overdue repairs and poor quality work.

Next, the consumer draws up a statement of claim and submits it to the court, where he asks for damages. As a result, the buyer wins the case and receives several times more compensation than he spent when hiring builders to renovate an apartment.

Similar situations occur in medicine (dentistry) and car services, when the client is deliberately dissatisfied with the quality of service.

It is quite difficult to prove the fact of unfairness, but it is possible, but many companies do not want to waste time with harmful customers. Therefore, here it is easier to let go once and no longer serve this client.

Legal essence

Legal practice associates consumer extremism with two articles. Interrelated legal regulations:

10 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation: the limits of the exercise of consumer rights;
159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: fraud by means of deception.

Thus, the process of negative behavior can be proven through the above two articles. Therefore, legislation Russian Federation does not introduce a separate law on consumer extremism.

According to the legal norms from the above articles, the extremist behavior of buyers is:

the action of the buyer with the aim of causing moral or physical harm to the seller;
the use of higher status for the purpose of obtaining benefits;
fraudulent consumer behavior;
actions of buyers against the will of sellers, using deception or special treatment of the seller.

The emergence of such behavior in Russia is associated with the creation of the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights." Thanks to this act, many disputes turned into simple solutions, where each consumer could protect himself from unscrupulous manufacturers.

However, nothing was said about the protection of sellers, so buyers began to abuse the newly introduced law. Although many legal experts still consider consumer protection law - the best tool regulation of consumer disputes.

If we delve into the concept of extremist behavior, then many components are associated with corporate blackmail. If in the first case we are talking about manufacturers, then full-fledged organizations suffer here.

How to protect yourself

Having clarified all the theoretical features of the concept, several methods of protection against extremists should be considered. Let us examine first the simplest protection mechanisms, then the complex ones.

Preventive measures

This is a certain type of meeting where employers or authorized persons gather disgruntled workers for the purpose of educational work. This practice is quite common and is often used in modern companies... This helps directly address employee concerns and prevent extremists from emerging.

A useful business dialogue or a calm, relaxed one will help the bosses and employees find a common language, which will certainly have a positive effect on the overall activity of the company. You can also make a pleasant presentation or use the method of business games.

The main tool of the method is communication. It is difficult enough to properly set each employee to positive thinking, but it is worth it.

Using psychological commands

There are several small organizations who are involved in resolving disputes between the seller and the consumer. As a rule, these are small legal offices that resolve disputed consumer issues. They make up a whole questionnaire proposal, where a disgruntled extremist must answer all questions, and then talk with a psychologist.

The same steps should be taken with the abuser in order to find a common solution. Most often, an appeal to specialists occurs when disputes over equity activities, where each shareholder is trying to achieve only his own decision.

Thorough study of contracts

Often, many disputes between parties relate to poorly drafted contracts. We advise you to double-check all the nuances of each document so that the dispute resolution point clearly indicates how and where the problems are resolved. This mechanism is readily used in healthcare.

Recording employee actions

One of the most difficult defense mechanisms against extremists. The fact is that any recorded fact (it can be a photo, video or audio recording) is able to protect an employee during a trial. Such methods are very popular in the field of education, where the class journal is the fixing tool, and it should not be strictly changed.

The key to fighting consumer extremism is communication. But if there is no other way to solve the problem, it is recommended to contact a specialist.

The number of references to cases of consumer extremism and the frequency of appeals to lawyers about dissatisfaction with the quality of the provision medical services or errors in the preparation of medical documentation allows us to talk about a real epidemic of the struggle of patients (clients) for their rights. What is “consumer extremism” and “consumer trolling” in the provision of medical services and how the clinic can protect itself - read the article.

Consumer extremism: features and differences from consumer trolling

Consumer extremism and trolling are very similar and at the same time very different concepts. So, consumer extremism- a way to unreasonably enrich yourself at the expense of a clinic that provides medical services, thanks to the use of loopholes in the legislation and clinic errors in the preparation of medical documentation.

Consumer trolling- formally legal actions, but they are aimed at destabilizing the work of the clinic or individual departments, or individual employees, or causing damage to it.

The possibility of the existence of such a phenomenon as consumer extremism in the medical sphere is inherent in the peculiarities of the legislation regulating the provision of paid medical services and legislation that protects the rights of consumers.

The possibility of the existence of such a phenomenon as consumer trolling in the provision of medical services lies in the absence of legal mechanisms to counter it.

The scale of the phenomena is not known for certain, but almost any medical organization faced with unfounded claims, complaints to the inspection authorities, thorough checks of medical documentation, and sometimes with lengthy lawsuits, with the involvement of the press and television.

What is the purpose of consumer terrorism

Consumer terrorism is always an abuse of consumer rights. The requirements of all "consumer terrorists" are more or less the same:

demand for return Money for allegedly "poor quality" medical services;
demanding payment for similar, but more expensive medical services;
claiming compensation for the costs of “eliminating deficiencies” of “low-quality services”;
demand for compensation for violation of the terms of the provision of medical services;
claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage:
for failure to provide complete information about the service (for example, this is possible when processing medical documentation with errors);
violation of the patient's right to information about the state of his health;
for "disclosing" medical secrets;
for poor quality medical documentation.

