In trading with natural persons, you as an entrepreneur will have to take into account the rights established by the Consumer Protection Act. The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority exercises supervision with regard to protection of consumer rights.
Key requirements related to consumer protection
The goods and services an entrepreneur offers or provides to consumers must be safe, conform to established requirements, the description an entrepreneur provides and qualities a consumer can reasonably expect. An entrepreneur must notify consumers of potential risks related to goods and list corresponding information in the case of deficient or used goods. Information for consumers must be presented clearly and understandably.
Upon payment for the goods or services, the trader shall provide the consumer with a document certifying the purchase of the goods or services and setting out at least:
- the name or business name of the trader and the address of the place of business;
- the date of the sale;
- the price of each of the goods or each service and the total amount paid.
In the case of immediate payment for goods or services, the trader is obliged to provide the consumer with a document confirming the purchase. At the consumer’s request, the document must be issued in paper form if the consumer has not given consent to receive it via email or another channel.
If the consumer has given such consent, the trader is not required to issue a paper document, and the consumer may prove the purchase, for example, using customer card or account data.
If the consumer is dissatisfied with the goods you have sold, they have the right to file a claim.
If an entrepreneur supplies and sells goods or service by way of telecommunications (computer, e-store, telephone, fax, TV shopping, post etc) or door-to-door (in the consumer’s place of work or residence or elsewhere outside of your place of business), an entrepreneur must notify the consumer that they have 14 days to withdraw from the transaction. During this time the consumer can withdraw from the goods or service without giving a reason.
Trading must take place in consideration of good commercial practice. It is prohibited to use dishonest trading tactics, which above all means resorting to a misleading or aggressive approach.
- A trading tactic is considered misleading if the method in which the information is presented is misleading to the consumer, the consumer is given incorrect information or you fail to present the information necessary for making a purchasing decision.
- A trading tactic is considered aggressive if the trader makes persistent and undesired offers by telephone or e-mail. It also includes advertisements that are incitations to purchase aimed at children.
Entrepreneur are obliged to set out, in Estonian, the ingredients, storage conditions and user manual for the product they sell. Instructions for use – also in Estonian – must be added to technically complex goods.
In the case of food and some consumer goods (such as cosmetics and consumer chemicals) an entrepreneur must add labelling regarding the expiration date of the product. The label "Kõlblik kuni" (“fit for use until”) denotes an extremely perishable food product. Such a product may be sold only up until and including the date marked on the goods. The marking "Parim enne" (“best before”) is used by a manufacturer to guarantee that the product will retain its best qualities until the specified time.
Price
When you put goods for sale, you must communicate to the consumer the final price of the product, inclusive of all taxes. If the quantity of the goods is measured in kilograms, litres or metres, you should, in addition to the sale price, set out the unit price (per kilogram, litre or metre).
The final price of the service, i.e. the price including all taxes, must be communicated to the consumer before provision of service. Among other things, you must post, in a place visible to the consumer, the price list of services or rates on the basis of which the price is calculated.
Sale of goods under discount conditions
In the case of a discount, the final price of the goods is a new reduced price. The discount must be calculated from the same price at which the company has previously sold the goods, and prices must not be artificially increased before the start of the discount.
Information that all goods are offered at a lower price and their discount rate must be communicated to the consumer in a clear and unambiguous manner at the point of sale prior to the transaction.
It is misleading towards consumers to advertise a large discount if the discount actually only affects a small proportion of the goods on sale. When advertising the discount percentage range, it should be borne in mind that the discounted goods must proportionally include goods with both the lowest and highest percentage rate. At the same time, it must be taken into account that the consumer's decision on the transaction is primarily influenced by the upper end of the range, i.e. the maximum promised discount.
Use of the term ‘all’ or ‘everything’ in the context of the notification of a sale or a reduced price must take into account that the message conveyed to the consumer is that the complete range of goods offered by the trader is available for sale at a lower price. Different exclusions (for example: except for discounted products; a group of goods; products of a certain brand; goods for the new season) are generally not recommended. The combination of visual effects (text, image, sound, font size, print, colour scheme, colouring, distinctiveness of the text, etc.) and the resulting associations in the viewer must be taken into account when preparing an advertising message.
Misrepresentation of the price, the basis for its calculation or the existence of a price advantage and the misleading use of the expression ‘all’ or ‘everything’ in the notification of the sale of goods at a discount constitutes a misleading commercial practice within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act.
