Resolving disputes between consumers and business organizations and individuals through negotiation

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 stipulates 04 methods of dispute resolution between consumers and business organizations and individuals as follows: Negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and court.

This article will share about how to resolve disputes through negotiation.

1. Request and receive negotiation

- Consumers have the right to request business organizations and individuals to negotiate.

- Business organizations and individuals must accept consumer negotiation requests according to regulations.

- In case a business organization or individual does not respond to a consumer's request for negotiation as prescribed or refuses to negotiate without a valid reason, the consumer has the right to request the state management agency for consumer rights protection or a social organization participating in consumer rights protection to support the negotiation when their legitimate rights and interests are violated.

2. Negotiation procedures and order

- Consumers send negotiation requests and related information and documents (if any) to business organizations and individuals at their headquarters, branches, representative offices, business locations, websites or through other communication methods that have been publicly announced or are being applied by business organizations and individuals.

- Business organizations and individuals are responsible for receiving and negotiating with consumers within 07 working days from the date of receiving the request.

- In the case specified in Clause 3, Article 56 of this Law, consumers shall send requests for negotiation support and related information and documents directly, by post or online to the state management agency for consumer rights protection or social organizations participating in consumer rights protection.

- Within 07 working days from the date of receiving the consumer's request, the state management agency for consumer rights protection and the social organization participating in consumer rights protection shall be responsible for forwarding the consumer's request to the business organization or individual requested for negotiation.

- Business organizations and individuals are responsible for negotiating with consumers within 07 working days from the date of receiving the request and notifying in writing the negotiation results to the state management agency on consumer rights protection and social organizations participating in consumer rights protection within 05 working days from the date of completion of the negotiation.

- In case of refusing a consumer's request for negotiation, within 07 working days from the date of receipt of the request for negotiation, the business organization or individual must respond in writing and state the reason.

3. In case of not accepting and resolving the request for negotiation support

- Consumers are minors, people with limited civil capacity or difficulty in cognition or behavior control without a legal representative.

- The person requesting negotiation support is not a consumer or a legal representative of a consumer.

- Consumers do not provide sufficient information and documents to accurately identify the relevant organizations and individuals or evidence related to the transaction.

- The content of the request for negotiation support is not within the authority of the state management agency on consumer rights protection or the purpose, scope, and field of operation of the social organization participating in consumer rights protection.

- Request for negotiation support has been resolved by competent state agencies and social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights.

4. Rights and responsibilities of the parties in the negotiation process

- During the negotiation process, consumers and business organizations and individuals have the following rights:

+ Agree or refuse to participate in negotiations according to regulations;

+ Choose the time and form of negotiation;

+ Request to suspend or terminate negotiations;

+ Request to keep the negotiation confidential;

+ Freely express your will on the content of the negotiation;

+ Other rights as prescribed by this Law and other relevant legal provisions.

- During the negotiation process, consumers and business organizations and individuals have the following responsibilities:

+ Conduct negotiations in accordance with the law and in accordance with social ethics, civil rights and responsibilities, and business culture;

+ Present the facts of the dispute truthfully, provide information and documents related to the dispute;

+ Implement the negotiation results on the principle of honesty and goodwill;

+ Other responsibilities as prescribed by this Law and other relevant legal provisions.

* Negotiation results

- Negotiation results between business organizations and individuals and consumers are made in writing, unless the parties have other agreements.

- In case the negotiation results are made in writing, the document on the negotiation results includes the following contents:

+ Parties participating in the negotiation;

+ Time and place of negotiation;

+ Negotiation content;

+ Negotiation results;

+ The content is quite according to the agreement of the parties in accordance with the provisions of law.

- In case the negotiation results are made in writing, the document must have the signatures or fingerprints of the negotiating parties.