How and why online stores lie. TrustMate report

illustration: DALL-E

Treating a customer like an intruder and hiding behind illegal procedures is a simple recipe for trouble. It can cause a PR crisis, a wave of negative reviews, a drop in sales, and fines from UOKiK up to 10 percent of annual turnover. How can customers protect themselves from unfair e-store practices?

- Customer service plays a key role in building brand trust. In practice, however, outdated procedures or lacking staff knowledge still prevent returns, explains Jerzy Krawczyk, CEO of TrustMate.io. - Such repeated errors pose a huge risk for an online store. Buyer frustration quickly turns into critical online reviews that hundreds of thousands of potential customers read later.


The platform gathered the most frequent procedural misunderstandings in a report to help consumers know their rights and sellers eliminate mistakes that ruin their ratings and reputation. Here are the 7 main sins, or the most popular e-store tricks.

Abuse of the hygiene clause for electronics

• E-store lie: You buy earbuds, an epilator, or an electric toothbrush online. You unbox the product, it does not suit you, and you want to return it. Customer service rejects the request, citing Article 38 point 5 of the Consumer Rights Act regarding health protection or hygiene reasons.
• What the law says: This trick is unfortunately widespread in Polish online stores. Fortunately, landmark CJEU rulings (including C-681/17 on hygiene exemptions involving a mattress purchase) and UOKiK clearly state that opening a sealed package to inspect a product does not make it unhygienic. An item becomes unsuitable for return only if it had direct body contact (such as earwax or sweat traces) and reselling it is impossible even after standard disinfection. For example, if earbuds had a different plug than your phone (Lightning instead of USB-C) and were ordered by mistake, physical use was impossible. The hygiene argument is completely irrelevant, and the store breaks the law by refusing your return.

Return from the internet? Only in undamaged, original packaging

• E-store lie: The store refuses a return within 14 days because the box was torn, the bubble wrap thrown away, or the factory seal broken.
• What the law says: The consumer has a full legal right to open the package and inspect the item just as they would in a physical store. Article 34 paragraph 4 of the Consumer Rights Act states clearly that the customer is only liable for any diminished value resulting from handling beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods. Simply opening the box is establishing characteristics, not using the product. Box damage does not remove your right to return the item and get your money back.

The price in the system has already changed

• E-store lie: You buy a product at a bargain price and pay. The store then cancels the order, claiming that the system did not update the database, the warehouse price changed, or the item sold out. The product then reappears on the site at a higher price.
• What the law says: The price displayed next to the product when the order is placed and accepted is binding for the seller. After concluding the contract, the store cannot unilaterally cancel the transaction just because it made a system error. The only exceptions are extreme, obvious mistakes, such as a new laptop listed for 1 PLN, where the seller can claim an error under the Civil Code.

Refund to a gift card instead of cash

• E-store lie: The store accepts your return or complaint. Instead of transferring money to your account, customer service states that funds were returned as a voucher, discount code, or gift card for their store.
• What the law says: This is a gross violation of EU and Polish regulations. The seller has a legal obligation to return funds using the exact same payment method the consumer used, such as bank transfer, card refund, or BLIK. Changing the refund method to a gift card is legal only if the consumer explicitly, knowingly, and voluntarily agrees to it. Forcing vouchers serves only to keep customer cash inside the company.

You picked up the package in store in person, so there is no right to return

• E-store lie: You click a product online, but choose in-store pickup as your delivery method. When you try to return it, an employee says returns apply only to courier shipments, and physical stores do not accept returns.
• What the law says: The moment of contract conclusion is what matters, not the place of handover. If the purchase was completed on the website, it is a distance contract. The right to a 14-day return applies unconditionally, whether delivered by courier or collected at a pickup point.

Complaint rejected due to lack of fiscal receipt

• E-store lie: A product breaks after a month. You want to submit a complaint, but customer service demands a paper receipt. Because you lost it, the store refuses to process your claim.
• What the law says: Demanding a receipt as the sole condition for a complaint is an illegal practice that UOKiK penalizes. A receipt is only one of many proofs of purchase. The consumer can prove the purchase using a bank statement, card payment confirmation, order confirmation email, or even witness testimony.

Passing the buck to the manufacturer`s warranty

• E-store lie: You report a product defect, and customer service replies: "We are only the seller. Please contact the manufacturer`s service center directly, here is the address".
• What the law says: The customer has a full right to choose. They can use the voluntary manufacturer`s warranty, but they also have an inalienable right to claim directly with the seller for non-conformity with the contract. The store must accept and process the claim rather than redirecting the customer to third parties.

How to appeal and win against a store? If you hit a wall with customer service using these tricks and falsehoods, you are not helpless. The law is on the consumer`s side. Here is the official appeal path step by step:

Step 1: Official written response (email or letter)

Do not argue on the phone hotline, where representatives read scripted internal answers. Respond to customer service refusals with an official email or letter. Cite specific legal provisions, such as CJEU judgment C-681/17 for earbuds, noting that the product was unused and had no body contact, or UOKiK guidelines for a missing receipt. Request a re-examination within a set deadline, such as 3 or 14 days, under threat of escalating the matter to consumer protection authorities.

- Consumers often give up after the first email from customer service, assuming the answer is final. A single official response citing a specific article or CJEU ruling is often enough for a manager to notice the consultant`s mistake and overturn the decision immediately, notes Jerzy Krawczyk from TrustMate.io.

What happens if there is no response or a second refusal?

For complaints regarding non-conformity of goods with the contract, a seller`s failure to respond within 14 days means legal acceptance of the complaint under Article 7a of the Consumer Rights Act. If the store ignores your message or upholds an illegal refusal during a return, you have exhausted amicable options with customer service. Do not waste time on further emails. Move to Step 2 immediately.

Step 2: Municipal or District Consumer Ombudsman

If the store upholds its refusal, you can get free legal aid from the Consumer Ombudsman, available in every district or city with district rights. The ombudsman analyzes the case and submits an official legal letter to the store on your behalf. Businesses are legally required to respond to the ombudsman under penalty of a fine. For many stores, an official letter with an ombudsman seal signals that the matter went too far, and refunding the money is cheaper.

Step 3: Trade Inspection and Consumer Arbitration Courts

You can apply to the Voivodeship Trade Inspection Inspectorate (WIIH) to initiate mediation or resolve the dispute before a Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court. This procedure is free, fast, and avoids costly general courts.

Step 4: Complaint to UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection)

UOKiK does not resolve individual disputes, meaning it will not recover your $50 for headphones, but it intervenes when a store engages in systemic practices that violate collective consumer interests. This includes routinely adding terms that ban headphone returns or require paper receipts. Reporting such practices to UOKiK can trigger proceedings against the store and lead to fines up to 10 percent of the previous year`s turnover.

What about mediation?

Conflict situations in e-commerce are inevitable, but how stores resolve them is key. Ignoring consumer rights and turning customers away quickly backfires on sellers through negative reviews.

- Our analyses show that customer anger caused by unfair treatment is the main source of bad store ratings and PR crises. An aggrieved customer will not let it go. They will leave a detailed negative comment that deters dozens of prospective buyers, says Jerzy Krawczyk, CEO of TrustMate. - We educate the market that mediation systems, such as ours, catch this conflict internally before the public sees a negative rating. The store gets a chance to fix the consultant`s mistake and settle amicably. Up to 60 percent of such disputes end with the buyer withdrawing or changing the review to positive. Transparency and compliance with consumer law are the cheapest investment in a high rating that directly drives conversions.