Every citizen of the Russian Federation who has purchased a low-quality product that does not correspond to the manufacturer’s description can contact the consumer rights advisory center - the hotline telephone number is posted on the organization’s official website. Support specialists are ready to answer any questions - they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To protect consumer rights, hotlines are available.
General information about the Rospotrebnadzor hotline
The Rospotrebnadzor hotline is available to residents of all regions of Russia. Calling a single number is free.
What can you find out over the phone?
Employees of the information and reference service provide legal assistance to customers and talk about consumer rights enshrined in legislative acts. By calling the phone, a citizen can:
- complain about a manufacturer who has violated standards, an employee of a medical institution or housing and communal services who has provided poor assistance, or a seller who has provided a product or service of inadequate quality;
- get information on how to properly process a return;
- learn about current standards in the field of trade and the financial services market, as well as the requirements for suppliers.
Benefits of receiving help through a hotline
Cases when you should call the Rospotrebnadzor hotline:
- It is necessary to urgently resolve the dispute that has arisen with the seller.
- You need to find out the maximum deadlines for filing a complaint and submitting documents to the appropriate authority for pre-trial resolution of the conflict situation.
Consumers can contact the Rospotrebnadzor service if they encounter a violation of their rights in the sphere of
services and trade.
The consumer will receive detailed instructions on what evidence they must provide in order to receive compensation. They will also tell him the addresses and telephone numbers of the nearest Rospotrebnadzor departments, where he can contact in person.
How to write a complaint in the guest book
If a situation arises that forces the buyer of a product or consumer of a service to use the complaint book, the latter needs to perform the following actions:
- ask the seller for a complaint book if you couldn’t find it yourself;
- check for correctness of filling (presence of seal, signature, lacing and numbering of sheets);
- open the first blank sheet for customer records;
- put a date;
- write the text of the complaint on your behalf with a request to sort out the current situation;
- put a personal signature and indicate contact information (phone number, postal or email address).
Important: complaints submitted anonymously (without providing personal and contact information) will not be considered.
Sample text of the complaint
August 25, 2021 Today, when I purchased food products in your Lyubava store, there were large quantities of expired goods on the display. Expired products were on the shelves of the meat department, in particular:
- “Lyubitelskaya” sausage with a sales deadline of 08/21/2016;
- “Milk” sausage with a sales deadline of 08/20/2016;
- “Merchant” ham with an expiration date of August 22, 2016.
I ask you to take appropriate measures in relation to the persons responsible for the display and sale of goods.
Romanova Anastasia Alekseevna signature
tel. 555-55-55
E-mail address
Consumer Protection Hotline Phone Numbers
The hotline number for counseling individuals is 8. The telephone number for receiving complaints and claims from citizens, as well as legal entities, is 8 (800) 100-00-04.
Work schedule
You can call the single number of the Rospotrebnadzor contact center 8 around the clock, on weekdays and weekends. Information and reference service specialists accept calls to this number on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 Moscow time. Break - from 12:00 to 12:45. Operators provide information for reference; if necessary, they can forward the call to a Rospotrebnadzor specialist.
For residents of Moscow
Residents of Moscow can contact Rospotrebnadzor by calling the number. Outgoing calls in this case are paid in accordance with the tariff plan established by the operator.
For circulation in the regions
Residents of the regions can contact the Rospotrebnadzor service by calling the numbers of its territorial divisions.
There are separate regional numbers of the “Centers for Hygiene and Epidemiology” that accept citizens’ requests by telephone.
You can view the full list of telephone numbers for contacting the contact center on the rospotrebnadzor ru website.
On the official website of Rospotrebnadzor you can find out the phone numbers of the territorial divisions of the service.
Consumer Complaint Process
An employee of a commercial enterprise or service institution against whose actions a complaint has been made must immediately notify the manager by providing an explanation regarding the conflict issue in writing.
The administration of the enterprise must consider a consumer complaint entered in the complaint book within a period not exceeding two days. During this time, management is obliged to carefully understand the current situation and take appropriate measures to eliminate the shortcomings indicated by the consumer.
The consideration of the complaint must be carried out in the presence of the employee against whom it was filed, together with representatives of the trade union and, if necessary, other members of the team.
The head of the enterprise leaves a corresponding note on the actions taken to eliminate violations on the other side of the sheet with the text of the complaint. This is done for the information of the applicant and regulatory authorities. The person who left the complaint is sent a written response to the application, indicating the measures taken. The letter must be sent no later than five days from the date of the decision, to the address indicated as the contact address.
Important: copies of written responses must be kept at the enterprise until the end of the calendar year.
In some cases, the process of eliminating the shortcomings that the consumer indicated in his complaint may take longer than the 5 days allotted by law. Then the period for taking measures can be increased to fifteen days, about which a corresponding note must be made in the complaint book.
If the retail outlet is a branch of the enterprise or its separate unit, and the issue of eliminating deficiencies cannot be resolved without senior management, the administration must contact him for consideration within a period of no more than five days. The complainant must be notified of this in writing.
