Category: Press Releases

(Prague, November 28, 2012) The number of fuel samples taken at filing stations on the whole territory of the Czech Republic is growing. During October, 396 samples of motor petrol, motor oil, mixed fuel, bio fuel, LPG, CNG and Ethanol E85 were laboratory tested. Totally 5 samples failed the requirements of the applicable standards. With regard to the interest of the public concerning the quality of this assortment, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority informs not only about the results of the controls, but in compliance with law it also publis...

(Interim report of the third quarter of 2012) (Prague, November 19, 2012) E-shops have prepared for Christmas sale as well as consumers. However, there are minor internet sellers who benefit from unfair commercial practices used in contradiction with the legislation when offering and selling fictive assortment of goods. Such practice was proven again by the monitoring of e-shops and their subsequent inspections in the third quarter – 202 of the 259 checked subjects breached the obligations as provided by the legal regulations. Totally 174 fin...

(Prague, November 14, 2012) While the summer and vacations have ended for the most of us and have remained only as a memory in the autumn and before Christmas, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority has evaluated the results of its spring and summer inspections of commercial activities at the places which are closed to the public or to which the access is very limited in the other periods of the year. From April to the end of September, the inspectors carried out almost 1,300 controls at burgs and castles, workplaces at swimming pools and other s...

(Prague, November 8, 2012) Christmas presents are the most attractive products nowadays when shops are full of goods intended to become Christmas presents. The offer of toys is wide and the manufacturers of toys use the opportunity to attract the interest of consumers and especially children. However, not all toys are safe and suitable for children. A lovely sound teddy bear Love Mate is one such toy which poses risks to children because of its construction. On the back side of the toy there is a zip billow which a speaker and a case containing...

(Prague, November 7, 2012) Offering, selling and stocking of fakes is one of the fields continuously inspected by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. The inspections concern not only marketplaces but also various boutiques and shops in touristic areas and increasingly also e-shops whose unfair commercial practices consumers frequently complain about. Preparation of the inspections is more and more demanding and requires coordination with other state administrative authorities within the controls at marketplaces as the fakes are usually not di...

(Prague, November 1, 2012) Not even two years after the Act on Consumer Credit came into force and toughened the obligations of intermediaries and providers of consumer credit it is obvious neither this legal regulation has effectively eliminated the unfair commercial practices of the intermediaries and providers of consumer credit. The findings of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority have proven that the rights of consumers are still being breached to the same extent. The CTIA inspectors still find breaches of the Act on Consumer Credit and th...

(Prague, October 31, 2012) On the grounds of a consumer’s submission it was found that a product which poses a high risk to consumers is offered in the internal market. When using the coffee table LOTUS in the common and intended way, the glass desk may spontaneously explode and individual shards may cause serious injuries to the persons present. The product failed the requirement on the minimal number of shards after it was broken within a laboratory test. The glass of thickness from 4 to 12 mm shall not break into more than 40 pieces whose ma...

(Prague, October 24, 2012) The number of complaints by consumers who are dissatisfied with the settlement of their claims by sellers of shoes is still growing. Within the 9 months of 2012, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority received totally 646 submissions. The CTIA inspectors found one or more breaches of obligations as provided by the Act on Consumer Protection in 123 cases. The problems within the claims most frequently stem from incorrect, incomplete or even deceitful information available to the consumers. Within the past months, there a...

(Prague, October 18, 2012) This extraordinary inspection action had its roots in the growing number of submissions by both consumer and professional public pointing at the overestimation of parameters of the equivalent power of LED lights in indirect light sources. The business in the field of modern economical light sources has developed quickly in the consequence of reducing production and selling of traditional light bulbs, but it is difficult for consumers to orientate in the offers. Only some are able to compare optical parameters of indiv...

(Prague, October 12, 2012) The quality of fuels belongs to the most interested fields of inspection, especially among consumers. During September, the CTIA inspectors took 382 fuel samples on the territory of the Czech Republic including 12 samples which failed to meet the quality requirements, i.e. 3.1% - namely 3 motor petrol samples, 7 motor oil samples and two samples of mixed fuel. Other types of fuel – FAME, LPG, CNG and ethanol met the requirements of the appropriate quality standards in all parameters. About 800 fuel samples are still t...