Consumer

What it means

A consumer is a natural person who, when concluding a contract or in a commercial practice, is not acting in the course of their business, employment or profession. Typically it is someone buying for themselves or their household. A company, or a sole trader buying for their business, is not a consumer, even for a small purchase.

Consumers are regarded as the weaker party, so the law gives them extensive protection, set out mainly in the Consumer Protection Act and the Civil Code, based on EU directives. A trader cannot agree terms that worsen the consumer's legal position, and unfair terms in a consumer contract are void.

Key rights include the right to information before the contract is concluded, the right to withdraw from a contract concluded at a distance or off-premises, generally within 14 days, rights for defective goods, protection against unfair commercial practices and access to alternative dispute resolution.

How it works in practice

A business needs to know whether it sells to consumers, to businesses or to both. For B2C sales, stricter rules apply to website information, terms and conditions, prices, discounts, the complaints policy and marketing. B2B relationships allow more contractual freedom and are governed mainly by the Commercial Code.

Online stores selling to both groups often distinguish customers by whether they enter a company ID. Remember, though, that the purpose of the purchase decides, not merely entering an IČO. Terms for business customers can differ, but they must be clearly labelled and may not be applied to consumers.

Compliance is supervised mainly by the Slovak Trade Inspection, with other authorities in some areas. Since the Omnibus Directive potential fines have risen. Regularly reviewing the website, terms and complaint handling processes is therefore sensible prevention.

What to watch out for

The most common mistake is using terms designed for businesses when selling to consumers, for example limiting liability for defects or shortening deadlines. Such clauses are void against consumers, and using them may be an unfair practice that attracts a fine.

Consumer protection rules have changed considerably in recent years, especially for digital content, online sales and discounts. Templates from a few years ago may no longer comply with the law. We recommend updating documents regularly and having them reviewed whenever the business model changes.