UOKiK wants to inspect stores as a mystery shopper, all the way through to a complaint

A government bill will give the authority’s inspectors the right to make a full purchase under a hidden identity. The penalties are not changing, but officials will be able to prove companies’ mistakes in handling returns and complaints more easily.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is preparing an amendment to the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection. The changes will allow inspectors to go through the entire purchasing process without revealing who they are. The bill is numbered UC142 and is intended to fully implement EU Regulation 2017/2394, the so-called CPC Regulation on cooperation between consumer protection authorities. According to the government’s legislative agenda (opens in a new tab), the Council of Ministers is to adopt it in the fourth quarter of 2026. No date has been given for when the provisions will enter into force.

Currently, a mystery shopper from UOKiK can check only how a product is offered, that is, the stage before purchase. After the changes, the inspector will buy a product or service and see how the company handles the right to withdraw from the contract and processes complaints. This is how the bill is described by “Rzeczpospolita”. In the case of financial services, the inspector will be able to use documents that conceal their identity, including a fabricated credit history.

The bill also gives the President of UOKiK new powers in relation to websites. In the event of suspected serious infringement and if no more effective measures are available, the authority will be able to order the posting of a warning for consumers, the removal of content, or the restriction of access to a domain. Searches, previously used mainly in antitrust cases, will also cover proceedings concerning the collective interests of consumers. The authority justifies the changes by the activities of cross-border companies that have only a call center or sales office in Poland.

The penalty of up to 10 percent of turnover, which trade media write about, is not new. The President of UOKiK can impose it already today under Article 106 of the Act. A manager who intentionally allowed the infringement faces up to PLN 2 million. In 2026, the authority charged Duka International with violating the collective interests of consumers for automatically adding unordered products to the cart in its online store. The company faces a penalty of up to 10 percent of turnover for this. The amendment changes the way evidence is collected, not the level of sanctions.

For online stores and sellers, this means that procedures for returns, complaints, and informing customers may be checked in a real transaction, not only on the basis of the terms and conditions.