The new Law on consumer protection in Serbia!

The new Law on consumer protection has been announced in the Serbian Parliament and is in force from the 19th of September 2021. In the following, let’s find out how the new Law on consumer protection gives more rights to the customers?

According to the new Law on consumer protection, every trader (including retailers) is obligated to take part in an out-of-court dispute which was initiated by the unsatisfied customer.

Therefore, if a consumer initiates an out-of-court dispute against the retailer, the retailer must participate in this type of dispute. A customer will be able to start this type of dispute only if he previously filed a complaint or objection to the retailer. In case the retailer opposes the complaint, he must state both facts and evidence on which he bases his allegations. The retailer is obliged to participate in the procedure in front of a special body that will be formed, and whose conditions for establishment and work will be determined by the Minister of Trade.

Although this path of resolving disputes has existed before, with this new change, retailers don’t have a choice to avoid a dispute that the customer has initiated against them by directing the consumer to start a court dispute. In this way, the new Law has put the interests of the customers first.