Facts of unauthorized trade can be reported through the new portal of the consumer market of the Rostov region

Despite the fact that the activities of markets must be carried out within the framework of the relevant law N 271-FZ, consumers often face violations of their rights, and sellers – with a clear excess of their powers by the Administration. But the constant change of retail locations, unreasonable collection of additional payments and the sale of counterfeit goods are not the entire list of complaints that citizens make. An open-air retail outlet can cause a lot of inconvenience to residents of nearby houses, which may also be grounds for contacting the supervisory authorities.

What can you complain about?

Despite the fact that specialized institutions systematically conduct raids and scheduled inspections, the activities of markets are not always carried out within the framework of current legislation. As a rule, citizens complain about:

• violation of requirements for equipment of pavilions;
• failure to comply with the procedure for providing retail space;
• unauthorized disposal of garbage and waste, which contributes to the pollution of adjacent areas;
• violation of sanitary standards;
• high noise level, which affects the quality of life of residents of nearby houses;
• sale of prohibited goods;
• unauthorized seizure of adjacent territories;
• lack of response to requests regarding the sale of low-quality products, systematic weighting or shortchanging;
• unauthorized trade in adjacent territories;
• illegal (misdirected) use of the allocated land plot, etc.

You can directly complain to the Administration about regular body kits or shortchanges. In most cases, this is enough to influence a careless seller. In addition, you can complain to the Administration about the creation of uncomfortable trading conditions, non-compliance with the terms of the lease agreement, lack of cleaning and inadequate garbage disposal. It is possible that after receiving such a signal, violations will be eliminated as soon as possible.

The operation of illegal markets is not regulated by relevant legislation. If you identify a point where unauthorized trading is taking place, the police should be called.

Where to go

A buyer, seller or any other person (for example, the owner of another store) whose interests and rights were violated by the actions of the Administration has the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority. Depending on the situation, the applicant has the right to apply to the following authorities:

1. Management company , which is responsible for organizing trade in the territory entrusted to it (if we are talking about violation of standards when equipping a trading place, the layout of pavilions is not followed, garbage and waste are dumped on the adjacent territory, etc.). It is better to send a written document by mail or personally hand it to the head of the company.
2. Rospotrebnadzor . Any violation of sanitary and epidemiological standards is a reason to contact the territorial Office of Rospotrebnadzor https://www.rospotrebnadzor.ru/region/structure/str_uprav.php. Based on the circumstances and the volume of additional materials, the complaint can be sent by mail, handed over to an authorized employee at a personal meeting, or submitted online https://petition.rospotrebnadzor.ru/petition/oper_auth_need/.
3. Local government (for seizure of territory, misuse of allocated land, etc.). The document can be addressed to a specific official.
4. Prosecutor's office . If there is a suspicion that an administrative offense or a criminal offense is being committed on the territory of the market, you should directly contact the territorial division of the Prosecutor's Office. The document will be accepted only if sufficient evidence is provided. Based on the results of consideration of the stated circumstances, administrative or criminal proceedings may be opened.
5. Court . The last authority where you can turn to protect your rights and interests is a court of general jurisdiction. A claim should be filed even if the management company, the Market Administration and Rospotrebnadzor refused to satisfy the stated requirements. But if we are talking about obtaining financial compensation for harm caused, it is better to involve a lawyer in the process who will help to correctly draw up a claim taking into account the norms of relevant legislation.

Based on the issue, you should first contact the Management Company or the Market Administration.

What are the responsibilities?

Violation of current legislation entails the application of sanctions. The specific punishment depends on the type and severity of the violation:

1. Trading without the status of an individual entrepreneur or not on behalf of a company is punishable on the basis of. Fine – from 500 rubles to 2000 rubles.
2. Lack of a license or permit – paragraph 2 of Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Fine – up to 2,500 rubles with confiscation of manufactured products. Officials and firms will receive a heavier fine.
3. If the act caused major damage to citizens and legal entities, or led to the receipt of large income, it is applied. Fine – from half a million rubles, compulsory labor or arrest for up to six months.

Sanctions for trading in unauthorized places are determined by the legislation of the region in whose territory the offense is being committed. This is usually a fine ranging from several hundred to several thousand rubles.

For more information about what liability is provided for illegal business activities, read this article >>

Procedure

To achieve satisfaction of your claims, it is important to collect a sufficient amount of evidence that indicates a violation of the law. It is better to do this before filing a complaint with the market as the conflict situation develops. For this purpose, you can use video footage, expert opinions, photographs, reference documents and any other materials received by the applicant. If the appeal process is based only on unsubstantiated allegations, you should not expect your claims to be satisfied. In this case, the supervisory authority may refuse to consider the complaint, citing a lack of relevant evidence.

To complain about the market, you should follow a certain sequence in your actions. A citizen must:

1. Try to resolve the conflict without the intervention of supervisory authorities. It is better to do this in writing so that the applicant can subsequently confirm that he has already submitted an appeal to the Market Administration or the Management Company. If you immediately submit a statement about the fact of the identified violations to the supervisory authority, it will be returned, citing non-compliance with the appeal procedure.
2. File a complaint or claim in court . In the second case, it is better to use the services of a lawyer who will correctly draw up the document and will participate in the trial as a legal representative. The collected evidence should be submitted along with the complaint. But to avoid loss, it is recommended to transfer their copies, not the originals, to supervisory authorities and the court.
3. Get a response from the supervisory authority . Based on its content, the applicant will be able to understand how to proceed further in the current situation. If an order to eliminate violations is issued, it is important to ensure that it is implemented in full.

