Capítulo III. Disposiciones especiales

The information relating to the characteristics of goods and products, as well as their measurements, composition, weight, quality, price, instructions for use and risks or hazards posed by their consumption or use, payment and warranty conditions, date of manufacture and expiry, as set forth on labels, wrappers, containers and packaging, is considered basic, which shall be truthful, accurate, clear and visible, set forth in the Spanish language or through internationally accepted symbology, in national currency and with the corresponding units of measurement.

Commercial establishments shall have and make available to the consumer information on the final prices of all goods and services they offer. According to the type of activity, such information shall be placed in a manner visible to the public, expressed in quetzales, national currency.

Misleading advertising that induces the consumer or user into error through trickery or deceit, in order to defraud them of their patrimony to their own detriment or that of a third party, is prohibited.

When goods with any deficiency or that are used or rebuilt are offered to the public, such circumstance shall be indicated in a precise, conspicuous manner prior to sale and such fact shall be recorded in the articles themselves, labels, wrappers or packaging, as well as in the invoice or in the document evidencing the transfer of ownership of the good, with the warranties enjoyed by the good or product in question being indicated in said documents.

The expression “guaranteed” or “warranty” or any equivalent phrase, legend or word may only be set forth in documents, labels or advertising when it is stated what it consists of, the obligated person and the conditions of form, time limit and place in which the consumer or user may enforce it.

When the consumer or user acquires a new durable consumer good, the provider shall issue a certificate of warranty of use or operation with the requirements set forth in the preceding article. Manufacturers, importers, and sellers must ensure adequate technical service and the supply of parts and spare parts, at no additional cost to the consumer or user, for the duration of the warranty.

In offers, promotions or seasonal liquidations of goods and services, suppliers shall indicate in their advertising the time limit or, as applicable, the number of units or the volume of merchandise to be promoted as well as the conditions of the business offered. If the time limit of duration is not indicated, it shall be understood that the seasonal offer, promotion and liquidation shall last for at least one month counted from the dissemination of the last advertisement.

When dealing with promotions whose incentive consists of the possibility of participating in contests or sweepstakes, the advertiser shall inform the public about the amount or amounts, the form of the contest or sweepstakes, the number of prizes indicating what they consist of and the time limit within which they may be claimed. The advertiser is obligated to disseminate the results of the contests or sweepstakes immediately after they have been held by suitable means.

If the supplier who has advertised an offer, promotion or clearance sale fails to comply with what was advertised in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, the consumer or user may opt for one of the following actions:

a)To demand directly from the supplier performance of the obligation.

b)To accept another good of equal or higher price, without paying any difference, or the provision of a similar service.

c)Rescission of the contract. If the price has been paid in advance in whole or in part, it shall be refunded immediately.

For standardization, verification, control, certification of quality, metrology and the scientific establishment of evidence in the substantiation of the proceedings that may arise in compliance with this Law, the mandatory standards issued by the Executive Branch and with the technical regulations that the Ministries of State have issued or may issue shall apply to ensure the quality of national and imported products, or for the protection of the health and life of persons, or for the prevention of practices that may induce error.

In any credit for the acquisition of a good or service, the provider shall previously make available to the consumer or user the following information:

a)The cash price of the good or service in question, clearly indicating the difference between making payment in cash or on credit; disclosing, if any exist, the discounts or bonuses or any other reason for which there is a difference between the cash sale price and the installment sale price.

b)The interest rate or the procedure for establishing it and the moratory interest rate in case of noncompliance or the procedure for establishing it, which shall be expressly indicated.

If a fixed rate is used, the consumer or user shall be informed of the amount of interest to be paid in each period. If a variable rate is used, information shall be provided in advance on the rate adjustment rule, which may not depend on unilateral decisions of the provider, but on the variations recorded by an interest rate representative of the cost of credit to the consumer or user, which shall be easily verifiable by the latter.

c)The amount of any additional payment that may properly be charged in accordance with the law or respective contract.

d)The options regarding the number of payments, their amount and periodicity.

e)The procedure according to which the costs and expenses generated by collection for nonpayment of outstanding balances shall be calculated.

f)The total amount to be paid for the product or service; which may not exceed the cash price plus interest where applicable and administrative expenses.

g)The right of the consumer or user to pay in advance the balance of the credit in whole or in part, with the consequent proportional reduction of interest and the settlement of the charges and costs of this transaction.

h)The other conditions of the credit and the rights and obligations of both parties.