These requirements of consumer terrorism in medicine are always united by one thing - harm to health or moral harm is caused exclusively in the imagination of an unscrupulous consumer of medical services. Or the harm to health is so insignificant that the consumer receives money from the clinic and does not continue treatment.

Unfortunately, the chances for such "professional patients" to receive compensation from the clinic are very high. And that's why:

the procedure for the provision of medical services and the preparation of medical documentation itself are overregulated to the extreme;
the rights of everyone, including professional patients, are protected by the Civil Code, the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", the Law "On Health Protection", "On the Protection of Personal Data", etc .;
the contract for the provision of medical services is public contract, the clinic or salon are obliged to conclude it with everyone who applies. It is impossible to refuse a patient (a customer of medical services) in the preparation of medical documentation of this type;
a significant part of the medical community has great doubts about the advice of lawyers with no medical education;
the courts quite often side with the patients, because the clinics themselves give a reason for this;
one of the reasons for the emergence of consumer terrorism is the imperfection of the legislation to which clinics are forced to obey.

Patient extremism: how to make money

Patient extremism is usually justified by a number of demands. In cases of consumer extremism, clinics are most often required to compensate for the following reasons:

making claims to the quality of the services provided;
demanding compensation for harm caused to health;
demanding compensation for non-pecuniary damage, including those caused due to the disclosure of medical secrets, absence reliable information about the course of treatment, the performance of interventions for which informed consent was not given, the appearance of errors in the preparation of medical documentation.

How Patient Extremism Works

Patient consumer extremism is roughly always the same:

first, the “professional patient” goes to the clinic, receives a service, finds imaginary or real shortcomings, perhaps even errors in the preparation of medical documentation, as a rule, are insignificant, and makes overstated claims. If the claims of extremist consumers are not satisfied on the fly, complaints follow to Rospotrebnadzor and Roszdravnadzor. Based on the results of inspections, which relate primarily to the preparation of medical documentation, a lawsuit is brought against the clinic;
sometimes such stories have variants - a professional patient addresses a problem to an economy-class clinic, receives treatment, and then “corrects deficiencies” in a premium-class clinic, and even from the capital region. The difference in the cost of treatment, payment for flights and the cost of living for a professional patient is billed to the first clinic.

Why patient extremism is possible

Why do extremist consumers manage to cheat the clinic? Because most often the clinics themselves admit the opportunity to make money on themselves.

Reason one

Rarely, but it happens that a doctor, offended by the management of the clinic, deliberately makes a mistake in the preparation of medical documentation, conducting expensive treatment of a patient. As a rule, there is no harm to health, but significant compensation, in the form of the cost of treatment and moral damage, as well as compensation for treatment elsewhere, is quite possible.

Taking into account the fact that such a professional patient was given a bribe to a doctor in the amount of not less than two salaries, he will calmly give one as compensation for material damage for an error in the preparation of medical documentation in accordance with Article 240 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Reason two

IN jurisprudence I had to deal with a case of consumer extremism, in which the clinic approached the fact of the publicity of the medical contract more than literally - by posting the contract on the website as public offer... For this they were fined for this by Rospotrebnadzor. After that, professional patients appeared who demanded compensation for moral damage.

The most common causes of consumer extremism incidents are:

an illiterately drawn up contract for the provision of medical services;
reduced or unnecessarily extended informed voluntary consent;
careless attitude to medical documentation;
errors in the design of medical documentation.

A CASE OF CONSUMER EXTREMISM

I happened to read the appeal ruling in the case of recovery from medical center the cost of treatment. The former patients of the clinic demanded to return the money for the treatment, recover moral damage for poor-quality treatment, harm to health by poor-quality treatment, reimburse the costs of treatment in another clinic and, of course, reimburse the costs of lawyers.

Patients complained about the disease, were tested, and according to the results of the tests, the clinic employee prescribed treatment. After the first course of treatment, the patients were tested elsewhere and the disease they were treating was not found. Clients demanded termination of the contract, filled up the clinic with complaints, complained to Rospotrebnadzor.

During the check, it turned out that the clinic did not have an agreement with the laboratory of analyzes, the analyzes were checked in the form of a private "personal opinion". Subsequently, at the trial, several respected luminaries confirmed, after checking the registration of medical documentation, that during the tests, the correct conclusion was made about the presence of the disease and the correct treatment was prescribed. However, the court considered that the absence of an agreement with the laboratory and the conduct of analyzes “not officially” could not be considered a proper fulfillment of the terms of the agreement, that is, the rights of patients were violated. The clinic was charged back money for the treatment of an extremist consumer, moral damage and expenses for lawyers were reimbursed. The analysis cost the patient 650 rubles. A professional patient cost the clinic 200,000 rubles.

Systemic errors in the preparation of medical records are most often encountered where there is a large flow of clients. It seems that the simpler the procedures for admission, the better and less costly. But this ease is deceiving, and it becomes very easy to become a victim of consumer terrorism in medicine.