In cases where the complaint concerns directly the administration of the enterprise (gross violation of the rules of the service sector, inflated prices, negative reviews of work), the application must be transferred to senior management within a period of no more than five days for consideration and action.
The correctness of maintaining the complaint book in all structural divisions or departments of the enterprise must be checked by senior management at least once a quarter. Based on the results of the inspection, actions are taken to eliminate shortcomings in the work and the causes of consumer complaints. The results of checks and the actions taken must be recorded in the enterprise audit trail.
During inspections by regulatory authorities of the work of an institution related to the service sector, it is not allowed to remove the book of reviews and suggestions from the point of sale for any purposes (taking a copy, checking the correctness of filling, etc.).
In what cases will support not be able to help?
Contact center specialists do not provide advice on issues related to the sale of purchased low-quality goods. They cannot help suppliers in any way when they want to avoid liability to the buyer for the sale of goods and services that do not meet the requirements for them. Such applicants may be held liable, including in the form of criminal penalties, if such a decision is made by a court.
The sale of expired and unusable goods threatens the life and safety of citizens of the Russian Federation and violates their rights established by law.
Peculiarities of consideration of claims entered in the complaint book
Despite the fact that, according to the Instructions for filling out the book of reviews and suggestions, a response to a consumer complaint is mandatory, under current legislation, its absence does not constitute an administrative offense, and accordingly does not provide for punishment.
According to Government Decree No. 55, the location of the complaint book is not specifically established; it only says that it should be located in the sales area of the enterprise. Where exactly it will be stored is determined directly by the manager.
The information left by the consumer in the complaint book is not confidential, so anyone can use it.
If the company does not have a book of reviews and suggestions, the consumer has the right to leave a complaint on a simple sheet of paper. In this case, the application is drawn up in two copies, one of which remains at the point of sale, and the other is given to the buyer with a note of acceptance, the signature of the employee who accepted it and the date of preparation. If your complaint is refused, you can use the postal service by sending a registered letter with acknowledgment of delivery. A copy can be sent to Rospotrebnadzor indicating the moment that the company’s employees refused to accept the application. The supervisory authority will review the complaint within a month and take action, which it will notify the consumer in writing.
Alternative ways to contact or file a consumer complaint
Existing alternative types of communication for sending a request:
- writing an electronic appeal in the appropriate form presented on the Rospotrebnadzor website;
- use of the “Virtual Reception” service.
A complaint to Rospotrebnadzor can be submitted electronically, through the “Virtual Reception” service.
If you have questions related to violations in the housing and communal services sector, the user can look for answers to them on the State Services portal.
Qualified Rospotrebnadzor employees with one or another specialization will help solve the problem; you can contact them on the institution’s website.
Rules for registering a book of complaints and suggestions
The legislation (Government Decree No. 55, Instructions) establishes rules for drawing up a complaint book. Violation of these standards may be a reason for the consumer to contact Rospotrebnadzor to inspect the enterprise and eliminate deficiencies. The basic requirements for the book of reviews and suggestions are as follows:
- all pages must be numbered (so that an unscrupulous supplier does not have the desire to delete an unpleasant entry);
- the book must be laced;
- the seal of the enterprise and the signature of the manager must be affixed to the last page;
- the first page must contain all the data of the institution (legal address of the enterprise or individual entrepreneur);
- the book must contain instructions for its maintenance, addresses and contact numbers of the State Trade Inspectorate and Rospotrebnadzor;
- The internal pages of the complaint book should consist of two parts, on one side of the sheet there should be space for consumer notes, and on the other - for comments from the enterprise management.
The appearance of the guest book can be anything, the main requirement is compliance with all the rules and its execution directly by the person responsible for this.
Instructions for maintaining a complaint book must be drawn up in such a way that a consumer leaving an entry for the first time, after reading the writing guide, can easily do this.
The book of reviews and suggestions is an urgent document of any enterprise, and therefore is subject to registration with the bodies of Rospotrebnadzor and the State Sanitary Inspectorate.
How can you prove fraud?
If we are talking about body kit and shortening, the proof will be a receipt on which the necessary information will be indicated. If the dispute is due to the quality of the product not meeting the declared quality, the warranty card can be used as evidence.
Another way to prove your case is through photographs of the purchase and testimony of people present during the selection. The presence of witnesses is especially important when it is necessary to prove that the seller attributed non-existent characteristics to the product.
Thus, if after making a purchase you realize that you were misled, the law is on your side, and you have the right to return the product and get your money back. But to avoid such situations, it is recommended to be very careful when choosing and paying.
Drawing up a written complaint.
There are no strict requirements. However, you must take into account the rules for drawing up business documents and provide the required information:
- Full name and registered address of the applicant;
- Full name of the department of the structure in the region where the application is submitted;
- The word “Complaint” is in the middle of an A4 sheet;
- The essence of the appeal indicating locations, names, dates, and other important details.
