Many citizens prefer to shop at Pyaterochka. The retail chain offers a wide range of different products. In addition, she periodically holds promotions. But even here you can find cases of deception. This is mainly due to the fact that there are not always scales on the sales floor. We'll tell you how people cheat in stores, how to complain and where to turn in this situation.
How they cheat in Pyaterochka on the scales: frequent cases
When purchasing a weighted product, it is weighed at the checkout. But here you may encounter the following cases of deception:
- The weight of the product is several grams more than it actually is. This may be because the scale has foreign objects or is faulty;
- They weigh the goods at a price other than that indicated on the price tag. This is usually explained by the fact that they did not have time to change the price tags. Or the cashier simply “pushes” the goods at the maximum price without taking into account the discount;
- When weighing, the employee selects a similar, but more expensive product. For example, you took regular tomatoes, but they gave you plum tomatoes. Accordingly, in this case you can significantly overpay. Such situations may arise due to haste and inattentiveness of the employee.
In order to prevent such situations, check your receipt without leaving the cash register. Or weigh your goods in advance on check scales on the sales floor. But they are not available in all stores.
What to do if you are overweight or poisoned: instructions for combating store extremism
There are many ways to deceive customers: from selling expired products to wearing body kits. 66.RU consulted with experts and prepared instructions explaining where to complain if you are caught in the act of unscrupulous sellers and ways to protect yourself from fraud.
They sold me 900 grams of apples, but I paid for a kilogram
Sellers often undercut buyers. It is believed that small shops and vegetable stalls do this more often than large stores, but this is a misconception. And in large chains you may encounter underweight, especially in the case of packaged goods (when cheese, meat, vegetables, etc. are pre-packaged and weighed).
If the buyer discovers a fraud, even after returning home, he has the right to demand a recount. If the seller refuses to do this, lawyers advise going to court to demand recovery of unjust enrichment. You need to go to the court at your place of residence, collecting all the documents that you have in your hands, including receipts and photographs.
Be prepared for the fact that this matter will take a lot of your time and effort. And if you contact a lawyer, then money. As Dmitry Zagainov, lawyer of the Sverdlovsk Regional Guild of Lawyers, told 66.RU, the price range ranges from 30 thousand to 70 thousand rubles. for the first instance. And there may be several of them.
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If a store regularly comes across a body kit, it makes sense to file a complaint with the Ural Interregional Territorial Administration (UMTU) of Rosstandart. For violating the legislation on ensuring the uniformity of measurements (Article 19.19 of the Administrative Code), the store faces from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles. fine Also in the Code of Administrative Offenses there is an article “Deception of consumers” (Article 14.7), according to which measuring, weighing or shortchanging consumers threatens a legal entity with a fine of 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles.
To avoid becoming a victim of deception when buying loose (or packaged) products, you must weigh them on control scales, which are available in every store. In this case, it makes sense to check whether they guarantee the accuracy of the measurements. The same applies to self-service scales, on which you independently weigh the goods you buy.
According to the head of the department for ensuring the uniformity of measurements of mass and volume of the Federal Budgetary Institution "Uraltest" Vladimir Zotin, firstly, the following holographic sticker should be present on the scales:
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There must also be a seal under the platform on which the products are placed. If the unit that allows the scales to be adjusted in one direction or another is not sealed, then the scales are being twisted.
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You can also ask store employees for a scale passport (as a consumer, you have the right to this). The passport must contain a mark indicating that the scales have been verified, which means they give the correct result.
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Scales must be verified once a year. If the passport of the scale contains an old verification mark or the buyer finds a broken seal on the unit, this is already grounds for a complaint.
They sold me pasta at a price higher than what is indicated on the price tag
At the checkout it often turns out that the item that the buyer has added to the cart costs more than what is indicated on the price tag. Sellers explain this by the end of the promotion or outdated information.
By law, you are required to sell goods to the buyer at the price indicated on the price tag. In this case, you can refer to Art. 10 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”. Moreover, this rule applies even if the buyer has already paid at the checkout, and only discovered the price discrepancy at home: the seller is obliged to return the difference paid.
You can file a complaint against stores that often confuse or forget to change price tags. When contacting Rospotrebnadzor, you must indicate the address of the store, the essence of the complaint and attach photographs proving the fact of the violation (photo of the price tag and receipt). Supervisory agency specialists advise that before contacting them, write a complaint to the seller.
In the Code of Administrative Offences, the sale of goods at a price different from the price tag is qualified under Art. 14.7 (“Deception of consumers”) and 14.8 (“Violation of the consumer’s right to receive necessary and reliable information about the product being sold”). In the first case, the seller faces 20–50 thousand rubles. fine, in the second - from 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles
They sold me expired milk
Expired products are constantly on the shelves. However, carefully looking at the expiration date of the product is not the only advice in this situation. The buyer has every right to exchange the product for a fresh one or return it and receive the full amount back. To do this, he needs to contact the store administrator, show him the receipt and return the goods. The same applies to spoiled goods, the expiration date of which has not yet expired, but which is clearly not worth consuming, for example, because it was stored incorrectly.
Theoretically, even if the buyer has lost the receipt, he can return the goods. You can prove the fact of purchase, for example, using CCTV cameras, which are probably installed at the point of sale. But this is in theory - in practice it is extremely difficult to prove anything without a receipt.
To return the goods, the buyer may be asked to write a claim to the store. A sample application can be found on the Rospotrebnadzor website.
