Compliance with duties and rules for providing information about the prices of services and how those prices are set

The seller has the duty to inform the consumer about the prices of services provided or to make such information appropriately available in some other way.

The price means the monetary amount agreed for the purchase and sale of the service. A price agreement is an agreement on the amount of the price or on the method by which the price will be set, provided that this method determines the price sufficiently.

Where the supplier cannot announce the price in this manner using a specific amount at the time of the sale, he must at least announce an estimate of the price.

The information about the price or the method by which it will be set, or the fact that the information is incomplete or missing, must not, in particular, create the impression that:

  • the price is lower than it actually is,
  • the setting of the price depends on factors it is not actually dependent on,
  • the price includes supplies of products, performance, work or services which are actually paid for separately,
  • the price was or will be increased, lowered or modified even though this is not the case,
  • the relationship between the price and the utility of the service offered and that between the price and the utility of a comparable service is different than it actually is.

(This list only serves as an example. It is always necessary to evaluate whether the price is given in a false or misleading manner.)

 

Example: In the case of an account maintenance contract, a bank informs the client about a) the price for maintaining the account, b) prices for individual transactions on the account, c) zero VAT, d) the tax levied on accrued interest, e) the prices of other services.
The bank has complied with its duty and has informed the consumer ab

out the total price of the service and all its components.
Example: A bank informs the client about a) the current value of a fund unit, b) the entry fee, c) zero VAT, d) the investor’s duty under the decree on the statute and under the Civil Code to pay capital income tax and income tax if the investment is shorter than three years.
The bank has failed to comply with its duty, as it has not informed the client about the exit fee.