EXAMPLE

I took my daughter to the dentist. The lady at the reception looked at the compulsory medical insurance policy and sent us to the doctor on duty, who examined the child and sent us to the surgeon. The surgeon gave an anesthetic injection, sent us into the corridor. Then he removed my daughter's bad teeth, and only at that moment I was given to sign the IDS and consent to the processing of personal data. The contract for paid anesthesia was not given to me to sign.

The doctor did everything quickly and efficiently, I had no reason to complain. However, I could refuse to sign the medical documentation and just leave, and then use the existing knowledge and skills and "earn" about 100,000 rubles out of the blue - just because I was allegedly inflicted moral harm without informing about the possible consequences and having pulled out the child's teeth without obtaining my consent to medical intervention.

Reason three

Only once not signed contract, not signed by the patient informed voluntary consent, not signed by the patient treatment plan, incomplete medical records, improperly formalized relations with the laboratory in which the analyzes of patients are examined, the lack of a written explanation of the diet and taking tests and the frequency of appointments with the doctor, and so on - and the clinic finds itself in a hopeless situation.

Most of the cases of consumer extremism that I have been told about in the legal community are associated with just such a manifestation of the "law of meanness."

EXAMPLE

The owner of the dental clinic offered a very respected person to a friend to supply premium-class crowns at a significant discount.

The clinic carried out an action: put outwardly similar veneers, of different quality - economy, comfort and premium. To start word of mouth, they invited famous people, even nodding acquaintances, for the provision of medical services. The procedures were carried out without unnecessary formalism, only the stubs of receipts for the payment of the procedure were issued.

After a while, one of the patients called the clinic and said that he wanted a significant part of the money back. Because he did not ask him to put such expensive veneers, since the rest of the clinic gives cheaper ones. The dentists did not need a lawsuit and a scandal. The issue was closed out of court. The patient became a consumer extremist.

Consumer trolling in the provision of medical services

Consumer trolling, unlike consumer terrorism on the Internet, is not intended to directly enrich those who engage in it. The purpose of trolling is to harm, destabilize, stain your reputation, embroil the team, and in extreme cases, take the clinic out of business. To achieve these goals, there are different ways... Most do not require financial costs and quite legal.

Introduction

Over the past year, many Russian manufacturers have suffered from blackmailer consumers, although Russia is still far from the United States in terms of the number of lawsuits. In particular, according to public information in 2006, the damage from such activities incurred by American companies amounted to $ 230 billion. The budget of Russia in the same year amounted to 158 billion dollars. That is, the budget of Russia for 2006 amounted to 68% of the amount of losses incurred by American companies for the same year.

Russians are learning large-scale extortion. Having read stories about receiving huge compensations from manufacturing firms for the damage to health and psyche, the residents of the Russian Federation also decided to look for easy opportunities to earn money.

Consumer protection is an area in which the legislator is obliged to show maximum concern for potentially weaker subjects of economic relations - consumers. A striking embodiment public policy in the field of consumer protection is the Consumer Protection Act.

Having undergone several revisions, the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights" has become an extremely effective instrument for regulating the consumer market and resolving disputes on it. On the one hand, it clearly regulates the procedure for the provision of services and the sale of goods, on the other hand, it ensures reliable protection of the interests of consumers. The effectiveness of the Law is evidenced by at least the fact that whole line international experts recognized it as the best of Russian legislative acts. At the same time, he is considered the most loyal in the world after the American one - only in Russia and the United States does a consumer have such extensive rights.
Naturally, this creates the preconditions for manipulating the norms of the Law.

Endowing consumers with special rights, the legislator could not but count on the appropriate law and order in society, the lawful behavior of people in this area public relations... It is known that legality presupposes the strict implementation of the prescriptions of legal norms by all participants in public relations, including consumers. The legislator directly established that the reasonableness of actions and the conscientiousness of consumers, as well as other participants in civil legal relations, are assumed (clause 3 of article 10 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Legal mechanisms in the field of consumer protection, which, according to the legislator, are designed to protect violated consumer rights, are the subject of numerous abuses by special participants in these relations, called "consumer racketeers" or "consumer extremists". This state of affairs has led to the emergence of a special category of people who, using various tricks, or even simply realizing that judges are also people who are ready to feel sympathy for the "injured" consumer and stop being impassive, began to use the Law for their own selfish purposes. Moreover, the court procedure does not threaten such plaintiffs - they do not pay the state duty, unlike the defendants.

Moreover, this Law does not provide for any norms of liability for making unreasonable claims, and even the term "consumer extremism" itself or any other concept or wording that corresponds to it in meaning (that is, reflecting, in fact, consumer fraud) is absent. ...

The courts also follow the principle of the need to protect consumer rights. The unconditional and sometimes even blind obedience of the courts to this principle ensures the protection of even absolutely unreasonable claims.

Currently, courts throughout Russia are considering many cases initiated by claims of extremist consumers. As a rule, the target of consumer blackmail is large companies, whose products are very popular with Russians. Such companies value their reputation and good name. It is with this in mind that the blackmailers are demanding unheard-of compensation in exchange for their silence. After all, even an unproven fact will still negatively affect the manufacturer's image.

