10. MARCO CONCEPTUAL
10.1 Sentidos que intervienen en la Experiencia Sensorial
In the paper we consider the unfair and even illegal communicates included in consumer contracts in tourism industry. The problem is very serious because it brings the asymmetry of rights on the tourist market and very often costs increase for the consumer. The problem is significant now when tourist industry in Poland and in the other EU countries stayed very important part of the economy.
Key words:
communicates, tourist market, consumer contract, consumer rights, tourist product, travel agency, civil law
Introduction
In the paper we consider the communicates included in consumer contracts in tourism industry. The problem concerns specific type of product – tourist product. It can be called as tourist service, but the term “tourist product” seems to be wider than service.
A tourist product can have a different subject range. Strict a tourist product is anything what a tourist buys but in wider interpretation it is everything what a tourist is doing during a journey and in the place of destination. A tourist product includes the generic product which is the source of the core of benefits. Than it includes the tangible product which includes services and goods providing for tourist’s basing and complementary needs. The third part of a tourist product is an extended product which includes all additional elements expressing the unique selling position of it.1
The consumer buys a tourist product basing on information delivered by tourism agency and on his own imagination and emotions. The consumption of the product usually follows the purchase of it after longer time and sometimes it brings disappointment for the consumer.
In this moment appears the problem, because he earlier has signed the contract and usually hasn’t read it because for example it was printed in very small letters.
1 The cases of unfair communicates in consumer contracts
In contracts can be some traps for the consumer but such practices are unfair and even illegal. The question is, what kind of unfair practices can we find in contracts?
Now we will try to describe these unfair communicates which are often being included in tourist contracts.
The first type of such communicates is the communicate excluding company’s responsibility, for example: “the travel agency is not responsible for any inconveniences in the hotel which would be the effect of construction works around it”.
The second type is the question of the right to increase the price of tourist event, for example: “the price can increase according to the increase of Euro exchange rate”.
The third type is the question of the right to change benefits during the tourist event, for example: “in the concrete situation the company has the right to change the programme of the tourist event”.
The fourth type of unfair communicate in tourist consumer contracts is the communicate which excludes the duty of paying back to the consumer this part of the price of tourist event which is the equivalent of the services which haven’t been used by the consumer, for example: “the company will not pay back for the benefits which haven’t been used because of the reasons laying on the consumer side”.
The fifth type of unfair communicates and practises in tourist consumer contract is the communicate which gives company the right to make deductions, for example: “if the customer will resign of the event on the reasons laying on his side in the term of less than 7 days before the event, the company will deduct 100% of the price”.
The sixth type of unfair communicates and practises in tourist consumer contracts is the communicate making difficulties for consumer in complaint process, for example: “the condition of effective complaint is attachment of written letter of complaint including the description of the essence of it”.
The seventh type of unfair communicates in tourist consumer contracts is defining of court adequacy, for example: “any litigations concerning the contract realisation will be judged by compromise but if
the compromise will be not possible, they will be judged by the court proper to the place of the travel office’s seat”.
The eighth type of unfair communicates in tourist consumer contracts is defining of consequences for the clients who during the event have made any damages, for example: “the participants of the event are responsible for any damages made by them or their children and have to pay immediately for these damages in the place of the event”.
The ninth type of unfair communicates in tourist consumer contracts is the supposition of acceptation by the client of a new conditions of the contract, for example: “the participant should inform the company in written about his acceptation for new conditions of the contract during 3 days from the moment of receiving the information”.
The tenth type of unfair practices being communicated in tourist consumer contracts is exclusion of client’s right to interest receivables when his payment is returned, for example: “in the case of any payment return client has not the right to interest receivable”.
The eleventh type of unfair practices being communicated in tourist consumer contracts is so called obligation of interpretation the contract standard, for example: “in the questions which are not ordered by the contract, the deciding side is the organizer of the event (company)”.
The twelfth type of unfair communicates in tourist consumer contracts is the question of consumer’s agreement for rendering his personalities for marketing purposes, for example: “signing this contract you agree for processing, actualising and rendering your personalities for promotion purposes of the company”.
The thirteenth type of unfair practices in tourist consumer contracts is changing the contract standard, for example: “these regulations can be changed by the company in any time”.
2 Legal interpretation
All these communicates have been founded in the different tourist consumer contracts in different tourist agencies in Poland. All the cases mentioned above can be a source of asymmetry between the rights of a consumer and the rights of a travel agency on the tourist market and usually are. From this point of view all these communicates are not only unfair, as we have said in the title of the paper but they are also illegal. Polish civil law confirms it. The article 385 of Polish civil law says that any settlements of the consumer contract which have not been individually settled are not legally binding if they formulate his rights and obligations
in the way which are contradictory to good practices and are flagrantly infringe consumer’s interests (illegal settlements in the contract). Exception: the settlements concerning the main services, including the price if it has been settled univocally.2
So in this light the rights of the consumer (tourist) seem to be clear but in practice the communicates in tourist contracts, as we have illustrated above, are still and very often infringe tourist’s interests. The consumer has than two ways to exact his interests. One way is to exact them in the court and the second way is to write a complain to the Department of Consumer and Competition Protection. This institution will represent and exact his interests directly.3
Literature and sources:
ALTKORN, J.: Marketing w turystyce. Warszawa : PWN, 2006. ISBN 13:978-83-01-14993-2
Kodeks cywilny. Kodeks postępowania cywilnego. Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy. Koszty sądowe i cywilne. Warszawa : Wyd. Ch. Beck, 2010.
ISBN 978-83-255-1890-5 www.uokik.gov.pl Contact data:
doc. Ing. Václav Lednický, CSc.
Obchodně podnikatelská fakulta v Karviné Slezská univerzita v Opavě
Univerzitní náměstí 1934/3 733 40 Karviná
Česká republika [email protected] doc. Dr Jacek Pyka Fakulta managementu
Górnośląska Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa ul. Harcerzy Września 3
40-659 Katowice Polska
2 Kodeks cywilny. Kodeks postępowania cywilnego. Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy. Koszty sądowe i cywilne. Warszawa : Wyd. Ch. Beck, 2010, s. 883.