25 years of Consumer Ombudsmen

25 years of Consumer Ombudsmen

Who is the consumer? The consumer is you and me. We all use services, conclude contracts, buy goods, make complaints. We have our rights and we have certain responsibilities. However, consumers do not always know what rights they have and are often in a weaker position in a dispute with a large corporation or a small company that pursue us only until they manage to conclude a contract or sell the goods.

This is why there are authorities and organisations in the market whose task is to take care of consumer rights and ensure that entrepreneurs act within the limits of the law. One of such institutions is the Consumer Ombudsman. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the functioning of Consumer Ombudsmen, we took part in a conference organized by the Municipal Consumer Ombudsman in Elbląg and the University of Applied Sciences in Elbląg.

The conference was opened by the President of Elbląg - Michał Missan, the rector of UAS Dr. Eng Jarosław Niedojadło and the Director of the Economic Institute - dr hab. Krzysztof Sidorkiewicz.

Milena Górecka, Head of Unit in Department of Consumer Policy, spoke about UKE's actions and changes for consumers related to the entry into force of the Electronic Communications Law Act.

Consumer protection and cooperation with consumer ombudsmen were also discussed by representatives of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the Financial Ombudsman, the European Consumer Centre Poland - ECC Poland, the Trade Inspection and the Municipal Police Headquarters in Elbląg.