There are plenty of such examples, as we constantly learn from newspapers and television, in the West. It seemed that everyone was suing everyone here. Dying smokers - with cigarette manufacturers, they say, they warned poorly about the dangers of smoking. Overweight fat men - with fast food owners, they say, did not report the number of calories in this food. And the infamous "Case of a Cup of Coffee" in the early nineties spread not only all over America, where this story happened, but, it seems, the whole world. Then a resident of the state of New Mexico sued a famous chain of fast food restaurants because of a cup of hot coffee overturned on her lap. And she got no less than 640 thousand dollars.

Now in large cities, whole organizations have been created, rather large, whose sphere of activity is precisely such extremism. Almost everyone can create a public organization supposedly dealing with consumer protection. The scheme of action is usually as follows: 3-4 people gather, create such an organization with a sonorous name and begin to act. They come supposedly with an inspection of this or that enterprise, firm. After detecting inconsistencies with the legislation, the companies threaten with the court and offer to pay off so that the case does not go to this very court.

The saddest thing is that the overwhelming majority of company executives are ready to pay “extremist” clients so as not to run around the courts and waste their time and money for an uncertain result, instead of fighting this phenomenon.

According to the opinions of various experts, the era of consumer extremism in Russia will come, judging by the forecasts of the development of the consumer market, in the next few years, but it is necessary to prepare for it today.

The concept, content and reasons for the emergence of consumer extremism as a wrongful act.

IN Russian legislation there is no legal definition of consumer extremism. In addition, the term is literary, not legal.

However, within the meaning of the provisions of Art. 10 Civil Code Of the Russian Federation, in conjunction with Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it can be concluded that consumer extremism, based on the value invested in it, should be understood as:

1) consumer actions carried out solely with the intention of causing harm to the entrepreneur, as well as abuse of their right in other forms;

2) abuse by consumers of their special position in the market for goods, works, services;

3) unfair consumer behavior;

4) deliberate unlawful acts of consumers (their accomplices) committed with the aim of turning the property of entrepreneurs in their favor by deception or abuse special attitude to consumers.

Any phenomenon has its pluses and minuses, even the most, it would seem, negative. Let's highlight them in our case too.

Pros:

disciplining entrepreneurs

improving the quality of products sold due to the refusal to sell products that do not meet quality standards

Minuses:

damage to the image of bona fide companies

financial losses and loss of customers

growth of "permissiveness" of consumers

Based on the analysis of activities in the field of consumer extremism, the following reasons for the emergence of such a phenomenon as consumer extremism can be identified.

1. Extremely unbalanced consumer protection legislation, allowing for the possibility of abuse of rights;

2. Presumption of guilt of sellers and manufacturers in court proceedings;

3. No need for professional skills and any significant capital for organizing extremist activities in the field of consumer protection;

4. The reluctance of the targets of attacks to give publicity to violations identified by consumers - extremists, reluctance to allow the escalation of the conflict.

Elements of consumer extremism:

Like any offense, consumer extremism consists of the following basic and optional elements.

Subject

An object

Objective side

Subjective side

Item

Subjects of extremist activity:

1. Individuals(individual subjects);

2. Public organizations for the protection of consumer rights (organized entities).

This division of subjects makes it possible to identify the motives of extremist activity.

In particular, the motives of individual subjects can be both moral and material satisfaction from their activities. The first subspecies often has some psychological characteristics, which determines a special approach in communicating with him.

Objects of extremist activity:

Public relations in the sphere of consumption of goods and services.

Objective side of extremist activity:

A socially dangerous action associated with abuse of consumer rights entailing socially dangerous consequences.

Subjective side of extremist activity:

Direct intent, selfish motives and purpose.

Subject of extremist activity:

In this situation, the subject of consumer extremism coincides with the victim. Based on the content of the provisions of the Law on Consumer Protection, the following may be the subject of infringement:

1. The seller either authorized organization or an authorized individual entrepreneur

2. Importer of goods

3. Manufacturer of goods

4. Contractor (a person performing work or providing services)

In a simplified way, we will call them objects of attack or victims.

The most often victims of extremist activities are the seller (performer) due to its greater accessibility for extremists.

Forms of extremist activity:

Based on the forms of manifestation of extremist activity, the following types can be distinguished.

Blackmail

Blackmail as a form of consumer extremism is expressed in threats from extremists addressed to the targets of the attack.

Blackmail is carried out when representatives public organization having identified the grounds for bringing to administrative responsibility or for the presentation of property (recovery of the value of goods, compensation for expenses) and non-property claims (moral damage, claims in defense of an indefinite circle of consumers) in court, they offer the target of the attack to pay a certain amount for the fact that they will not take action to hold that person accountable.

In particular, violation of the established trading rules is the basis for bringing to administrative responsibility in the amount of 1 to 40 thousand rubles.

In this regard, it is much easier for the seller to immediately pay off with a much smaller amount and avoid problems associated with communication with employees of supervisory authorities, litigation and the application of various financial sanctions. Such victim behavior of the target of the attack provokes repeated attacks.

