What are your consumer-protection obligations if you run an online store?

Q&A • Consumer protection

What are your consumer-protection obligations if you run an online store?

The consumer-protection authority checks an online store on disclosure, pricing, returns and the documents published on the site. The most frequently sanctioned gaps are the SAL and SOL badges on the homepage and the company identification details.

Short answer

  1. Display the SAL and SOL badges on the homepage, linking to the national authority and to the European ODR platform.
  2. Publish full identification details: name, tax code, registered address, phone and contact email.
  3. Show the final, VAT-inclusive price and the shipping cost before the order is placed.
  4. Make the return policy with the 14-day withdrawal right clearly visible.
  5. Answer complaints and keep proof that the customer was informed.

What the law says (in brief)

  • Consumer-protection Order 449/2022 requires the SAL and SOL badges on the homepage, with the official links.
  • Emergency Ordinance 34/2014 requires pre-contractual disclosure: final price, costs, delivery time, withdrawal right.
  • Emergency Ordinance 38/2015 governs alternative dispute resolution with consumers.
  • Law 365/2002 on electronic commerce requires the merchant's identification details to be displayed.
  • Penalties for non-compliance range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of lei, depending on the breach.

Practical example

Example: a cosmetics store has a correct return policy but puts the authority link only on the "Contact" page, not the homepage, and without badges. At an inspection, the missing SAL and SOL badges on the homepage are noted in two minutes, before the inspector opens a single product page.

Common mistakes

  • Placing the SAL/SOL badges only in the footer of an inner page, not on the homepage.
  • Showing a "from" price without VAT, or hiding the shipping cost until the last checkout step.
  • Copying terms and conditions from another site, leaving another company's details in the text.
  • Having no clear complaints channel and keeping no record of customer correspondence.

How 4shopy helps

  • Templates include terms, returns and privacy pages, plus the SAL/SOL block in the header and footer.
  • Company details are filled in once and appear on every mandatory page.
  • Checkout shows the final VAT-inclusive price and the shipping cost before the order is placed.
  • Every order stores the version of the terms the customer accepted, as proof of disclosure.

See also