In the case of loyalty campaigns, price information should be formatted in such a way that the special loyalty rate is not visually dominant. The consumer should be able to identify the cost of the goods for the average consumer by paying average amount of attention.
The terms ‘clearance sale’ or ‘closing sale’ or other words or expressions having the same meaning may be used for the purposes of notification of a discount sale only if the following conditions are simultaneously met:
- the sale relates to the final sale of all or a specified part of the goods sold;
- this sale lasts for a limited period of time;
- the price of the goods sold in this way is well below the normal price.
Terms such as ‘discount sale’ or ‘discount’ or other words or expressions of a similar meaning used in the notification of the sale of goods at a discount may be used only in cases where the following conditions apply simultaneously:
- the sale relates to the sale of goods normally sold by the trader;
- this sale lasts for a limited period of time;
- the price of the goods sold in this way is well below the normal price.
Where the goods are to be offered and sold at a price below the published sales price and unit price, the indication of the new reduced sales price and unit price shall not be necessary only if there is a uniform discount at the point of sale for a short period of time and such reduction applies to all goods in the shop without exceptions or exclusions. In such a situation, it would be unreasonable to require all the goods to be repriced for a short period of time.
Settlement of disputes
If the goods you sell or the service you provide do not meet the terms of the contract, you are responsible. The consumer has the right to contact you regarding non-compliance of the product or service with the terms and conditions of the contract within two years from the purchase of the product or provision of the service. In the case of a non-conforming product, you must prove within the first year of this period that the goods sold to the consumer were not defective. In the case of a service provided that does not comply with the terms and conditions of the contract, this period is six months. After this time, non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract must be proved by the consumer. If the goods or services do not meet the terms and conditions of the contract, you must repair, replace, or compensate them.
If problems and disputes arise, you should try to resolve the problem with the consumer yourself. Upon failure to reach an oral agreement, the consumer is entitled to lodge a written complaint with you, to which you are obliged to respond within 15 days, by notifying the consumer of the possible avenues to resolving the complaint. If no agreement can be reached, the consumer has the right to contact the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority in order to protect his or her rights.
Disputes between consumers and traders are resolved by an independent consumer complaints committee or court.
Read more about settlement of disputes.
Contracts with consumers
EU law sets out some fairness and transparency requirements for contracts you sign with consumers. Contracts must be fair, i.e standard contract terms must not be contrary to the requirement of good faith or disadvantage consumers. You must act in good faith, taking the consumers' legitimate interests into account, by dealing fairly and equitably with them.
If specific terms in a contract are unfair, they are not binding on consumers and you may not rely on them, even if the consumer has signed the contract.
More information on contracts with consumers can be found in the Your Europe portal.
Off-premises contracts
When concluding a contract at the consumer's home or place of work, in a public transport vehicle, on the street or at leisure events, it is an off-premises contract.
The rules governing off-premises contracts shall not apply where the value of the goods or services offered does not exceed EUR 20.
Before concluding the contract, the trader must provide the consumer, in addition to comprehensive information on the goods or services to be purchased and the terms of the contract, with withdrawal instructions. Withdrawal from a contract must not be made complicated or unreasonably burdensome for the consumer.
The consumer shall have the right to withdraw from an off-premises contract within 14 days of receipt of the goods or, in the case of a service, the conclusion of the contract. The consumer does not have to give reasons to the trader to withdraw from the contract.
If the trader has not informed the consumer of the right to withdraw from the contract, the consumer may withdraw from the contract within 12 months of the receipt of the goods or the conclusion of the service contract.
If the consumer withdraws from the contract, the trader must return the money to the consumer without delay, but no later than within 14 days from the withdrawal. The consumer shall return the goods to the trader within the same period.
The consumer has the right to file a complaint to the trader about non-compliant goods (e.g. when the purchased goods cease to work properly) within 2 years of the receipt of the goods.
If the trader or service provider refuses to resolve the consumer’s complaint or if the consumer disagrees with the solution proposed by them, the consumer may submit an application for the resolution of the dispute to the Consumer Disputes Commission (in Estonian) or use the ODR platform.
Supervision
To ensure the protection of consumer rights, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority has the right to subject you to a review. Among other things, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority has the right to make purchases for the right of monitoring compliance, issue cautions, precepts and fines and to suspend the sales of goods or services that are hazardous to the consumer.