Initiation of various inspections of the activities of the attacked object by the control and supervisory state bodies

Usually given form manifestations of consumer extremism are a tool for this activity. How independent view extremist activity, this form is usually found if the subject of this activity is an individual consumer whose motive of activity is only moral satisfaction.

Initiation of litigation related to the recovery of funds from the object of attack

With regard to property claims submitted in court, their characteristic feature usually an inadequate ratio of the principal amount of the claim and the costs to be reimbursed. For example, if a consumer asks for help from a public organization, then the amount of the claim may consist of the cost of the goods purchased by the consumer (10 rubles), the cost of an examination (from 2 to 20 thousand rubles), the cost of legal services(on average in Russia - from 300 to 15,000 rubles), moral damage (there are no boundaries at all), a fine for voluntary failure to comply with consumer requirements 50% of the collected amount). Thus, a situation is possible when, with the principal amount of the claim of 10 rubles, the amount recovered (excluding the amount of moral damage) will be, for example, 52,500 rubles.

Everyone is also hearing the story of how a certain old woman won an incredible amount by suing McDonald's for being burnt with hot coffee. Since then, the glasses have been written “Caution! Hot coffee! ", And in the instructions for microwave ovens -" Attention! Do not dry animals in the microwave! "...

Countermeasures against consumer extremism:

Consumer extremism has some common features with corporate blackmail. Both acts are related to the abuse of the rights provided by the participants in certain public legal relations.

As in the case of protection against corporate blackmail, mechanisms for countering consumer extremism can be expressed in the implementation of defensive measures and in the implementation of retaliatory actions.

As defensive measures, preventive measures should be used, including the establishment of work with disgruntled consumers, which will at least reduce the risk of individual extremists whose goal is moral satisfaction.

Systematization and analysis of information on the development of consumer extremism and various forms of its manifestation is also a necessary measure of successful counteraction.

In addition, in the event of a dispute, it is necessary not to yield to the extremists and not allow them to be easily punished, but to organize the most problematic trial for them by analyzing the evidence presented, challenging the conclusions of the experts they attracted, presenting a competent position in court and counter-evidence.

The activity of some subjects of consumer extremism - public organizations for the protection of consumer rights, is expressed precisely in the collection from the object of the attack of the cost of their legal expenses rendered to dummy consumers.

In the event of serious opposition, the extremist may simply lose interest in attacking the target.

An important measure is the initiation of changes in legislation towards the establishment of a balanced balance of interests of the parties and the creation of legal mechanisms that complicate the work of individual subjects of consumer extremism.

By far the best defense is offense. Due to the fact that the scheme of work of consumer extremists is extremely simple and does not require professional legal skills, these subjects will not be ready for active opposition from the targets of attack and, most likely, will prefer not to attack this target.

As publicly available measures, one can single out the initiation of verification of these organizations at the request of the affected companies by law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

In particular, in accordance with the Law on Public Associations, as well as the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, supervision over the observance of laws by public associations is carried out by the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation and the Federal Registration Service of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with Art. 44 of the Law of 19.05.1995 "On Public Associations", the grounds for the liquidation of a public association are repeated or gross violations public association The Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional laws, federal laws or other regulatory legal acts or systematic implementation a public association of activities that contradict its statutory goals.

In this regard, in the event that the actions of organized consumer extremists - public organizations for the protection of consumers' rights - are found to have violations of the current legislation, even if not directly related to an attack on the relevant organization, it is possible to initiate an audit of the activities of this organization and its liquidation.

Conditions successful implementation mechanisms for countering consumer extremists:

Refusal to make concessions to the actions of extremists

As already noted, when the target begins to buy off extremist attacks, he thus encourages their activities and ensures that they receive income.

Of course, the refusal to make concessions will provoke the implementation of all possible instruments of this activity. However, a consistent struggle will lead to the fact that the extremist is more likely to retreat from attacks on this object, since this will not allow him to receive the necessary profit and he will begin to look for other, more accessible victims.

Attracting highly qualified lawyers

Due to the fact that the protection of consumer rights does not require deep professional knowledge and skills, the persons carrying out this activity often do not differ in special legal professionalism. In this regard, the involvement of highly qualified lawyers will allow us to oppose the activities of these entities with adequate opposition.

Thus, consumer extremism is a complex legal phenomenon that is gaining momentum along with the development of the market.

Studying this phenomenon and developing countermeasures is necessary condition the normal functioning of the organization in the consumer market.

The implementation of these measures requires the involvement of qualified specialists in the relevant field and the development of joint mechanisms for countering this phenomenon of modern reality.

"Consumer extremism: how not to run into it", magazine "Landowner", January-February, 2006

Tsekher, G. Ya. Consumer extremism: Nature, forms of manifestation and countermeasures. J. Tseher. // Business, Management and Law. -2003. - No. 2. - P. 115 - 121.

