Consideration of consumer claims by suppliers of goods, works and services

Deadline for responding to a pre-trial claim

The time frame for the at-fault party to respond to a claim under the Consumer Protection Act varies. It all depends on the subject of the disputed legal relationship and its essence.

Deadlines under consumer law

The general time frame for reviewing a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act 2021 in retail industries does not exceed 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the complaint.

The Consumer Protection Law does not stipulate a period for responding to a request for replacement of goods. You should be guided by 30 days - the maximum period allowed by the Civil Code.

The deadline for responding to a claim under the consumer protection law depends on the specific requirement:

• 7 days are given to replace the product. The period has the right to increase if the store does not have a similar model;
• 20 days - if additional examination is required;
• 30 days - if the product is not in the store and you have to check it out from the warehouse;
• 10 working days for a refund, according to Art. 22 of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights;
• 45 days for repairs. If the goods are durable, then the client is provided with a similar replacement during repairs.

IMPORTANT!

The main deadline under the consumer rights law is the time to return the money. It is strictly limited to a period of 10 days. But clarification is required in what time frame a response to the claim should be given: within 10 working days or calendar days? The answer is 10 calendar days.

Refusal to comply with requirements in a claim

The law does not have clear requirements for filling out documents. The response to the claim filed by the buyer is drawn up in any form. In this case, they are based on the rules of business correspondence.

Refusal to consider the requirements in the claim and their fulfillment by the second party must be motivated. In any case, no one can guarantee that the other party will consider the letter and will definitely respond to it. Therefore, if the refusal is unmotivated or the injured party was ignored, you should go to court.

The details for responding to a claim are as follows:

1. Addressee: last name, first name, patronymic of the citizen who sent the document to the legal entity.
2. Date and place of response generation, outgoing number.
3. Reasoned justification for the refusal of the requirements specified in the complaint.
4. A list of documents that relate to the essence of the case under consideration.
5. Company seal, manager's signature.

The review deadline must be met.

REFERENCE: if the deadline for responding to a consumer complaint has been missed or a document has been received and a written refusal has been drawn up against it, you can go to court.

Methods for submitting a response to a complaint

The easiest way to provide a response to the applicant is to send a registered letter with a list of attachments and notification of receipt. If necessary, it is permissible to use the services of a courier service.

When presenting a response letter in person, the applicant must prepare two copies of documents. On one of them, the dissatisfied consumer must put the date of actual receipt of the papers and his personal signature.

In such a situation, lawyers recommend enlisting the support of witnesses so that if the applicant refuses to accept the answer, they can verify this fact.

Reasons for filing a claim

The rules for filing a claim are not fixed in the legal regulations, but there are business customs that indicate the details and form of the document. The document relates to business correspondence. It is usually used in situations where one party to the contract expresses dissatisfaction with the other. It concerns the quality of fulfillment of obligations in various areas of civil law relations.

In practice, before writing a claim, the parties gather for negotiations. But they can take place not only in person, but also by telephone. If no consensus is reached based on their results, then a claim is filed.

The party’s refusal to comply with the request comes after reading the document. In practice, a claim acts as a way out of a problematic situation and helps to cope with a controversial issue. Failure to respond to it within the prescribed period, as well as refusal, exercises the right of a citizen or legal entity to go to court. But in the presence of a mandatory claim procedure. If the law allows for the protection of rights without writing a document, this step can be ignored.

A claim is a method that leads the injured party to resolve the situation peacefully. And the reasons are clear:

• the time period for resolving the issue is reduced, since the claim is resolved as quickly as possible;
• no need to collect documents to submit to court or write a claim;
• There are no additional costs for legal expenses or payment of fees for the provision of public services.

Since 2021, the law has introduced a definition that the claim procedure in specific cases is mandatory. Previously, the decision was left to the discretion of the person who suffered from poor-quality services or goods.

Reasons and rules for filing a claim

The reason for drawing up this document can only be serious reasons, and when submitting such an application, it is usually accompanied by documents and other types of applications that can prove the validity and competence of the claim. It will not be possible to “make a claim out of thin air” just for the sake of receiving compensation; most likely, the company will send a response containing a refusal to satisfy the requirements with a reasoned explanation based on the legislation of the Russian Federation.

It most likely makes no sense to go to court after this. Although sometimes companies refuse those claims that, according to legal acts, they are obliged to satisfy. This may be caused by the negligence of company employees, or it is also possible that the applicant simply completed the documentation incorrectly. To avoid such developments, you should be careful when filling out the claim.

• It is necessary to indicate the applicant's details - full name, as well as contact information;
• It is also important not to lose sight of the specific address to the official or the entire company against which the complaint is made;
• When describing the claim itself, it is worth using the maximum number of specific facts;
• The argumentation must be reasonable and based on legal aspects; When presenting demands, you also need to use the most precise wording;
• You can additionally specify a list of conflict resolution options;
• At the end there is a signature and the date the document was drawn up.

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In fact, the rules are quite simple and apply to almost all official documents. Since there is no specific sample, it is quite possible to use one of the proposed options on the Internet if you have problems filling out the form yourself. If the party to whom the claim is sent does not want to consider the claim without specifying the reason, the other party can resolve the issue as follows: Contact the consumer rights protection department; Contact the district prosecutor's office with a statement; And finally, go to court for this authority to intervene in the situation.

Rules for filing a claim

The document must be drawn up correctly. This will help resolve the controversial legal relationship before trial, which will save effort and money.

The claim procedure may be mandatory by law. And also at the will of the injured person: he can draw up a document or immediately go to court. The cases where this is possible are as follows:

• determination of the circumstances of the dispute that have legal significance;
• recognition of a citizen, individual entrepreneur, LLC as insolvent;
• dispute regarding a corporate conflict, etc.

