Every salesman wants to sell. Every customer wants to buy cheaply and without worry. There is a fine line between these two goals, which is drawn by law, but in practice can sometimes be dangerously close.
Every salesman wants to sell. Every customer wants to buy cheaply and without worry. There is a fine line between these two goals, which is drawn by law, but in practice can sometimes be dangerously close.
We have prepared this article to show you, whether you are consumers or entrepreneurs, clearly what is already behind the line, i.e. what Czech and European law consider to be deception and consumer damage, what the penalties are, how to proceed if you encounter unfair behaviour, and how to set up processes to avoid problems as an entrepreneur.
There are three basic types of prohibited consumer behaviour:
These are situations where a trader gives false information, or gives true information in such a way that it may mislead the consumer into making a decision that they would not otherwise have made.
The Black List in the Annex to the Consumer Protection Act lists practices that are always misleading (for example, unauthorised use of a quality mark, declaring a code of conduct that does not actually exist, or so-called “enticing advertising” of goods that are not available).
This is a situation where a business withholds material information or provides it unclearly or late. In an online environment, this often includes hiding key information in the footer of a website or concealing paid advertising in product listings.
Recently, new obligations have also been introduced for online marketplaces: they must clearly disclose who the consumer is actually contracting with (trader vs. private individual) and on what parameters offers are ranked.
Pressure, coercion, harassment, taking advantage of a consumer’s disadvantage. Typically unsolicited and persistent phone calls, pressure to buy as quickly as possible without time to think (e.g. information that it is the last item without actually being the case).
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From 2023, there is a clear rule: when you announce a discount, you must state the lowest price in the 30 days before the discount is given. This applies to virtually all forms of discount promotions. It does not apply to perishable or short-lived goods. This is to prevent inflating the original prices just before the discount promotion. Misrepresentation of the reference price is deceptive.
Example. Instead of “50% off”, it should correctly state that it is based on CZK 3 000. If he calculates the discount from CZK 4 000, he is lying about the amount of the discount.
The amendment also brought stricter rules for reviews. Publishing false or misrepresented reviews is now an unfair commercial practice. If you claim that a review comes from verified customers, you must have a verification mechanism (e.g. a link to a real order).
Example: an e-shop displays ten verified reviews for a product, but the system has no verification of the purchase. This is prohibited.
If you offer a discount promotion, you must ensure reasonable availability, taking into account the length of the promotion, the extent of the advertising, the nature of the goods and the amount of the discount. Otherwise, it is so-called “enticement advertising”: you are luring the customer to an offer that you do not actually have. This is always an unfair commercial practice.
Example: a leaflet promising a TV set for CZK 4,999 for a whole week, but the shop only had three units and then only the more expensive models. Without a clear warning of limited quantities and reasonable stock, this is an unfair practice.
Hidden manipulations in the interface (dark patterns) – pre-ticked additional services, intricately hidden card payment fees, mandatory insurance in the basket, etc., are typical deceptive omissions. The customer must be given clear, understandable and timely information about the total price and all charges or risk being penalised. In addition, online marketplaces must disclose paid benefits in search results.
There are significant fines for misleading or aggressive practices. After the amendment, the supervisory authority (e.g. the CTIA) can impose a fine of up to 4% of the seller’s annual turnover (up to CZK 50 million if unknown), especially for large-scale or cross-border infringements that fall under EU supervision.
In addition to misdemeanours, unfair conduct may constitute a criminal offence of consumer detriment. In particular, the Criminal Code penalises those who cheat on quality, quantity or weight, or conceal material defects. The penalties start with imprisonment of up to 1 year and, if the offender obtains a large benefit, 2-8 years. At the same time, the damage is not insignificant (a condition of the basic facts) and is at least CZK 10 000.
Example: an entrepreneur puts “refurbished” mobile phones into circulation as new, without specifying the condition, and charges a price for a new one. If this causes not insignificant damage to several customers, it may lead to a criminal offence.
Have you been a victim or witness to a crime, are you considering filing a criminal complaint? We can advise you on how to proceed. We will protect your rights quickly, efficiently and profitably.
When you feel that you have been wronged or misled as a consumer, speed and order in the evidence is of the essence. It pays to take a few simple steps before getting into litigation:
Before you file anything, secure your evidence: save your order confirmations, emails, SMS, complaint logs, screenshots of the e-shop (product page, basket, receipt, action text), photos of labels in the shop.
A record of your own communication (e.g. a phone call you make) can be evidence. Especially in criminal proceedings, courts often admit such recordings if they were made by the participant in the call. In civil proceedings, this is more complicated in practice. This is because such a recording may give rise to an interference with personality objection. Therefore, always consider proportionality and purpose.