V. KARTEL
V. Kartel, Lunev & Partners Law Office.
The effectiveness of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights" has led to the emergence of a special category of buyers who, using the knowledge of the law, using all sorts of tricks, or even simply hoping for the judge's sympathy for the "unfortunate" consumer opposing the firm, began to use the Law RF "On Protection of Consumer Rights" (hereinafter the Law) for personal gain. Moreover, the court procedure does not threaten such plaintiffs - he does not pay the state duty, unlike the seller.
In order not to get such a "consumer" on the hook, you need to remember a few rules of conduct, which are based on strict observance of the law. Because this is the only way to truly effectively protect your rights.
Acceptance of the claim
If the consumer is an extremist in front of you, then you can advise to respond only to his written claims. In addition to saving you from talking, explaining, and possibly unnecessary noise, a written complaint makes the communication with the consumer more organized. Firstly, the claim must clearly state the consumer's demand in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 18 of the Law, the absence of such a requirement deprives the claim of validity. Secondly, the consumer clearly exercises his right to make a claim about the quality of the product.
The applicant will be able to change it only after 7 - 20 (depending on the requirement) days. Thirdly, the absence of a sales (cash) receipt in the documents attached to the claim, and for the goods for which the warranty period is established, a passport or other document replacing it, may already serve as a basis for refusing to consider the consumer's claim (clause 5 of article 18 Law). The absence of a check does not deprive the consumer of proving the fact of the conclusion of the purchase and sale agreement in court, but makes your refusal to consider the consumer's demand legal, and therefore, collecting a penalty for refusing to satisfy the consumer's demand is out of the question. It is recommended to respond to consumer complaints, no matter how unfounded they may seem to you.
Moral injury.
If the consumer claims compensation for non-pecuniary damage, you can safely not comply with this requirement, because the determination of the amount of compensation is the prerogative of the court (Article 15 of the Law).
Replacement of goods in the order of Art. 25 of the Law.
If a consumer asks to replace a quality product in accordance with Art. 25 of the Law, it is necessary to establish whether the presentation of the goods has been preserved, while the smallest scratch may cause your legal decision not to change the goods. After all, the exchange of goods on this basis assumes that the goods can be sold again. And since your guilty behavior is absent, the court will most likely be on your side. In addition, this product can be included in a rather impressive list of non-food products. proper quality, not subject to return or exchange (The list was approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 N 55 with a supplement of October 20, 1998). The List includes:
1. Products for the prevention and treatment of diseases at home.
2. Personal hygiene items.
3. Perfumery and cosmetic products.
4. Textile goods, cable products, construction and finishing materials and other goods sold by the meter.
5. Sewing and knitwear.
6. Products and materials in contact with food, made of polymeric materials, including for one-time use.
7. Household chemicals, pesticides and agrochemicals.
8. Household furniture.
9. Articles made of precious metals.
10. Cars and bicycles, trailers and numbered units to them; mobile means of small-scale mechanization of agricultural work; household watercraft.
11. Technically complex household goods for which the warranty period is established.
12. Civilian weapons, the main parts of civilian and service firearms, cartridges.
13. Animals and plants.
Replacement of goods during the repair.
If the consumer submits a demand for a gratuitous provision of a similar product for the period of repair or replacement, you need to check the List of goods that are not covered by this requirement (approved by the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 N 55 with amendments of October 20, 1998 .). Indeed, for a refusal to satisfy a justified demand, the court may collect a second percentage of the penalty. The List includes:
1. Cars, motorcycles and other types of motor vehicles, trailers and numbered units for them, except for goods intended for use by disabled people, pleasure craft and watercraft.
2. Furniture.
3. Household appliances used as toilet items and for medical purposes.
4. Household appliances used for thermal processing of food and cooking.
5. Civilian weapons, the main parts of civilian and service firearms.
Replacement of technically complex and expensive goods.
Complex technical and expensive goods are subject to exchange only if significant deficiencies are found in them (Article 503 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The list of technically complex goods is established by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 13, 1997 N 575. The List includes:
1. Motor vehicles and numbered units for them.
2. Motorcycles, scooters.
3. Snowmobiles.
4. Boats, yachts, outboard motors.
5. Refrigerators and freezers.
6. Automatic washing machines.
7. Personal computers with basic peripherals.
8. Tractors, walk-behind tractors, motor-cultivators.
The question of whether a product is expensive is decided by the court on a case-by-case basis.
Expertise of goods.
Having received a claim from a consumer, you have the right to conduct an examination of the quality of the goods for the detection of a defect and the reasons for its occurrence (clause 5 of article 18 of the Law).
If the consumer refuses to pay for the examination, which established the fault or the fault of third parties in the occurrence of the defect, then you have every right to withhold the goods up to compensation for your expenses, including the costs of transportation and storage. The basis for this is given by Art. 359 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Inability to replace goods.
If the deliveries of the goods are terminated, then your obligation to satisfy the consumer's demand for the replacement of the goods is terminated by the impossibility of execution (Article 416 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
If it came to court
Firstly, in court it is necessary first to find out whether the applicant is a consumer in the sense of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights", that is, whether the applicant is using the goods for the purpose of making a profit. For example, if there is a claim for the quality of an electric drill, and a request to the registration chamber showed that the applicant is a citizen - an entrepreneur in the provision of repair services, then the court cannot be guided by the norms of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Protection of Consumer Rights". And this means that the applicant should apply only to the court at the location of the defendant, and when applying to the court, pay the state fee.
Moral injury.
If the consumer has declared a claim for the recovery of moral damage, then its amount must be justified (and proven), and we can only talk about physical and mental suffering (Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), and between the seller's behavior and this suffering there must be a clear causal - investigative communication (Article 15 of the Law). Simply, the consumer's worries that they were not being spoken to in the way he would like are not suffering, which means that they cannot be the basis for the recovery of moral harm.
Reduction of forfeit.
The penalty subject to collection can almost always be reduced with the correct behavior before the trial and during it. As established by the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in paragraph 12 of the Resolution of September 29, 1994 N 7, "given that the said Law of the Russian Federation does not contain any exceptions from the general rules for calculating and collecting a penalty, the court in accordance with Art. 333 of the Civil Code The Russian Federation has the right to reduce the amount of the penalty if it is clearly disproportionate to the consequences of the violation of obligations. In this case, the court must take into account the degree of fulfillment of the obligation by the debtor, the property status of the plaintiff, as well as not only property, but also any other worthy of respect, the interests of the defendant. "
Documents confirming the indicated circumstances in each specific case can be: copies of responses to the consumer, a certificate from the bank about financial condition the defendant, a certificate of the time spent in business, certificates of charity events, etc. The main thing is to attach these documents to the case. If the court does not reduce the penalty, this is an excellent reason for a cassation appeal.
LINKS TO LEGAL ACTS