The claim must be made in writing. There is no unified model. Business correspondence is taken as the basis.

One of the options for drawing up a document

The document contains details:

• information about the parties, which are the addressee and the sender: last name, first name, patronymic, place of registration, name of the organization, legal address;
• document's name;
• the basis on which the parties came to disagreement with each other;
• reference to legal acts regulating issues in this area of ​​legal relations;
• claim requirements;
• waiting period for a response from the other party;
• notification of recourse to court if a response is not received within the specified time.

Sample letter of claim

As judicial practice shows, judges are more favorable to those plaintiffs who tried to resolve a controversial issue through a claim. But we did not receive an answer or received a refusal.

Please note a number of nuances when writing a claim:

1. The requirements set out in it must be clearly formulated and have a deadline for fulfillment. Any claim made is supported by relevant evidence. If written evidence is not available, oral evidence must be selected. The time period for consideration of the claim must be realistic for the second party.
2. If the document contains a calculation of the amount that should be returned (for example, for low-quality shoes), then it is necessary to provide compensation for the costs associated with drawing up the document, its sending, and the amount of the penalty, if they are established by law.
3. When filing a claim, you should rely on the likelihood of seeking help from the court. Both the content of the demands and the amount of money demanded by the plaintiff must match in two documents: in the claim and in the lawsuit.
4. If (as a general rule, excluding specific areas of legal relations) the answer is not received within 30 days, you can safely go to court.

How is a consumer complaint made?

Considering the rich market of goods and services, one can easily guess that in almost any area there is something to complain about. Despite the variety of reasons, the filing of the claim itself looks quite standard. The claim consists of:

• The title, which indicates the addressee of the claim, as well as the details of the applicant. The legal name of the organization where it is sent, as well as the address and contact information, is indicated. The name of the organization or company is indicated according to the data written on the check, receipt or drawn up service agreement. The applicant must indicate not only his full name, but also an address with contact details;
• The title and text of the claim itself. This point should be given special attention. The information part of the consumer complaint is compiled in free form, like many other statements or complaints. It is better to start describing the situation from the moment when the legal relationship between the consumer and the one who provided the product or service began. It is necessary to especially emphasize such points as: the conditions that were discussed and established initially, what exactly was the basis according to the contract being drawn up, what information was provided to the consumer. Then you will need to indicate what exactly the claim is for this service or product. Try to speak briefly and clearly state the facts, avoiding overly detailed descriptions. In a complaint, it is important to show exactly why it was made, and not to talk about the number of scratches on the product or to retell the communication with the service provider in person. A correctly and sufficiently succinct claim is almost half the success;
• Applications, signature and date of compilation. Copies of contracts or checks are used as attached documents. They act as evidence of the fact of legal relations. A variety of papers can serve as additional evidence that you are right.

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Deadline for responding to a claim under the consumer protection law

The time frame for consideration of a pre-trial response claim is divided into reasonable and established in a special law in different areas of civil law relations. A reasonable period of time is the period of time during which the addressee receives the claim, carefully studies the document, fulfills its terms or refuses to do so. According to the rules, this period is 30 days.

What does it mean - a response within a reasonable time?

An indication of a reasonable period for receiving a response is contained in the Civil Code, the Arbitration Procedure Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, applicable to disputes related to the termination of lease agreements, tenancy agreements and eviction. A reasonable period is not specifically indicated anywhere, and it is hardly possible to unambiguously determine what or who can be considered reasonable. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation operates with this concept in relation to the moment of fulfillment of an obligation, the execution date of which is not defined. Reasonable behavior is assessed taking into account:

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the nature of the obligation in question;

existing relationships between the parties; proven performance conditions affecting the possibility of timely execution.

In other words, the degree of reasonableness largely depends on what a particular judge considers reasonable. The established customs of the business community consider any period of more than a month unreasonable, although variations are possible. For example, we believe that under a supply contract, the performance period from the day the contract is concluded with the supplier plus the time for transporting the goods to the supplier can be considered reasonable.

Deadlines for responding to a legal entity’s claim

If legal entities argue among themselves, then the time frame for responding to claims from organizations varies. But they are fixed, subject to mandatory pre-trial consideration of a problematic economic issue.

REFERENCE: if the period is not established by the contract, then the definition of a reasonable period is put into effect.

The nuances of determining deadlines and responsibility for violating them

The deadlines are determined by law or contract. The first option is provided if the deadline is not established by the clauses of the contract. The legislator is based on the requirements of reasonableness.

This means that the one who received the claim must have time to fully study, consider, and respond. It also takes time for delivery if it is sent by mail. Therefore, the law sets a reasonable period. It is 30 days.

The period established by the contract concerns conflict situations arising in the economic activities of companies or firms.

For a pre-trial claim

Second paragraph of Art. 452 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides that when the claim does not indicate a period for responding to the stated proposal (to terminate, change the terms of the contract) or it is not provided for either by the contract or by law, then it should be considered equal to a month.

Taking into account the indicated norm and business customs, the period allotted for consideration of a submitted claim is considered reasonable if it is no more than a month.

Attention! The deadline for providing a response to a claim of 30 days is determined only by proposals from one party to the concluded transaction to cancel the agreement or make changes to it, the terms of which must be agreed upon.

If a pre-trial claim is sent, when such a preliminary procedure for the peaceful resolution of a dispute is required by law, a reasonable period for its consideration should also be applied in the case where the regulations do not determine clear deadlines for the parties to send a response.

Since such terms are determined by the APC (Part 5 of Article 4), this rule affects only a few types of civil law relations in which an individual is a participant.