Category: Press Releases

(Prague, September 6, 2012) Last year, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority received totally 20,382 submissions from consumers and from both consumer and professional associations. The submissions included information requests, suggestions and complaints including those which are out of the inspection and surveillance competence of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority and which fall within the competence of a different administrative body or are completely out of the scope of state surveillance, e.g. in cases when the complainant can enforce re...

(Prague, August 27, 2012) Travel agencies and tour operators are most active in the period of the summer holidays but their offers are there during the whole year the same as the controls carried out by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority in the field of their services. The findings detected by the inspectors in the first half-year of 2012 are alerting despite the fact that among these results, investigations carried out on the grounds of submissions by consumers who went for their vacation with travel agencies in the second half of the year w...

(Prague, August 15, 2012) Every child likes to play with any type of a whistle. However some whistles are absolutely nonconforming, just like the respective metal whistle without any marking. The whistle is so small that there is the real danger that children could swallow it or breathe it in. The Czech Trade Inspection Authority banned selling of this whistle and the distributor withdrew the product from the market.

(Prague, September 11, 2012) The Czech Trade Inspection Authority warns against another dangerous scooter which was found in the offer in the inner market. It is the third of the products taken for laboratory assessment of safety in the frame of the control action focused on scooters which shows serious deficiencies. When the strength of the handles was tested, the folding mechanism broke where the handling system is connected to the board and the belt fixing the rear wheel broke as well which is why the scooter poses a risk of serious injury t...

(Prague, September 7, 2012) When monitoring the Czech market with toys, the inspectors of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority took several types of scooters to laboratory assessment because their visual assessment suggested that the scooters may not be completely safe. The professional assessment confirmed this suspicion in the scooter named Fashion Scooter. This product failed the dynamic toughness test. As a result, a small user could easily fall and get injured. Selling of this product was banned, but some sellers still may sell it.

(Prague, August 20, 2012) Touristic season starts for the CTIA inspectors long before the first day of the summer holidays because they monitor services focused on tourists already from the beginning of spring. On the grounds of the plan of the control activities and warnings from consumers as well as other knowledge, the inspectors check how the information obligations towards customers are fulfilled and especially whether traders conduct in a discriminative or unfair manner or whether they use unfair commercial practices. Inspectors have focu...

(Prague, August 21, 2012) Inspectors of the CTIA belong to the customers of filling stations also in the summer months. The controls of fuel quality are carried out non-stop and their number will increase up to 3,000 till the end of this year as decided by the Minister of Industry and Trade.  In July, totally 223 fuel samples were taken, including 3 motor petrol samples which failed the required quality. Lawful decisions on fines imposed for breaches of fuel quality are available at http://www.coi.gov.cz/cz/spotrebitel/rozhodnuti-o-ulozeni-poku...

(Prague, August 17, 2012) Surveillance over the safety of products intended for children, among others also children’s scooters belong to the priorities of the inspection activities of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. In case that these scooters are not safe, there is a high risk of injury of the head, chest, stomach or arms – not only as a consequence of a fall, but also of a jam or a clinch of fingers or some other part of the body. Within a control of 56 types of children’s scooters placed on the market by almost 80 distributors it was ...

(Prague, August, 2012) As the number of consumers connected to the Internet increases as well as their computer literacy, the number of deals concluded through e-shops increases as well. This way of shopping is more comfortable, faster and often also cheaper than the classic way of shopping. But is it also safer? Do e-shops respect the rights of consumers and abide with all legally stipulated obligations? Or do the e-shops’ operators use the anonymity of the Internet environment and breach the legal regulations or even cheat? The results of the...

(Prague, August 10, 2012) Textile products decorated with toys do look funny, but sometimes they may pose a risk. The respective socks with a teddy bear are dangerous as proven by the results of a CTIA control. The ring on which the toy is hang can be easily torn off and even individual parts of the teddy bear can be easily separated and thus pose danger of swallowing or suffocation in children. Therefore the Czech Trade Inspection Authority banned selling of this product and the distributor took action and withdrew the product from the market....