This is provided for by the amendments proposed to the Contravention Code of the Republic of Moldova.
The new wording provides that “unjustified refusal of a seller, service provider to consider and satisfy a consumer’s complaint for free elimination of defects of goods, services, their free replacement or refund of the cost of goods, services that do not meet the conditions established by law, shall entail a fine of 100 to 150 conventional units (from 5000 to 7500 lei) for an official, and from 400 to 600 conventional units for a legal entity”.
At present, the same act is punishable by much smaller fines – from 30 to 60 conventional units (from 1,500 to 3,000 lei) for officials and from 90 to 120 conventional units (from 4,500 to 6,000 lei) for legal entities.
Amendments to the Law on Consumer Rights Protection are also proposed. If the seller/executor refuses to satisfy the consumer’s complaint, referring to the fact that the discrepancy occurred due to reasons beyond the consumer’s control, and the consumer does not agree with this conclusion, the seller/executor is obliged to appoint a technical expertise to establish the cause of the discrepancy.
In this case, the seller/executor is obliged to notify the consumer in writing, on paper or other durable medium, within a period not exceeding 14 calendar days from the date of submission of the claim, of the application for expert examination, to provide contact details of the person authorized to carry out the examination, as well as, at the request of the consumer, to send him/her a confirmation of registration of the application for examination of the relevant goods with the authorized person. Otherwise, the seller/executor is liable to the consumer for non-compliance of the goods at the time of delivery.
