The Huge Fine for the Car Park Operator Has Become Final! What Does This Mean for Drivers?

We reported on the case in 2023. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny then imposed a fine of over PLN 820,000 on APCOA Parking Polska and requested explanations from ATPark and Europark. The authority stated:

APCOA Parking Polska operates car parks at hospitals, office buildings, hotels and shopping centres throughout the country. Numerous complaints concerning the entrepreneur’s practices reached the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The President of UOKiK found a violation of the collective interests of consumers—the company must pay a fine of over PLN 820,000 (PLN 822,850).

And explained:

APCOA Parking Polska restricted the ways in which consumers could submit complaints, allowing only two types of submission: via a form on the website or by letter sent to the registered office address. Meanwhile, it should also have considered complaints submitted in other forms, such as by email or in person. In addition, the company stated that the period within which it would process complaints could be longer than 30 days. This is contrary to the Consumer Rights Act, which provides that the time for responding to a complaint cannot be extended unilaterally. Until 1 January 2023, if an entrepreneur failed to respond within 30 days of receiving a complaint, the complaint was deemed accepted. The new regulations, related to the implementation of the Omnibus Directive, shortened this period to 14 days.

– The complaint procedure cannot restrict consumers’ rights. It is consumers, not the entrepreneur, who should be able to choose their preferred method of submitting a complaint. Moreover, the information provided by the company should be accurate and complete. If consumers had not been misled, they could have decided whether to pursue their rights further or defend themselves in court – Tomasz Chróstny explained at the time.

As reported by money.pl, which returned to the case a few days ago, the UOKiK decision became final on 8 November 2024.

The fined company manages two car parks in the City of Ceramics: the one by the shopping centre on Hutnicza Street and the one by the Biedronka store on Chrobrego Street.

What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.