Interest shall be applied to the outstanding balances of the credit granted and payments may not be demanded in advance, unless otherwise agreed.

The operations referred to in the previous article must be recorded in documents, a copy of which, duly signed by the provider or its representative, must be delivered to the consumer or user. Such documents shall specifically indicate all the data referred to in Article 27 of this Law and the date on which the product will be delivered or the service will be provided.

Those who provide services of any nature are obligated to respect the stipulations, time limits, conditions, modalities, guarantees, reservations and other circumstances in accordance with which such services have been offered, published or agreed.

If the service involves repairs of property, the provider shall specify in the corresponding work order, the estimated time for the provision of the service and the description of the property to be repaired.

Before a property that has been repaired is delivered, it shall be tested in the presence of the user, prior to being received.

It shall be understood that the basis for the charge is the same provision of the service, and therefore in no case shall a service not provided be charged.

The provider of a service is obliged to indicate in writing the time limit for which it guarantees the service or the repair performed.

The consumer or user may claim from the service provider for defects or damage caused by the service or the defective repair, supporting the request with the respective documentation, within the time limit stipulated in the contract or, failing that, that established by law.

Property delivered to be repaired shall be deemed abandoned in favor of the service provider when not claimed by the consumer or user within the time limit of one year, except for agreement to the contrary or causes of force majeure that prevent the consumer or user from appearing to collect the property; in any event, after 30 days of the property not being collected, the provider may require payment for the repair, storage and custody thereof prior to its collection, but the amount to be charged for storage and custody may not exceed one hundred percent of the value of the repair, except for property that by its nature warrants special treatment.

For the establishment of the prices of public services, what is regulated in the specific laws corresponding to each service shall be observed.

The Directorate for Consumer Attention and Assistance is empowered to intervene in the verification of the proper functioning of measuring instruments for energy, fuels, communications, drinking water or any other similar service, and shall establish a system of periodic verification of the readings taken by the service provider companies. For such purpose, the Directorate shall coordinate these activities with the national entity responsible for the metrology of the country or of the service concerned.

Provider companies shall guarantee users or consumers individual control of consumption. Invoices or collection demands must be delivered to the consumer or user no less than twenty calendar days prior to the date of their expiry using suitable means for their distribution and shall state at a minimum the actual consumption of the consumer or user, the respective detail and the tariff applied during the billing period. Public service provider companies are prohibited from unilaterally making charges based on historical consumption averages.

When a public service company bills an amount exceeding by fifty percent the user's effective average consumption over the immediately preceding twelve months, error in billing is presumed.

In such case the consumer or user shall pay only the value of said average consumption, protected by a precautionary judicial decision requested by the Directorate from a competent judge.

For purposes of exercising this right the consumer or user shall submit, within a time limit of no more than ten days after the due date of the invoice in question, at a minimum those corresponding to the four months immediately preceding the challenged one.

In the event that the provider reliably demonstrates that there was no error in metering, it may charge the outstanding balance in the next collection giving prior notice to the consumer or user.

In the event that the provider company claims payment of an undue sum from the consumer, it shall compensate the consumer by crediting in the consumer's favor an amount identical to that unduly claimed, which shall be made effective starting with the immediately following invoice.

Products whose use is potentially dangerous to the life, health or physical integrity of consumers or users or of animals, or to the safety of their property, the provider shall incorporate into such products, or into attached instructions, the warnings and directions necessary so that they may be used with the greatest possible safety. With regard to the provision of risky services, the provider shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that they are performed under adequate safety conditions, previously informing the consumer or user and those who may be affected by such risks so that the corresponding preventive measures may be taken.

The supplier that, subsequent to the introduction of a good into the consumer market, has knowledge of the existence of dangers or risks to health in the use thereof, especially in the case of medicines, shall immediately communicate it to the corresponding State body and to the Directorate of Attention and Assistance to the Consumer and inform the consuming public through advertising announcements by the social communication media appropriate to the case, regarding the existence of such risks or dangers and, if necessary, shall proceed to withdraw such products from the market, reimbursing without further formalities the price thereof to those who had acquired them. In special cases where serious harm has been caused to consumers or users, the liable supplier shall indemnify them in the corresponding legal manner.