It is also worth knowing that a recorded phone call is personal data and if a business is calling you, it must comply with the information obligations under the data protection regulations (notification of recording, purpose, retention period, etc.).
Always try to resolve the dispute directly with the trader first and ask for written confirmation of the claim. The claim must be resolved within 30 days (unless you agree otherwise). Be sure to save all joint communications.
If you come across consumer deception (e.g. fictitious discount, hidden charges, unavailable goods), file a complaint with the CTIA (online via e-Mailbox or in writing). In your complaint, clearly describe what happened, attach evidence and identify the trader. The CTIA deals with violations of the law from a supervisory point of view (it is not about awarding damages, but about sanctioning and correcting the illegal situation).
If unsuccessful, use ADR (out-of-court dispute resolution). For most consumer disputes, the CTIA has jurisdiction. You submit your application online and attach evidence of your unsuccessful attempt to reach an agreement. ADR is free and often leads to an agreement without going to court.
Prevention is cheaper than a fine. If you want to keep consumer deception and consumer detriment under control, you need more than just good intentions – setting up processes, clear accountability and consistent campaign controls are crucial. Let’s take a closer look:
A clear rule of thumb: provide information that is truthful, complete and timely. Make legal and content approval of campaigns, price lists and banners mandatory. When announcing a discount, an internal checklist must verify and document the lowest price in 30 days. For reviews, require purchase verification or flag reviews that are not verified.
Regularly train people who create content: what is deceptive conduct (e.g., how to work with the original price before discounting), what is deceptive omission (withholding material information), and what is aggressive practice (coercion, harassment). Add examples from your practice: last items, free shipping only if conditions are met, services biddable in the cart, etc. Explain the liability: large players face fines of up to 4% of annual turnover for cross-border infringements.
If you operate an online marketplace or comparison site, you must disclose whether the consumer is contracting with a trader or with another consumer, what sorting parameters you use and when the result is a paid-for discount. Unmarked topping is an unfair practice. The same applies to graders – the paid ranking must be visibly distinguished.
Keep a history of the prices of your goods so that you can document at any time what the lowest price has been in the last 30 days. A simple “price memory” is the cheapest prevention from being fined for mislabeled discounts.
Implement review verification (e.g. via order binding), moderation rules, and an audit trail archive of why a review was hidden. If you claim that a review has been verified be prepared to document how. Otherwise you risk being penalised for misleading the consumer.
If you record calls, comply withprivacy obligations (information about the recording, purpose, retention periods). Train staff not to promise something the company cannot deliver – the recording may be evidence against you later.
Deception and consumer detriment comprise three main types of prohibited practices: deceptive acts (false or misleading information), deceptive omissions (withholding material information) and aggressive practices (coercion, harassment, taking advantage of a customer’s weaker position). In practice, this includes, in particular, false or inflated discounts without indicating the lowest price in the last 30 days, enticing advertising of goods that are not really available, false or unverified reviews, hidden fees and dark patterns in the ordering process, artificially created sense of scarcity (“last items”), unlabelled influencer advertising or mandatory additional services. Such behaviour is punishable by heavy administrative fines of up to 4% of annual turnover and, in more serious cases, can even constitute a criminal offence of consumer detriment with a penalty of up to several years’ imprisonment.
As consumers, we should gather evidence (receipts, emails, screenshots, communication records) as soon as possible if we suspect unfair behaviour, first try to file a complaint with the trader and only then file a complaint with the Czech Trade Inspectorate or a proposal for out-of-court dispute resolution (ADR), which is free of charge. Businesses can avoid the risk by setting clear internal rules, approving campaigns and prices, keeping records of price changes, transparent rules for reviews and ranking of offers on online marketplaces, employee training and fair communication with customers. Compliance with these policies protects not only consumers but also the business itself – from fines, criminal liability and reputational damage.
Generally, a practice is unfair if it is likely to substantially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer – that is, to induce you to make a purchasing decision that you would not otherwise have made.
Yes. The law explicitly says that even truthful information can be misleading if it is presented in a way that leads or is likely to lead the consumer to make a wrong decision (e.g. by taking it out of context, by failing to tell the essential part, by graphically highlighting only the benefits).
The rules on unfair commercial practices are primarily linked to the protection of consumers, i.e. persons acting outside the scope of their business activities.
Yes, both a natural person (for example, an executive, manager or other employee who actually carries out or directs the conduct) and a legal person can be held liable for the crime of consumer detriment.
It makes sense to contact the police when you suspect that the entrepreneur’s actions meet the characteristics of a criminal offence (e.g. systematic cheating, high damages, repeated fraud).
The contract should clearly stipulate that the influencer must visibly label the ad in a way that complies with legal requirements to prevent hidden advertising. We also recommend defining what specific claims can and cannot be used, who is responsible for the content of the text, and what the procedure is for violating these rules.
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Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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