You can add what kind of help you expect to receive from the service - imposing a fine on the violator, restoring your rights.
When to send a request
When attracting customers, organizations can resort to any methods. The result may be a violation of consumer rights. Moreover, such situations often appear in any sphere. Thus, spam mailings from mobile operators are also considered a violation.
An application to Rospotrebnadzor for poor quality services can be submitted in the following cases:
- expired products were sold to the citizen;
- standards for storage and sale of products are not met;
- the price reflected on the price tag does not correspond to real indicators;
- the face has been shortchanged or weighed down.
A complaint can be filed both against an online store and against any other retail outlet that provides services to consumers and has committed one or more violations. Banks are no exception. A corresponding letter may also be sent to them.
Video
A person has the right to file a complaint against a financial organization if the following situations occur:
- in the process of providing one service, company representatives want to impose others;
- the company employee did not provide complete information about the services and wrote down the basic rules in small print at the bottom of the contract;
- credit cards are imposed on a person without warning him about the commission;
- the customer's personal information was disclosed.
If the latter situation arises, the complaint will have to be sent not to Rospotrebnadzor, but to the Federal Bureau of Information Control.
Types of buyer deception
There are different ways to mislead the buyer . Let's take a closer look at the possible options.
Body kit.
One of the most common methods of deception is to incorrectly determine the volume of goods sold. And this, in turn, leads to incorrect calculation, which can be classified as illegal enrichment of the seller. Thus, this is a fairly serious offense that can be independently determined. If you suspect a body kit, you need to re-calculate the quantity of goods and, on this basis, calculate the payment amount.
Calculation.
Another common type of fraud is when the buyer pays an amount for the product that exceeds its cost. It can also be detected during a second check by making the necessary calculations again.
Misrepresentation about the quality of the product.
One of the most dangerous types of deception, because it carries the highest risk of harm to life and health. This is the sale of a product that has expired or has a certain defect that affects its quality. Thus, this is a sale of products subject to write-off.
Deception in the form of non-existent product characteristics.
This type of misrepresentation is used when the seller tries to sell a product that does not suit the buyer's needs. When describing a product, non-existent characteristics are attributed to it, which influence the decision to purchase it. This can lead to not only disappointment from the purchase, but also the risk of certain injuries (for example, if the seller did not warn about side effects).
Consumer actions in case of fraud
If you are scammed, you can take the following actions.
- First of all, it is advisable to submit a written complaint to the seller (manufacturer) who committed the fraud. You can, in particular, demand compensation for damage caused by deception, and in cases established by law, payment of a penalty (penalty) (clause 1 of Article 1064, Article 1095 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; Article 23 of Law No. 2300-1).
- You can also file a complaint with the territorial body of Rospotrebnadzor , internal affairs bodies (police), and the prosecutor's office. Based on the results of its consideration and verification of the facts stated in it, the perpetrators may be brought, in particular, to administrative liability for deceiving consumers (clause 1, 5.12 of the Regulations, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 30, 2004 N 322; clause 1 Clause 2, Clause 5, Clause 4, Article 40 of Law No. 2300-1, Part 1, Article 23.49, Clause 3, Part 1, Article 28.1, Part 1, Clause 1, Part 2, Article 28.3, Part 1 of Article 28.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, paragraph 2 of Article 22, paragraph 3 of Article 27 of the Law of January 17, 1992 N 2202-1). Rospotrebnadzor may conduct an unscheduled inspection of your request if you previously filed a complaint directly with the manufacturer (performer, seller) and he refused or did not respond. The exception when you can contact Rospotrebnadzor directly is in cases of a threat of harm to the life or health of citizens, as well as cases of causing such harm (clause “c”, paragraph 2, part 2, article 10 of the Law of December 26, 2008 N 294-FZ ; Information from Rospotrebnadzor dated 12/07/2016).
- A complaint can also be sent to local government bodies and public associations of consumers (their associations, unions), which, in turn, can contact the authorized state authorities to verify the fact of violation and take appropriate measures (paragraph 2, part 1, part. 2 Article 44, paragraph 2 Article 45 of Law No. 2300-1).
- If the organization or individual entrepreneur who committed the deception refused to voluntarily satisfy your demands or did not respond to your appeal, you have the right to file a claim in court for the protection of consumer rights (clause 1 of Article 17 of Law No. 2300-1). Let us note that the right to go to court in order to protect the rights of individual consumers, as well as the interests of an indefinite group of consumers, is also vested in officials of Rospotrebnadzor, prosecutors, local governments, public associations of consumers (their associations, unions) (clause 7, clause 4, art. 40, paragraph 3, part 1, article 44, paragraph 2, article 45 of Law No. 2300-1, paragraph 4, article 27 of Law No. 2202-1, part 1, article 45, part 1, article 46 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation; paragraphs 20, 21 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2012 No. 17).