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The buyer can also file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor itself. The easiest way is to send an electronic appeal to the supervisory authority through a special form on the website.
Responsibility for the sale of expired goods is provided for in Art. 14.4 Code of Administrative Offences. For selling goods of poor quality, the store faces from 20 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. fine
I was poisoned by expired yogurt
It also happens that the buyer did not notice that the product was expired and managed to eat it. If this leads to poisoning, it is important to consult a doctor and keep the certificate he gives you.
Rospotrebnadzor advises that after poisoning, contact the seller with a written complaint, formulate your demands in it (terminate the contract, compensate for material damage), indicate the name of the product and its expiration date. The buyer's request must be considered within ten days. If there is no response from the store (or it refuses to compensate for the damage), you can file a claim in court, having first written a complaint to Rospotrebnadzor.
In court, the buyer will need a doctor’s report to prove the fact of harm to health. According to Art. 1095 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, harm caused to the life, health or property of a citizen due to design, prescription or other defects of the product is subject to compensation by the seller or manufacturer of the product. The law also provides for compensation for moral damage. The amount of compensation is determined by the court.
And a little more about the quality of the products
Uraltest specialists advise when purchasing products to pay attention to two markings on the packaging. The first is the Eurasian Conformity Mark (EAC). It means that the product has passed the necessary tests in accredited laboratories and has been found safe. Many groups of goods are subject to mandatory certification in Russia. These include food products.
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If there is no EAC mark on the packaging of a product, it cannot be sold - both the store and the manufacturer are breaking the law. In this case, the store faces from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles. fine under Art. 14.45 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“Violation of the procedure for selling products subject to mandatory confirmation of conformity”).
However, there are cases when there is a label on the package, but in reality the product has not passed laboratory tests. You can check whether the manufacturer has legally placed the EAC mark on the packaging by requesting the relevant document from the seller. According to Uraltest representatives, the certificate can be found at the administrator. You can check its authenticity on the Rosakkreditatsiya website by selecting the “Registers” tab, then “Certificates of Conformity” and finding the required certificate there.
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The second marking you need to look at is the voluntary certification mark (PCT), which means that the product has undergone additional laboratory tests and confirmed its quality. It may not be on all products - this certification is not mandatory, so you cannot be punished for its absence. However, the buyer also has the right to demand a corresponding certificate from the seller.
What to do if you get hung up in Pyaterochka
If you notice that you have been bullied in a store, then first try to resolve the issue on the spot. Follow these steps:
- Tell the cashier that your item was weighed incorrectly. If he does not see his mistake, then call the administrator. Explain your problem.
- You must re-weigh the product and “punch” it at the correct price.
- If the problem cannot be resolved on the spot, leave an entry in the book of complaints and suggestions. Describe the entire situation and provide your contact information. Please wait for someone to contact you to resolve the issue.
- Write the complaint in duplicate addressed to the manager. Also describe in detail how you were deceived on the scales, what product you purchased, etc. Leave one complaint in the store, and the second one should be marked as acceptance.
- You can also make an oral complaint to the hotline 8-800-555-55-05. The operator will ask you to provide additional information: store address, date and time of purchase, product name, phone number, etc. After this, your request will be registered.
Important! To resolve the issue in higher authorities, ask for a video recording that will record the moment the goods were weighed. There are cameras above every cash register.
What the law says
The buyer must pay only the actual weight of the goods. When weighing, this principle is violated, since the seller takes full payment for goods of inappropriate weight. In such a situation, the buyer, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 466 of the Civil Code, may demand:
- transfer to him the missing amount of goods;
- refuse the purchase and payment for it, and if the goods are paid for, return the paid amount back.
In this case, the buyer himself chooses which option is more preferable.
How they are hung in stores: secrets of sellers
To avoid becoming a victim of deception, you need to know the tricks sellers use when they want to cheat someone. This is for example:
- Using electronic or table scales with intentionally incorrect settings.
- Taking into account the weight of the package during the weighing process.
- Removing goods from the scale before the needle reaches a certain mark.
- Incorrect installation of the scale: at an angle or on an uneven surface.
- Distracting the buyer's attention from the scale readings.
- Weighing a group of similar products with different price tags.
- Body kit in the process of packaging goods.
To reduce the risks of weighing, the consumer should be vigilant and check the weighing results at the point of sale.
It would seem that when using electronic scales it is impossible to weigh the buyer. However, even with electronic scales, sellers can practice very basic weighing techniques, including reprogramming the measuring instruments.
How to check the weight of a product in a store
The buyer’s main assistant in the fight against body kits is the “check scale”. If control weighing indicates a different value, the buyer has the right to complain about a violation of his rights. Identifying the fact of incorrect weighing directly in the store can significantly facilitate the process of returning money.
Where to complain if you were deceived when weighing goods in a store
If your claim is not satisfied, but you are sure that you were deceived when weighing goods, then contact higher authorities: Rospotrebnadzor or the prosecutor's office. You can complain about the store in any convenient way:
- visit the department in person and write a statement at an appointment with a specialist;
- fill out the electronic application form on the official website of the government agency;
- Send your complaint by mail to your local branch.
In all cases, describe your problem in detail, indicate the address of the store, how you tried to resolve the situation, what was the response to your complaint, etc. Attach evidence: receipt, video recording, etc. After this, an inspection will be carried out and an appropriate decision will be made.