Law of the Russian Federation of 07.02.1992 N 2300-1
"ON PROTECTION OF CONSUMER RIGHTS"
"CIVIL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (PART ONE)"
dated 30.11.1994 N 51-FZ
(adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on October 21, 1994)
"CIVIL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (PART TWO)"
dated 26.01.1996 N 14-FZ
(adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on December 22, 1995)
DECREE of the Government of the Russian Federation of 13.05.1997 N 575
"ON THE APPROVAL OF THE LIST OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULT PRODUCTS IN RELATION TO
WHICH CONSUMER REQUIREMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO REPLACE THEM
SATISFACTION IN CASE OF DETECTION IN ESSENTIAL GOODS
DISADVANTAGES "
DECREE of the Government of the Russian Federation of 01.19.1998 N 55
"ON APPROVAL OF THE RULES OF SALE OF SEPARATE TYPES OF GOODS, LIST
LONG-USE GOODS WHICH ARE NOT COVERED
THE BUYER'S REQUIREMENT FOR A FREE PROVIDING TO IT FOR A PERIOD
REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF SIMILAR PRODUCTS, AND LIST
NON-FOOD PRODUCTS OF PROPER QUALITY, NOT SUBJECT
RETURN OR EXCHANGE FOR SIMILAR GOODS OF DIFFERENT SIZES, FORMS,
DIMENSIONS, SHAPES, COLORS OR PACKAGES "
RESOLUTION OF THE Plenary The Supreme Court RF dated 09.29.1994 N 7
"ON THE PRACTICE OF CONSIDERATION BY THE COURTS OF CASES ON PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS"
Business lawyer, N 7, 1999

Glass in a salad, non-existent technical breakdowns or a false statement about an order not delivered to the addressee - such pretexts are used by extremist consumers to make money on sellers. Experts talked about how clients profit from business, and how they can protect themselves from this.

Every year on March 15, the international community celebrates World Consumer Protection Day, which is held by a UN decision to coincide with the anniversary of the speech of US President John F. Kennedy in Congress in 1962. Then, in the president's speech, four basic consumer rights were formulated: to safety, to information, to choice and the right to be heard.

Buy illustration

EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED

The flip side of consumer protection has become extremism - when customers, under invented pretexts, try to make money by returning goods or services.

Managing partner law firm Vetrov and Partners Vitaly Vetrov believes that consumer extremism arose because of the client's opinion that he can do anything.

“The law, unfortunately, creates conditions for abuse of the right. And if we take into account that business is often not ready to meet such an extremist, then there can be significant negative consequences, ”Vetrov said.

But the co-chairman of the Roskontrol Consumer Union, Alexander Borisov, is sure that the point is not in the shortcomings of the legislation, but in the desire of some people to get easy money.

“In our estimation, this phenomenon is not typical for Russia as a whole. The legislation on the protection of consumer rights, as well as the established judicial practice, do not contribute to the over-enrichment of citizens at the expense of entrepreneurs. If we take the average compensation for moral damage, then it is from 2 to 5 thousand rubles, that is, an extremely small amount at the present time, "- said Borisov.

Another expert, director of the public institution for the protection of consumer rights in the Novosibirsk region "Auris" Sergei Kravchenko claims that it is still a matter of "earnings". And during the crisis, there are more people who want to earn extra money from business. The precedents of overseas consumers collecting large sums are spurring Russians.

“The most common cases are an attempt to recover a huge penalty from the developer for violation of the construction period, as well as collect rent for the period of delay in construction. At the same time, the person had a place to live, but there are proposals to make a (fictitious) lease agreement with a certain amount, that is, to actually falsify, "Kravchenko cited examples.