Upon receipt of an application, the supervisory authority may conduct an unscheduled market inspection.

How to file a complaint

Despite the fact that the document can be drawn up in free form, it must contain complete and comprehensive information to consider the circumstances of the incident. The complaint should indicate:

• Details of the supervisory authority to which the appeal is submitted. It can be addressed to a specific official authorized to consider such issues.
• Personal and contact details of the applicant. It is recommended to additionally indicate a telephone number to simplify the communication process.
• The address of the organized outdoor sales point about which the citizen is complaining.
• Circumstances of the incident. It should be reported when the conflict situation arose, who participated in it, and how events developed.
• Was an attempt made to resolve the problem without external interference with the Administration or Management Company. When such requests were submitted, were responses received or did the addressees ignore the demands made. To confirm such information, copies of the responses should be attached to the complaint.
• Links to relevant legislation that have been violated by the market. But if a citizen does not provide such information, he will not be denied acceptance of the claim.
• A clear list of requirements. Depending on the situation, you may be required to verify the stated facts, oblige you to eliminate violations (for example, vacate the occupied territory, use the land for its intended purpose, etc.), and report the results obtained.
• List of applications and additional materials.
• Date, signature.

The collective complaint must contain the signatures of all persons in whose interests it is filed.

Contacts on social networks or by email

Pre-trial claims are included in the list of legally significant communications that cannot be ignored by companies. This means that they fall under paragraph 65 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces. According to this clause, legally significant messages can be sent to companies' emails or through other types of communication, unless this is prohibited by law or specified in the contract. The main thing is the ability to reliably identify the sender and addressee of the claim.

Simply put, if there are no prohibitions in the contract on the use of email, instant messengers or SMS services of the company (if they are publicly available), the buyer has the right to submit claims in any available way. If submitted claims are ignored, the company will be fined.

However, despite the abolition of the complaint book in 2021, many companies have no plans to abandon them. Although some note that consumers themselves rarely take advantage of the opportunity to write reviews in books. Increasingly, people are using other available ways to get the information they need: feedback on websites, online support chats, and company contact centers. In addition, Internet users often write reviews on various websites and social networks.

Question answer

Question: There is a market next to a recently occupied multi-storey building. Every day, regardless of the day of the week, his employees clean the area using a backpack-type blower. Due to the design features of the house and roof, noise in apartments exceeds the limit established by standards. What to do?

Answer: In this case, you should contact the territorial Office of Rospotrebnadzor. It is better for the document to be submitted by a group of residents (i.e. a collective complaint is needed), as this will speed up the process of its consideration. The supervisory authority initiates an administrative investigation, which may result in an order to eliminate the identified violations.

Question: The administration is clearly violating the terms of the lease agreement. During the cold season, it saves on heating, which makes it difficult for sellers to be in the pavilions. As a result, sales and turnover fall. I filed a corresponding complaint with the local government, but they refused to accept it. The refusal was motivated by the fact that I did not try to resolve the conflict with the Administration. How legal are the actions of the local government?

Answer: If we are not talking about committing an administrative or criminal offense, a citizen should really contact the Administration directly. But if she refuses to satisfy the demands put forward or does not provide an answer within the specified period, you can contact the local government body. In this case, as an attachment, the addressee should be given a response or a copy of the previously filed claim.

Question: The retail store is located on the territory of the city market. Trucks carrying goods often drive up to it. But recently the Administration has prohibited the passage, citing the fact that the store is located on private property. And to get a pass, you need to pay a certain amount of money. What is the right thing to do in such a situation?

Answer: If the place of trade is supposedly private property, the Administration should request a document confirming that the object has a special status. Depending on what is provided to the applicant, it will be possible to understand how to proceed to resolve the conflict. You may have to go to the city administration or court to defend your rights.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say exactly why the book of complaints and suggestions only for retail companies was canceled. However, all other businesses are required to have it in stock, since failure to do so can result in a fine of up to 30,000 rubles. Companies don't have to respond to every entry in the book; positive reviews can be left unanswered. At the same time, regardless of the presence of a book of complaints, companies are obliged to respond to pre-trial claims of consumers, and, if correct, satisfy the requirements within the time period specified by law, so as not to receive a fine.

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The legislative framework

When filing a complaint, you should be guided by the following legislative acts:

1. Federal Law “On retail markets and on amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation” dated December 30, 2006 N 271-FZ (as amended on December 2, 2019).
2. Federal Law "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation" dated January 17, 1992. N 2202-1 (as amended on July 31, 2020).
3. Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” dated 02/07/1992 N 2300-1 (as amended on 04/24/2020).
4. Constitution of the Russian Federation (adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993, with amendments approved during the all-Russian vote on July 1, 2020).
5. Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” dated May 2, 2006. N 59-FZ (as amended on December 27, 2008).