Every producer, importer or distributor of food products, beverages, medicines or products that may affect human health shall strictly comply with the norms contained in the Health Code, the regulations issued by the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance and of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, respectively, as well as all those technical regulations of mandatory application throughout the national territory. The obligation to comply with said norms also applies to those products that have been exported, rejected and re-entered into the country. These shall be treated as imports for the purpose of verifying their safety.

The production and expiry dates thereof, as well as the rules for their use, shall appear on the container or packaging of medicines or foods, beverages or any other perishable product.

In the case of pharmaceutical, toxic or other products harmful to every living being, a warning in the Spanish language shall be incorporated into the products themselves or into annexed instructions, so that their use is made with the greatest possible safety for the consumer or user.

If it is established that a consumer good suffers from a defect that constitutes a danger or risk even when properly used, the supplier thereof shall withdraw it from the market or replace it with another at its cost. In any case, the supplier shall refund to the consumer or user the amount paid for the product, upon presentation thereof in its respective packaging where applicable and the document evidencing its acquisition.

Once the dangerousness of a good or service, or its toxicity at levels considered harmful to the health or safety of persons, has been judicially declared or determined by the competent authority, the damage or losses arising from its consumption shall be subject to joint and several liability among the producer, importer, distributor or service provider, as applicable.

Whoever fails to comply with the obligations set forth in the articles of this section shall indemnify accordingly for the damage and losses caused by their acts or omissions, in accordance with the laws of the country.

If the facts constitute a crime, the corresponding complaint shall be filed before the Public Prosecutor's Office for the respective purposes.

An adhesion contract shall be understood as one whose conditions are established unilaterally by one of the parties, without the other being able to discuss or modify its content at the time of contracting.

Clauses or stipulations that do the following shall have no effect in adhesion contracts:

a)Grant to one of the parties the power to render the contract without effect or to modify it at its sole discretion, except when such power is granted to the consumer or user in mail-order, door-to-door, sample- or catalog-based sales, using audiovisual means or other analogous means and without prejudice to the exceptions established by the laws.

b)Establish increases in the price of the good or service for accessories, financing or unforeseen surcharges, unless such increases correspond to additional performances capable of being accepted or rejected in each case and are recorded separately or in specific form.

c)Hold the consumer or user liable for the effects of deficiencies, omissions or errors of the good or service when they are not attributable to such consumer or user.

d)Contain limitations of liability vis-à-vis the consumer or user that may deprive the latter of his right or compensation for deficiencies affecting the essential use or purpose of the good or service.

e)Include blank spaces that have not been filled in or invalidated before the contract is signed.

f)Imply waiver or limitation of the rights that this Law recognizes to consumers and/or users.

In addition to what is established in other laws, adhesion contracts may be set forth in already printed or reproduced forms and must be written in the Spanish language with type size and characters legible to the naked eye. Clauses in which said requirements are not met shall produce no effect whatsoever for the consumer or user.

No reference shall be made to texts or documents that are not provided to the consumer or user simultaneously with its signing.

If the arbitration agreement has been incorporated into contracts by means of forms, such contracts shall include in prominent, clear and precise characters the following warning: “THIS CONTRACT INCLUDES AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT”.

The clauses of the adhesion contracts shall be interpreted in accordance with the literal content thereof; in case of doubt, they shall be interpreted in the sense most favorable to the consumer or user.

Clauses that infringe the provisions of this Law shall be null ipso jure.

A complete copy of every adhesion contract shall be delivered to the parties who have signed it. If it is not possible to do so at the time, the supplier shall immediately deliver a photocopy to the consumer or user, with a statement that it is faithful to the original signed by him. Until this is complied with, the obligations of the consumer or user shall not be enforceable.

The consumer shall always have the right to withdraw, within a time limit of no more than five working days counted from the signing of the contract or from the date on which it was entered into outside the commercial establishment, especially by telephone or at the domicile of the consumer or user.

If this right is timely exercised, the amounts paid by the consumer or user shall be refunded to him/her, provided that he/she has not made use of the good or service.

Providers in adhesion contracts shall send a copy thereof to the Directorate for its approval and registration, when they comply with the laws of the country in their provisions.

Once the adhesion contract is registered, providers shall make reference to the decision of its registration with said Directorate in the clauses of the contract.