consumer protection act

consumer protection act
 
 
Official Gazette of the Republic of Bulgaria, no. 99 of 9.12.2005, in force from 10.06.2006, amended, issue 30 of 11.04.2006, in force from 12.07.2006, amended, issue 51 of 23.06.2006, in force from 24.12.2006, issue 53 of 30.06.2006, in force from 30.06.2006, amended, No 59 of 21.07.2006, in force as of 1.01.2007, as amended and supplemented, No 105 of 22.12.2006, in force as of 1.01.2007, as supplemented, No 108 of 29.12.2006, in force as of 1.01.2007, as amended, No 31 of 13.04.2007, in force as of 13.04.2007, State Gazette No 41 of 22.05.2007, amended and supplemented, State Gazette No 59 of 20.07.2007, in force since 1.03.2008, State Gazette No 64 of 7.08.2007, in force since 8.09.2007, amended, State Gazette No 36 of 4.04.2008, amended and supplemented, State Gazette No 102 of 28.11.2008, amended, State Gazette No 23 of 27.03.2009, in force as of 1.11.2009, amended and supplemented, issue 42 of 5.06.2009, amended, issue 82 of 16.10.2009, in force as of 16.10.2009, supplemented, issue 15 of 23.02.2010, in force as of 23.02.2010, amended, issue 18 of 5.03.2010, in force as of 5.03.2010, issue 82 of 16.10.2009, in force as of 16.10.2009 97 of 10.12.2010, in force from 10.12.2010, amend. and supplemented, issue 18 of 1.03.2011, amend., issue 38 of 18.05.2012, in force from 1.07.2012, supplement, Art. 56 of 24.07.2012, amend., Art. 15 of 15.02.2013, in force from 1.01.2014, supplement, Art. 27 of 15.03.2013, amend., Art. 30 of 26.03.2013, in force as of 26.03.2013, amend. and supplemented, issue 61 of 25.07.2014, in force as of 25.07.2014, amend., issue 14 of 20.02.2015, amend. and supplemented, Art. 57 of 28.07.2015, amend., Art. 60 of 7.08.2015, Art. 102 of 29.12.2015, amend. and supplemented, Art. 59 of 29.07.2016, amend. 74 of 20.09.2016, in force as of 1.01.2018, suppl., issue 8 of 24.01.2017, amend., issue 58 of 18.07.2017, in force as of 18.07.2017, suppl., issue 103 of 28.12.2017, in force as of 1.01.2018, amend. 7 of 19.01.2018, issue 20 of 6.03.2018, in force from 6.03.2018, amended and supplemented, issue 37 of 4.05.2018, in force from 1.07.2018, amend., issue 17 as of 26.02.2019, suppl., issue 45 as of 7.06.2019, in force as of 7.06.2019, amend. and suppl., issue 100 as of 20.12.2019, No. 13 of 14.02.2020, in force as of 14.02.2020, amended, No. 52 of 9.06.2020, in force as of 9.06.2020, supplemented, No. 20 of 9.03.2021, amended, No. 23 of 19.03.2021, in force as of 1.01.2022, No. 20 of 11.03.2022, in force as of 28.05.2022.

Art. 47. (amend. - SG 61/14, in force from 25.07.2014) (1) Before the consumer is bound by a distance or off-premises contract or by a similar offer to conclude a contract, the trader shall provide the consumer in a clear and comprehensible manner with the following information:

  1. the main characteristics of the goods or services according to the means of communication used and the nature of the goods or services;
  2. the name of the trader;
  3. (amend. - SG 20/20/2022), (b) where the trader provides other means of online communication which ensure that the consumer can store on a durable medium any written correspondence with the trader, including the date and time of that correspondence, the information shall also contain a detailed description of those other means; the means of communication provided by the trader must enable the consumer to contact the trader quickly and
  4. the address of the place where the trader carries out his business and, where applicable, the address of the place where the trader on whose behalf he acts carries out his business, to which the consumer may send any complaints - where the trader's registered office and registered office do not coincide with those referred to in point 3;
  5. the final price of the goods or services, including all taxes and charges, or, where the nature of the goods or services makes it impossible to calculate the price reasonably in advance, the manner of calculating it; where applicable, the final price of the goods or services shall include any additional costs of transport, delivery or postage and, where such costs cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that such additional costs may be payable by the consumer; in the case of
  6. the cost of using the means of distance communication to conclude the contract where that cost is calculated on a basis other than the basic tariff;
  7. the terms of payment, delivery, performance, the date on which the trader undertakes to deliver the goods or perform the services and, where applicable, the trader's arrangements for dealing with consumer complaints;
  8. where the consumer has a right of withdrawal, the conditions, time limit and manner of exercising that right in accordance with Article 52(1). 1 and 2; the trader shall also provide the consumer with the standard form for exercising the right of withdrawal in accordance with Annex 6;
  9. where applicable, the fact that the consumer has to bear the costs of returning the goods in the event of the exercise of the right of withdrawal; in the case of distance contracts, if the goods cannot, by their nature, be returned in the usual way by post, the costs of returning them;
  10. an indication in the event that the consumer exercises his right of withdrawal after having made a request under Art. 3 or Art. 49 par. 9, that he shall be liable to pay to the trader costs referred to in Article 55(5) and (6), determined within reasonable limits;
  11. where no right of withdrawal is provided for under Article 57, the trader shall inform the consumer that he has no right of withdrawal or, where applicable, indicate the circumstances in which the consumer loses his right of withdrawal;
  12. (amend. - SG 20/20/2022, in force from 28.05.2022) a reminder of the existence of a legal guarantee of conformity of goods, digital content and digital services;
  13. where applicable, the availability of after-sales assistance to the consumer, the availability of after-sales service and of a commercial guarantee, and the terms thereof;
  14. where applicable, whether codes of good commercial practice are available, where they can be found and how a copy can be obtained;
  15. the duration of the contract, where applicable, or, if the contract is open-ended or contains an automatic renewal clause, the conditions for its termination;
  16. where applicable, indicate the minimum period for which the consumer has contractual obligations;
  17. where applicable, indicate whether deposits or other financial guarantees to be paid or given by the consumer at the request of the trader are required and the conditions thereof;
  18. (amend. - SG 20/20/2022, in force from 28.05.2022) where applicable, the functionality of the goods containing digital elements, digital content and digital services, including the applicable technical protection measures;
  19. (amend. - SG 20/20/2022, in force from 28.05.2022) where applicable, any relevant compatibility and interoperability of the goods containing digital items, digital content and digital services with certain types of hardware and software known to the trader or of which the trader may reasonably be expected to be aware;
  20. where applicable, the possibility of using out-of-court dispute resolution and redress procedures in which the trader participates and the conditions for accessing them;
  21. (new - SG 20/20/2022, in force from 28.05.2022) where applicable, indicate that the price has been individualized on the basis of automated decision-making.
    (2) The provisions of par. (1) shall also apply in respect of contracts for the supply of water, gas or electricity where they are not offered for sale packaged in a limited volume or specified quantity and to contracts for district heating or for digital content which is not supplied in a tangible medium.
    (3) In case of public auctions the information under par. (2)-(4) may be replaced by the relevant information on the person conducting the auction.
    (4) The information referred to in par. 8 - 10 of paragraph 1 may be provided through the standard instructions for exercising the right of refusal in accordance with Annex No 7. The trader has fulfilled his obligation to provide the information referred to in par. (1)(8)-(10) if the trader has provided the consumer with duly completed standard instructions for exercising the right of withdrawal.
    (5) The information referred to in par. (5) (1) shall form an integral part of the distance or off-premises contract and may not be modified unless the parties to the contract expressly agree otherwise.
    (6) If the trader fails to comply with the requirements to provide information on the additional costs or other costs referred to in par. (1)(5), or the costs of returning the goods referred to in par. 1(9), the consumer shall not be liable for those costs.
    (7) The information in the distance and off-premises sales contract shall be provided in Bulgarian.
    (8) The burden of proof for fulfilling the obligation to provide information under par. 1 shall be borne by the trader.
     
    (new - SG 20/20/2022, in force from 28.05.2022) (1) Before the consumer is bound by a distance contract or by an offer to conclude a contract through an online trading venue, the provider of the online trading venue shall provide consumers in a clear and comprehensible manner and in a form that is consistent with the means of distance communication with the following additional information concerning:
  22. general information on the main parameters determining the ranking of the proposals made to users in response to their search, as well as their relative importance compared to other parameters; the information is provided in a dedicated section of the online interface, which can be directly and easily accessed from the page on which the proposals are presented;
  23. whether the third party offering the goods, services or digital content is a trader or not, based on a declaration by the third party to the online marketplace provider;
  24. that consumers do not have rights under this Act and other laws implementing requirements of European Union consumer protection law where the third party offering the goods, services or digital content is not a trader;
  25. the allocation of contractual obligations between the third party offering the goods, services or digital content and the provider of the online marketplace, if applicable.
    (2) The information referred to in par. (1)(4) shall be without prejudice to any liability which the provider of the online marketplace or the third party offering the goods, services or digital content may have in relation to the contract under national or European Union law.
     
     
    (Section II - Distance Selling Contract, repealed - SG 61/14, in force from 25.07.2014)
     
    Art. 48. (Supplemented, SG No. 18/2011, amend., SG No. 61/2014, in force from 25.07.2014) (1) In case of an off-premises contract, the trader shall provide the consumer with the information referred to in Art. 47, par. 1 on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium. The information shall be legible, in clear and understandable language.
    (2) The trader shall provide the consumer with a copy of the signed contract or confirmation of the contract on paper or, if the consumer agrees, on another durable medium. In the case of contracts for the provision of digital content which is not delivered on a tangible medium, the trader shall provide confirmation of the consumer's express prior consent and acceptance to commence performance of the contract before the expiry of the period for exercising the right of withdrawal.
    (3) (amend. - SG 20/20/2022), (2) Where the consumer wishes the provision of the service or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not offered for sale packaged in a limited volume or in a specific quantity, or the supply of district heating to commence during the period for exercising the right of withdrawal from the contract outside the business premises referred to in Article 50 and the contract provides for an obligation on the consumer to pay, the trader shall require the consumer to make an explicit request to that effect on a durable medium and to confirm that, once the contract has been
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