According to him, there are many requests to collect money paid for a car from car dealers. There are often cases when, shortly before the expiration of the warranty period, consumers demand to replace, for example, a leather seat worn in the cabin, a steering wheel, and parts of the chassis of a car.

Vetrov notes that in parallel with this, claims are being made to recover a forfeit, a fine and other expenses, so that the amounts may be equivalent to the cost of the car. In this case, even the sounds when the car is moving can become the reason for applying for a return.

FALLED BY 50 THOUSAND

The sudden appearance of glass or hair on the plate at the end of a meal is quite common, especially in expensive restaurants and cafes. It would never occur to consumer extremists to sue for a dish worth a couple of hundred rubles. But for an enterprise that values its reputation and image, there is definitely no need for public showdowns, the president of a public organization for the protection and support of small and medium-sized businesses gives an example of consumer extremism " Business people»Olga Kosets.

“A woman tripped over a shoe polish while entering a store. Allegedly, she almost broke her leg, fell, damaged the heel of expensive shoes. The lady rushed into the store, threw a tantrum, cried, screamed, thereby dispersed all the customers in the sales area, blocked the work of all employees. Managers and the manager had to quit their jobs, bring some water and wave a fan, ”Kosets recalled one of the cases.

According to her, the lady demanded monetary compensation in the amount of 50 thousand rubles for damaged shoes and moral damage. If the client's requirements were not met, she threatened to go to court.

“I was lucky because there were street surveillance cameras installed in the store nearby and a friendly neighbor kindly provided a footage of the 'fall'. The footage clearly showed how the lady walked past the grate, came back, fell and began waving her arms. A few seconds later, my employee ran out of the store doors and helped her up. If it were not for the record, then, most likely, I would have been forced to pre-trial negotiate with the victim about compensation for damage, ”- said the interlocutor.

PURCHASE RETURNS

There are many tips on the Internet on how to cheat a seller, for example, on the popular Chinese marketplace ( trading floor on the Internet) Aliexpress. Buyers are offered to paint on defects on the product in Photoshop and demand money back or declare that the product has not arrived, eventually receiving either one more product or money for it. Sellers, fearing negative reviews that buyers may leave on the site, often make concessions.

“Some international marketplaces on which we post our offers really give unscrupulous buyers a chance to get a refund for a product that has already arrived if the buyer opens a dispute. However, if the store employees respond promptly and provide the marketplace with the necessary documents confirming the receipt of the order by the buyer, the dispute is closed in favor of the seller, ”said Vladimir Ryndin, head of the claims department of the 220 Volt online store.

According to him, the buyer can declare that he has not been refunded for the returned goods, or try to return the money for the goods if it has risen in price after purchasing it.

“Thanks to a well-thought-out scheme, the work of the (claims) department is automated and systematized. When a complaint is received from any channel (phone, mail, social network, Yandex.market, etc.), the “Claim” tab automatically appears in the order tab in the ERP system, in which all steps of communication with the client are recorded, all reporting documents are added and comments from the departments involved. This eliminates the possibility of abuse both on the part of the client - for example, a repeated claim for the same order, and ignoring the problem on the part of the employees of the online store, ”Ryndin said.

As the general director of the group of companies "Photosklad.ru" Alexei Bannikov said, there is a category of people who use a telephone or any other technique for a month, and then, under any pretext, try to return the goods. Most often, such buyers try to prove that the equipment is defective. The most desperate spoil it on purpose and pass it off as a marriage, just to return the equipment to the store.

““ Fotosklad.ru ”specializes in photo and video equipment, we have a very specific and complex product (for example, optics). Once a client came to complain about a bad lens (and it is legally impossible to change it). We, of course, carried out an examination. But as a result, no defects were found, and the same lens was returned to the buyer. To which the client remarked: “Great lens. You can work well whenever you want, ”Bannikov said.

Over the past couple of years, the TamTam holiday agency has begun to encounter more and more “photo and video begging”. Olga Gess, CEO of the company, said that the client orders a photo or video, waits for the finished material, makes copies, and then returns the material the next day with the words “inadequate quality” and asks to return either the entire amount or part of the amount.

FIX ALL

“There are two options for fighting: do not give the materials to the client until they are reviewed with him and the acceptance certificate is signed, or go to court if at the time of the claim there is a photo or video posted by the client on the Web for copyright infringement. I recommend boldly immediately suggesting that the client resolve issues of such a plan through the courts. Fraudulent clients will not sue, because they risk getting a good amount of money for legal costs and losing the process, ”said Hess.

Kosets noted that it is possible to protect your business from such manifestations only by exclusively preventive methods. “It is necessary to train the personnel to adequately respond to the requirements of buyers making any claims. Develop models of employee response to the actions of extremist consumers and approve them as internal regulations. Provide free access of the consumer to any information about the product or services of your company, ”the interlocutor believes.

According to Vetrov, trade organizations should carefully analyze juristic documents, get rid of double wording and prescribe all the conditions as carefully as possible. He also advises to monitor the fulfillment of obligations by both the entrepreneur and the consumer himself, while simultaneously recording what is happening with appropriate evidence.