According to lawyer Jakub Svoboda from the law firm Arzinger & Partners, this is clearly an illegal act.
“In my opinion, the commercial communication about impending bankruptcy that Brašnářství Tlustý communicated publicly to its customers fulfills the signs of deceptive conduct, which is considered an unfair business practice under the Consumer Protection Act, as it could have led consumers to make a purchase decision based on false information “, Svoboda told Novinka.
According to him, even criminal liability for the crime of fraud could come into consideration.
“Brášnářství Tlustý enriched itself by misleading its customers, and it can be assumed that some customers made the purchase only with the intention of helping the company out of financial difficulties,” he added.
We are not going bankrupt, admitted the head of Brašnářství Tlustý a spol. He just wanted more orders
Economic
Jan Šůra, head of the legal department of the consumer organization dTest, agrees with such an interpretation.
“According to our opinion and the information provided, the company could be committing unfair business practices, in the event that the information provided by the company about its economic situation and the possibility of bankruptcy turns out to be false or misleading,” said Šůra.
According to him, such behavior could be characterized as an aggressive business practice. “The use of such a practice is prohibited. On the basis of such false or misleading information, the consumer may make a decision that he would not have made under other circumstances,” pointed out Šůra.
Save us, he urged
In his Wednesday appeal to customers on Facebook, the owner of the company, Ivan Petrův, wrote about the fact that the company is at risk of “real collapse, the end, attachment of accounts, insolvency”.
Subsequently, he called on customers to support the handbag industry by immediately purchasing the goods, thus helping to save it. “To all of you who have bought something from us that has served you for years, we ask and challenge you: Buy something nice today. Today, not tomorrow. Every crown will help,” urged Petrův.
And the people heard his call. The company already had hundreds of new orders during the morning. After a few hours, there were so many people on the website that it took the company e-shop out of service for a while.
The company’s original statement on Wednesday, in which it warned of imminent collapse.
But on Thursday, Petrův took his day-old words back. “I projected into it the fears that haunt every entrepreneur in a similar situation, that when there is a weak period, it is very close to the fact that the company will find itself in existential problems. Maybe I used expressive words,” he told Novinká.
On Facebook, the company commented on customers’ concerns about the company’s existence as follows: “No one goes bankrupt. We just need jobs or the crash will come. Anyone who runs a business knows very well how little is sometimes missing.”
This leaves some customers feeling disillusioned and cheated. According to Svoboda’s lawyer, such people have the right to withdraw from the purchase contract within 90 days, or they can request a discount from the purchase price.
Brašnářství Tlustý a spol. days away from insolvency, customers are asked to buy goods
Economic
