Consumer rights are being observed from the aspect of merchant’s duties and responsibilities. Therefore, the law defines series of merchant duties and responsibilities, breach of which leads to activation of consumer protection measures.

As for consumer rights, they cannot waive their legal rights nor they can be deprived of such rights. Basic consumer rights are:

• Right to access to main goods and services / right to satisfaction of basic needs

  is a consumer right to availability of essential products and services, such as food, clothing, footwear, residential space, water, electricity, health care, education and hygiene;

• Right to consumer education

  dis a consumer right to be apprised of his/her rights towards merchants when entering in merchant relations;

• Right to safety and protection of life and health

  is a right to protection against goods and services deemed to pose a threat to health, property or environment, i.e. whose possession or handling is forbidden;

• Right to be informed

  is a consumer right to have access to accurate information he/she needs to make a reasonable choice among offered goods and services, i.e. a right to gain basic knowledge and skills required to make a proper and reliable choice of goods and services, as well as knowledge of basic rights and obligations of consumers and methods of their fulfillment;

• Right to choose

  is a consumer right to choose between several goods and services based on affordable prices and quality warranty;

• Right to be heard and be represented

  is a consumer right to demand legal protection in case his/her rights have been breached, as well as a right to compensation of material and immaterial damages caused by a merchant;

• Right to damage compensation

  is a consumer right to receive material and immaterial compensation in case of any breach of his/her rights;

• Right to healthy environment

  is a consumer right to living and working in an environment free of any health threats.

A consumer cannot waive or be deprived of his/her rights that have been established by the above said law.

Also, as for the consumer right to be informed, it should be noted that consumers need to take care of the clauses in an agreement that have not been negotiated by themselves (so called standard agreements – being prepared by merchants and given to consumers for signature/acceptance) since they can be analyzed from the aspect of their validity. In other words, clauses contained in such agreements are null and void if they pose significant inequality between rights and obligations of contractual parties that go to the detriment of consumers, if non-fulfillment of contractual obligations would considerably deviate from realistic expectations of consumers, as well as if they are contrary to the principle of fairness, conscientious behavior and best business practices. Both laws provide an overview of clauses that can be deemed as null and void, so it is important consumers pay attention to this.

The said consumer rights are being exercised trough economic relations with merchants and their fulfillment manner is best seen from the perspective of extrajudicial protection of consumers. Consumer rights are different depending on the type of product being purchased and place of product purchase (whether a product is being purchased directly at a store or online, via e-tools like Internet).

As for direct sale of products, the Law on Consumer Protection in BiH prescribes a requirement for merchants to deliver goods/services without specifying a deadline for this. On the other hand, the Law on Consumer Protection in the RS prescribes a deadline and a consequences for non-observance of such deadline according to which a merchant is required to deliver a product or service to a consumer without any delay and not later than 30 days upon having assumed this contractual relationship (if not stated otherwise in an agreement). If a merchant does not deliver a product within the stated deadline, the agreement shall be terminated. In exceptional cases, a consumer may extend an agreement if he/she has provided a written consent for having a subsequent deadline for fulfillment of such agreement. If a merchant fails to meet its contractual obligation by this subsequent deadline, the agreement shall be terminated. In that case, a merchant is required to make a cash refund favor of the consumer within 7 days since the agreement termination.

A merchant is obliged to sell to a consumer a product that is free of any deficiencies and is safe for use. In case of product deficiencies that are visible, i.e. readily detectable, a consumer has a right to send (within 8 days upon receipt of a product) a request for elimination of deficiencies. In case of hidden deficiencies that are subsequently detected, a consumer has a right to file a request for protection of his/her rights within two months of having detected a deficiency and not later than two years since receipt of a product. The said deadlines are defined by the Law on Consumer Protection in BiH and apply to defective services (for both state entities). However, as for consumer protection deadlines related to defective products, RS applies other deadlines, i.e. a consumer shall notify a merchant in written of any product deficiency within 60 days since having identified any such deficiency and not later than 2 years since product/service receipt. Therein, a shorter deadline may be determined for used goods, i.e. one year at shortest. In case of a deficiencies appearing within 6 months since the purchase date, it is presumed that the deficiency existed at the purchase and a consumer is not required to prove this fact (except if this assumption is not contrary to the nature of a product or nature of particular deficiency). The said deadlines do no relate to products under warranty since, in that case, deadlines stated in the warranty sheet apply.

Based on a written request filed by a consumer and denoting product deficiencies, a consumer is entitled to demand the following from a merchant:

• replacement of a defective product with an identical new proper/functional product; or

• refund the paid amount and reimburse any actual reasonable costs related to return of a defective product, or

• eliminate product deficiencies at the expense of a merchant, or

• lower a product price if such price decrease is acceptable by both contractual parties (defined by the RS Consumer Protection Law)

As for consumer request concerning improper or partial performance of a service, a consumer shall have a right to demand the following from a merchant (within the above defined deadlines): (i) to repeat / complete the service (in the RS: within an appropriate timeframe, but not later than 30 days since the request filing date); or (ii) to reduce the agreed price due to lower quality.

Of note, a consumer request needs to be accompanied with a bill / invoice for a product where deficiencies have been detected.

Upon receipt of a consumer request, a merchant can choose either to contest it or not. In case a merchant has not contested a deficiency, it is required to fulfill the consumer request without any further delay- Therein, the RS Consumer Protection Law prescribes that a merchant is required to make repairs or replace such product within an adequate deadline, but no longer than within 30 days since the request filing date and also pay for all related expenses. In case a merchant does contest a request, it shall send a written response to the buyer within 8 days since the request receipt. If a merchant is contesting a deficiency and a consumer does not abandon his/her request, a certified court appraiser or a competent institute in BiH/RS shall provide an expert opinion whether such request is justified or not. If such expert review proves product or service deficiency, cost of such expert opinion shall be borne by a merchant.

