Consumer protection in San Marino

The San Marino consumer protection framework applies to a physical person acting outside a professional or business purpose. A mixed-use purchase can qualify when the professional use does not predominate. Companies and providers must give consumer information at least in Italian, show the final or total price where required, and use advertising that is clear, truthful and correct. Fuel prices must be visible from the road. For goods, labels should identify the product, manufacturer or importer, registered seat, origin, risks, substances, materials, processing, use and warnings. Manufacturers must provide risk information, maintain a complaints channel, carry out sample checks and recall or withdraw unsafe goods. Distributors must not supply goods whose danger they know or should recognize and must pass risk information to the relevant parties. The Autorità di vigilanza dei consumatori, working at the Ufficio Attività Economiche, and the Polizia Civile can supervise product safety and investigate violations. Contracts must use clear and understandable clauses. An unfair clause is null, while the rest of the contract normally remains in force; doubts are interpreted in the consumer's favour. A contractual choice of law cannot remove the protection that applies in San Marino. For defective goods, the seller should provide repair or replacement without charge. If that remedy fails, takes an unreasonable period or causes substantial inconvenience, the consumer can seek a price reduction, end the contract and claim proven losses where the legal requirements are met. The consumer should report the defect within two months after discovering it. Seller liability normally lasts two years from delivery, and a defect found within six months is presumed to have existed at delivery. For used goods, the agreed period may be reduced to at least six months; without such an agreement, the period is at least one year. Distance and online contracts generally include a withdrawal period of at least 14 days. For services it normally runs from the contract, and for goods from delivery. If the provider failed to give the required withdrawal information, the period can extend by six months after the original period. The provider must usually refund payments within 14 days, while the consumer normally returns the goods within 14 days. Direct return costs usually fall on the consumer unless the provider failed to disclose them or agreed to pay them. An online provider must keep its name, codice dell'operatore economico, seat, contact details, complaints channel, price and tax information, transport terms and shipping location permanently accessible. Electronic communications are supervised by the Autorità ICT. A contract should state the provider, service scope, emergency and location functions, quality level, support, price or tariff, term, cancellation, number portability, early termination costs, refunds or compensation and dispute process. The provider must announce contractual changes at least 30 days in advance. A consumer who rejects a change can generally end the contract without a penalty or deactivation charge. A written complaint through SERC, registered mail or the provider's website should state the facts and attach evidence; the preliminary review can take up to 90 days. Data protection complaints follow a separate process through AGPDP. Financial services remain adjacent to banking regulation but have a consumer protection channel through BCSM and the LISF. Banks and financial companies should provide pre-contract information about rights, duties, costs and fees and maintain an Ufficio Reclami or compliance channel. The provider's contract sets its internal response period; a 90-day model period is used in the relevant complaint process. A customer or consumer association can submit a BCSM Segnalazione-esposto under Article 68 LISF for a suspected legal breach or consumer harm. BCSM supervises compliance but is not a general compensation or arbitration body, so a civil claim may still be necessary. Standard SEPA credit transfers generally take one business day. The Depositors' Guarantee Fund protects at least EUR 100,000 per depositor and bank at participating San Marino banks, while the Investor Compensation Fund can cover up to EUR 20,000 per investor in the specified compulsory-liquidation circumstances. Travel businesses and guides are linked to the Ufficio del Turismo and the Albo degli Operatori Professionali nel Turismo. Licensed guides and accompanying persons and accommodation categories under Legge n. 22/2006 should be identifiable, with transparent provider and price information. The general consumer framework also applies to travel services. A direct San Marino equivalent to the full EU package-travel or air-passenger ADR systems was not established in the available research, so cross-border travel disputes require a separate assessment of the applicable law and provider location. AASS supplies electricity, natural gas and water, while the Autorità di Regolazione per i Servizi Pubblici e l'Energia regulates tariffs and services. Offers may use fixed or indexed prices and should explain contract and price terms. AASS can arrange instalments for electricity, gas and water. Users who depend on a medical ventilator or dialysis machine can qualify as utenti non disalimentabili after notifying AASS; the protection can be withdrawn within 30 days after the equipment is removed. The Authority Sanitaria supervises medicines and medical devices, including imports, exports, wholesale supply, storage, inspections, safety and quality controls. It collects reports of incidents and serious incidents involving medical devices. Safety alerts can also come from the Italian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization or manufacturers. A consumer can report a suspected medicine reaction using the Authority Sanitaria form and can report a defective product to both the seller and the consumer protection authority when appropriate. A complaint should normally begin with a written message to the company or provider, supported by the contract, receipt, photographs, correspondence and payment evidence. If the response is inadequate, the consumer can contact the Autorità di vigilanza dei consumatori online or at Ufficio Attività Economiche, Via 28 Luglio 196, Borgo Maggiore, telephone 0549 882950, email autorità.vigilanzaconsumatori@pa.sm. The authority can investigate, inspect, conduct mystery purchases, request information and monitor prices. For serious breaches it can summon the parties within five days, order immediate cessation and require corrective action. It can impose a coercive payment of EUR 50 to EUR 500 per breach or delay, a EUR 20 procedure fee and administrative fines of EUR 300 to EUR 30,000; repeated violations can increase the maximum to twice the ordinary amount. An appeal to the Commissario della Legge is generally available within 30 days and does not automatically suspend enforcement. Individual repayment or compensation normally comes from the company, provider, Camera di conciliazione consumatori or a court, not from the supervisory authority. Consumer claims generally have a two-year limitation period. The Camera di conciliazione consumatori can handle national and cross-border consumer disputes online or offline. Consumer associations, including UCS, Associazione Sportello Consumatori and ASDICO, can provide advice, intervene in collective interests and support class actions; their costs and time limits should be checked individually. A class action may be brought by an individual consumer or an association before the Commissario della Legge. Suspected fraud should be reported to the Polizia Civile or its Nucleo Antifrode; online purchases can be reported at ecommerce@poliziacivile.sm. The gov.sm e-commerce form is informative and statistical and does not guarantee a response, so a formal denuncia should also be made to the Guardia di Rocca, Gendarmeria or Polizia Civile. Emergency numbers are 112, 113 and 115.