More specifically, pursuant to article 1 para 4 of the Law 2251/1994, a consumer is every natural or legal person or union of persons without legal personality, for whom the goods or services offered in the market are intended and who use these goods or services as their final recipients. It thus follows that in Greek Consumer Protection Law the notion of the consumer is not restricted to natural persons but encompasses legal persons as well. Furthermore, the notion specifically covers both the recipient of promotional activities as well as the guarantor (either natural or legal person) who acting outside his trade, business or profession who guarantees in favour of a consumer. A supplier on the other hand is any natural or legal person who, acting for purposes relating to his trade, business or profession, supplies products or services to the consumer or in the field of advertisement is the person who is advertised. It is stressed out, though, that for specific articles of the Law 2251/1994 the notion of consumer and supplier may be slightly differentiated.
Unfair general contract terms and conditions are regulated under article 2 of the Law 2251/1994 which enacts in Greek law the Directive 93/13/ECC. Art. 2 of the Greek Consumer Protection Law sanctions the use in contracts of terms drafted in advance for future contracts, ie. General Terms and Conditions of Contacts, hereinafter GTCC, which have not been object of individual negotiations. More specifically, within the framework of article 2 of the law 2251/1994, a GTCC may; a) not be binding to the consumer and therefore not incorporated in the contract, in case that the GTCC is not phrased in plain, specific and simple Greek language, with a view to granting the consumer the opportunity to become aware of the content of the contractual term, b) be interpreted in favour of the consumer, where their content is dubious and c) be reviewed as abusive and thus illegal if they result, to the detriment of the consumer, in a substantial disturbance of the balance of rights and obligations of as envisaged in non - mandatory law provisions of a guiding character and importance for the specific type of contract. Such a term is null and void ab initio. It should be reminded, however, that the consumer, as the weaker party in a consumer to business contract, may also invoke provision of the Greek Civil Code (GCC), namely: art. 288 GCC (good faith), art. 281 GCC (abuse of right) and 178 GCC (morality), in addition to the protection provided by article 2 of the Consumer Protection Law.
Contracts negotiated away from business premises is the subject matter of article 3 of the Greek Consumer Protection Law 2251/1994, which transposes into the Greek legal order the Directive 85/577/EEC. Such a contract is any contract for the supply of goods or services either concluded at the supplier’s initiative, without the express request of the consumer, or during a visit by the supplier at the consumer’s place of domicile, residence or work (para. 1) or following an express request of the consumer, but for different goods than those requested (para. 2). The party concluding contracts away from business premises falls within the protective scope of the law when acting in the capacity of the consumer, as determined in the general provision of art. 1 para. 4. Therefore, although the aforementioned Directive restricts its scope on natural person, the Greek Consumer Protection Law expands the protection to legal persons as well. The main means of protection that art. 3 of the Law 2251/1994 grants the consumer is his right of unjustifiable withdrawal within 14 calendar days from a contract negotiated away from premises. The power of the relevant authorities to impose fines and sanctions to suppliers not complying with the requirements of article 3 is also another pressure point for ensuring implementation.
A similar right of withdrawal under the same conditions (no further justification, 14 days period) is provided for in article 4, in the case of distance contracts, i.e. contracts concerning goods or services concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an organized distance sales or service-provision scheme run by the supplier, who, for the purpose of the contract, makes exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the moment at which the contract is concluded. A distance contract is not per se null and void, unless the supplier fails to provide information on certain areas pre-contractually (para. 2) or during the performance of the consumer contract (para. 9).
Article 5 of the Law 2251/1994 imposes on the seller, the manufacturer or the importer of consumer goods into the territory of the EU, without any distinction, an obligation both (a) to inform the consumers on the safe use of the products, their possible life and (b) to grant mandatorily written guarantee and ensure the after-sales service as regards new durable consumer goods. Of particular preponderance within the Greek Consumer Protection Law is the provision of article 6 which establishes a strict system of liability for the producer of defective products. More specifically, the real producer of consumer goods, as well as other people participating in the production chain and distribution procedure, i.e. the quasi producer, the importer and, under conditions, the supplier of goods are held co jointly responsible for any defects of consumer products. The existence of a defect in a product is to be assessed against the yardstick (a) of the performance one anticipates from a product with the same technical specifications and (b) the safety reasonable expected from such a product, taking into consideration all the circumstances. Nevertheless, a product is not defective only because a better product was subsequently put into circulation in the market. The supplier, as defined broadly in art. 6, is liable for any damage casually linked to the defective product, either personal (damage caused by death or personal injury) or of proprietary nature on any asset, other than the defective product itself. Finally, the Greek legislature expanded the producer’s liability for defective products to encompass moral damage. In comparison to the relevant provisions of the GCC which establish tortuous liability, art. 6 offers the definitive advantage that it reverses the burden of proof; all the injured has to do is to prove the defectiveness of the product and the casual link between such a defect and his damage. Furthermore, article 7 supplements the relative legal framework by imposing a general obligation on suppliers to place only safe products on the market. The importance of the provision emerges when there are no specific provisions for the safety of specific products in force.
Parallel to the protection provided in the case of defective products, article 8 of the Greek Consumer Protection Law establishes the liability of the supplier of services; the consumer who is the recipient of illegal and faulty services may seek compensation by the supplier thereof for both the damage of property and moral damage. Nevertheless, liability of the supplier of services differentiates substantially from the liability of the producer for defective products. A contractual relationship between the consumer and the supplier of services is not required, while the conscious inclusion of the element of fault means that the liability of the supplier of services is based and reasoned by the existence of fault. However, the liability of the supplier of services is quasi objective/strict the main burden of proof of the claimant is to prove the supply of services, the damage he suffered and the causal link between supply and damage, while the supplier of services may defend himself by proving the lack of any fault on his part.
The regulation of advertising and the protection of the consumer as the recipient of advertising messages is the objective of article 9 of the Greek Consumer Protection Law, while articles 9a to 9i ban as unfair certain commercial practices, thus concluding Part A of Law 2251/1994 and its substantive provisions as regards individual consumer rights.
In terms of collective protection of consumers, article 10 of the Greek Consumer Protection Law 2251/1994 contains organisational provisions which regulate on the one part the establishment, operation and funding of the unions of consumers, whilst on the other part provide the requirements and particularities of class (collective) action that unions of consumers may bring before courts as a means of both preventive as well as ex ante judicial protection.