The above mentioned consumer protection measure refers to deficiencies. So, a consumer buying a product in a store is given an option of examining such product and detecting any possible deficiencies. Hence, he/she cannot abandon the purchase without just reason since it is considered he/she made such purchase of a product in as-is condition. On the other hand, it is possible that a consumer detects a deficiency only upon arriving home, in which case he/she can opt to exercise the above explained protection mechanism.

An online sale agreement is any agreement referring to sale of a product or service organized by a merchant via online sale instruments. In practice, this is most often done by Internet. In an online sale, it is important for a consumer to know when is a merchant required to deliver particular product and when can he/she file a charge back, i.e. abandon an agreement.

Both consumer protection regulations prescribe that, prior to concluding an online agreement, a merchant is required to apprise a consumer of the entire set if his/her rights and terms of the agreement, as well as provide him/her with relevant information (Notification of consumer rights). The said notification is important since, if left out, may lead to extension of deadlines by which consumers may demand protection of their rights.

As for deliveries, a merchant shall deliver particular product to a consumer within 15 days since consumer order date. If a merchant fails to meet the delivery due to not having such goods in stock or not having goods readily available, it shall notify the consumer accordingly of this situation and refund any sum of money as soon as possible and, in any event, within 15 day since receipt of non-delivery information.

Contrary to direct sale, in an online sale (i.e. sale via Internet), a consumer has a right to abandon/terminate an agreement within 15 days since product receipt without any further reasoning on his/her part. As for services, this deadline is calculated since the agreement conclusion date. In that case, a consumer bears all product return costs. A merchant is required to make a cash refund to a consumer within 15 days since receiving a consumer notification of the agreement abandonment. If a merchant did not deliver to a consumer the Notification of consumer rights, the deadline for product return is three months – since receipt date of a product by a consumer (for the product) and since agreement conclusion date (for the service). In addition, if a merchant delivers the Notification of consumer rights within 3 months, the deadline of 15 days for agreement abandonment is counted since the receipt date of this written notification.

Merchants very often offer their service and products outside their business premises, i.e. outside their registered seat. A typical example of this is sale via public market stalls or door-to-door sale where a merchant visits consumers at their home or office for purpose of product and/or service sale. A merchant concluding such a deal with a consumer needs to provide proper identification and deliver a written notification of consumer rights so that a consumer is then entitled to an agreement termination within 15 days since conclusion of an agreement (thus also stating the name and address of the person to which such termination refers to).

So, a consumer buying a street product from a merchant (e.g. on a promotional stand) or at his/her workplace or anywhere else outside merchant’s business premises, has a right to decline consequences of an agreement in sense that he/she can send a written notification of this to a merchant within 15 days since the agreement conclusion. In that case, a consumer is not required to state any reason for the agreement termination or pay for any costs or fees therein. A consumer only bears the product return costs. By delivering the said notification to a merchant, a consumer is released from any obligations under the concluded agreement, except for an obligation of product return. On the other hand, a merchant is required to make a cash refund to a consumer without any undue delays, i.e. within 15 days since receipt date of the agreement termination notice.

The RS Law on Consumer Protection defines that if a merchant omits to submit a written notification to a merchant related to his/her right to unilateral agreement termination within 15 days since agreement conclusion, then this consumer right to agreement termination has not time restrictions. In addition, in case of a dispute, a merchant is the one required to prove that a consumer has duly received the notification of his/her right to unilateral agreement termination.

As for technically complex products, a manufacturer, i.e. supplier, is required to determine and denote in the technical manual a deadline for repairs (under warranty period), as well as supply the market with spare parts, tools and other items without which such product cannot be used according to its intended purpose. A warranty period may not be shorter than three years for household appliances, i.e. five years for other technically complex products.

In case of technically complex products, a manufacturer is the one issuing a warranty form according to which it warrants proper functioning of such items during the defined period, counting from its sale date to a buyer/consumer. In case of improper functioning of an item, a consumer may demand from both, seller and manufacturer, to repair it within a reasonable timeframe or provide a fully functional item instead. In that case, a consumer has a right to demand from a seller and/or manufacturer the following:

• Repair or replacement of an item within a warranty period irrespective of the time of malfunctioning, and

• Compensation for any damages caused due to being deprived of the use of particular item, counting from the repair / replacement request date until fulfillment of such request.

In case of a minor repair, a warranty period shall be extended by as many days a buyer was deprived of the use of such item. However, in case of a replacement due to improper functioning of an item or major repairs, the warranty period re-commences from the replacement date, i.e. return of the repaired item.

Exercising consumer rights towards merchants may be unsuccessful due to various business practices and policies of merchants. Therefore, the law defines also institutional protection of consumer rights in a way that consumers may realize their rights through: the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH / Republika Srpska Government, BiH Consumer Protection Ombudsman, BiH Council for Consumer Protection, BiH Competition Council, FBiH and RS Offices for Competition and Consumer Protection, RS Chamber of Commerce and RS Crafts Chamber, consumer protection associations, Insurance Ombudsman, Banking System Ombudsman, educational institutions and media, inspections, and other authorities as defined by the law.

Therefore, entities in charge of consumer protection are the above listed institutions/bodies/associations. Therein, we would like to underline the importance of consumer protection associations that are also authorized to represent consumers in achieving their rights and to receive consumer complaints, as well as to underline relevance of inspection authorities performing direct control over implementation of relevant legal regulations.