Consumer protection against unfair commercial practices in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

A commercial practice is unfair if it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence standards and materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behavior with regard to the product of the average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed. To materially distort the economic behavior of consumers means using a commercial practice to appreciably impair the consumer's ability to make an informed decision, thereby causing the consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise. A commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if in its factual context taking account of all its features and circumstances, it contains false information and is therefore untruthful according to one or more specific elements of the products and services, and it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise. Aggressive commercial practices shall be regarded as such if the trader uses threats, including the use of physical force, to influence the consumer's decision with regard to the product. The Consumer Law (2014) normatively offer a satisfactory protection to Serbian consumers. Its effective application is, however, absent. In order to raise functioning efficiency of the Law, the level of consumer education must be increased. The level of consumer education is conditio sine qua non for substantial application of consumer law based on European Union acquis communautaire. Informed and well-educated consumer have to became an active partner in the consumer market. The analysis of case based examples has shown that the bare laws in themselves are not enough. The laws are as good as far as their application stretches.