Georgia: The Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (GCCA) highlighted Medical Aesthetic Center Ltd. “Med Status” aggressive marketing activity as a violation of Georgian legislation.
Medical Aesthetic Center Ltd. “Med Status” has identified the fact of violation of Georgian law – aggressive commercial activity.
Specifically, the study of the case has confirmed that when visiting the client’s clinic, the merchant intensely tried to influence the customers’ will to quickly sign the contract within a short period. In particular, with the help of clinic staff, customers signed loan agreements to pay the cost of services without having proper information and free choice when making a decision.
By GCCA’s decision, it was established that the merchant was unfairly affecting the will of the consumer. By law, all actions not related to coercion or threat are treated as inappropriate, however, restrict the user’s ability to make an informed decision which in turn constitutes the user’s legitimate right.
Therefore, within 1 month, the trader was suspended – to restore the violated consumer rights and comply with the requirements of the law articles of his trade policy, which were not fulfilled. Due to the non-fulfillment of obligations imposed by the agency, “Med Status” LLC was fined 6576 GEL and 43 Tetri.
For information: According to the law, in case of non-fulfillment of the agency’s decision within the stipulated period or unreliable execution, the trader will be charged with a fine, which shall not exceed 2% of the trader’s annual turnover of the previous financial year.
Within 12 months, the merchant’s repeated violations will result in doubling the penalty imposed. The agency’s decision can be appealed in court. Imposing a fine does not exempt the merchant from the obligation to execute the agency’s decision.
Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA)
The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA) was created in 2014 by the Law of Georgia on Competition and operates as a separate public law organization. It is answerable to the Georgian parliament, the prime minister, and the general public. Enforcing anti-dumping, competition, and consumer protection laws is the agency’s primary responsibility.
