The protection of vulnerable people in the field of the right of consumption in the face of contractual bad faith and the unfair practices of companies · Legal news

1.Introduction

two.Company contracts with vulnerable consuming people

3.Capacity and consent

3.1 Support measures to grant consent, in mental illnesses, behavior disorders and intellectual disability

4.How to advise, from the OMIC, vulnerable consumers, in order to cancel their contracts, when companies have acted in bad faith?

5.How can a contract be annulled, for vice in consent?

5.1 The error

5.two El dolo

5.3 Violence and intimidation

6.What is the deadline for exercising the nullity action?

7.Who can exercise the nullity action?

8.Vulnerability in distance contracts and contracts concluded outside the commercial establishment

9.Conclusions

During these last years, in the municipal consumer information offices, where they work, from the public sphere, advising consummer about their legal rights and how to exercise them, the number of consultations related to conflicts in conflicts in conflicts in conflicts have increased muchContractual relations related to housing, basic energy supplies or financial services.All this is associated with the problems related to residential exclusion, energy poverty, financial exclusion and some discrimination in consumer relationships that should never occur.

The new laws start from the premise that there are external circumstances, to consumer persons, which, given a certain contractual relationship, make them more vulnerable and in these cases, to the general protection, which establishes the legal framework for the right of consumption, must be addedAnother protection plus, for these groups of vulnerable people, among which are the elderly, sick people, people with disabilities, young people and any other collective, likely to suffer vulnerability.

Recall that consumers, in general, have, in the contractual field, a special legal protection, which implies, for example, that the other party, in this case companies, cannot refuse to formalize the hiring of goods and services thatThey offer the market, in a unilateral way, so we will see, companies are not free to decide whether to hire or not, with any consumer person, they must do so, except for very justified exceptions, normally for security issues.

Nor can companies establish the clauses that want in their contracts with consuming persons, because the law establishes as imperative, some rights of consumer people, who are inalienable and to do so, we would be before null clauses.

In this article we will analyze some practical aspects, which can be useful for citizenship, for law professionals and for all personnel of the municipal consumer information offices, of the municipalities, which perform legal advice functions, in terms ofconsumption and that must process the requests for mediation or consumer arbitration, or the corresponding administrative complaint and, also, for those consuming persons and their relatives, who need to defend, with all the guarantees, their rights as vulnerable consuming people, before the companiesthat act in bad faith, in the formalization of contracts, or use unfair practices that can affect the economic and social interests of these consuming people.

Cuando hablamos de contratación privada, en el ámbito del derecho civil, sabemos que impera, generalmente, el principio de igualdad entre las partes y de libre disposición, tal y como señala el artículo1two55 delCódigo Civil Español, que estableceque las partescontratantes pueden establecer los pactos, cláusulas y condiciones que tengan por conveniente, siempre que no sean contrarios a las leyes, a la moral ni al orden público.

But when we talk about hiring between companies and people, who legally have the status of consuming persons, we are not facing a contractual relationship of equal private subjects, nor can the parties freely establish what suits them, at least what suits theBusiness part, because article 51 of the Spanish Constitution, in its first section, recognizes the special need for protection, of the weakest part of the contractual relationship, by public authorities.

Así pues, en la contratación de empresas, con personas que tengan la condición legal de consumidoras, es de aplicación el Real Decreto Legislativo 1/two007, de 16 de noviembre, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios y otras leyes complementarias (BOE núm. two87, de30/11/two007) -RDLTRLGDCU-, y el resto de normativas especialesde protección a las personas consumidoras y, la que hayan elaborado las distintas Comunidades Autónomas competentes en materia de consumo y las empresas deben saber que estos derechos son irrenunciables, tal y como establece el artículo10del RDLTRLGDCU y, por tanto, que la renuncia previa a los derechos que esta norma reconoce a los consumidores y usuarios es nula, siendo, asimismo, nulos los actos realizados en fraude de ley de conformidad con lo previsto en el artículo 6 del Código Civil.With which, the acts contrary to the imperative and prohibitive norms are null of full right, unless a different effect is established in them for the case of contravention.

The consumer person is the holder of special rights, but if the consumer presents any vulnerability, these rights are increased, as indicated in the artecle3 of the RDLTRLGDCU, which states, in its second section, they have the consideration of vulnerable consuming persons with respect toof concrete consumption relationships, those natural persons that, individually or collectively, for their characteristics, needs or personal, economic, educational or social circumstances, are, even territorial, sectorially or temporarily, in a special situation of subordination,helplessness or nonsense that prevents them from exercising their rights as consuming persons in equal terms.And in these cases the RDLTRLGDC -Previse certain precautions, which companies must adopt, at the time of hiring, with vulnerable consuming persons, who need greater assistance for understanding the elements of the contract.

That said, we already see that contracts with consuming persons and with specially protected consumers, are contracts, in part, regulated.Article 59 of the RDLTRLGDCU, establishes, in its second section, that contracts with consumers and users shall be governed, in everything that is not expressly established in this standard or in special laws, by common law applicable to contracts and that theSector regulation may raise the level of protection conferred by this law provided that it respects, in any case, the provisions of the Law of the European Union.Likewise, we must take into account that to the third section of the same article 59 of the RDLTRLGDCU, it also establishes that contracts with consumers and users who incorporate general conditions of the hiring are also subject to Law 7/1998, of 13 of 13 ofApril, on general hiring conditions.

The special protection of consumers, in their contractual relations with companies, who sell products or offers services, can be invoked both in the field of civil law and in the field of administrative law of consumption, or what is lomism, both inThe time to submit a lawsuit, before the civil jurisdiction, as at the time of submitting an administrative complaint of consumption, before a public administration, or a request for consumption arbitration, before an arbitral consumer board.

Some of the examples that we can give, to compensate for inequalities between companies and consumer people, are those established in article 65 of the RDLTRLGDCU when it forces the contracts with consumers and users, to be integrated, for the benefit of the consumer, according to theprinciple of objective good faith, also in the assumptions of omission of relevant pre -contractual information.

And also in the article61 of the RDLTRLGDCU, which states that the content of the offer, promotion or advertising, the benefits of each good or service, the legal or economic conditions and guarantees offered are required by consumers and users, even if they do not expressly appearin the contract concluded or in the document or proof received and must be taken into account in determining the principle in accordance with the contract.And quesi the contract concluded contain more beneficial clauses, these must prevail over the content of the offer, promotion or advertising.

Es importante tener en cuenta esta protección especial, para poder defender los derechos de una persona consumidora, en el momento de aplicar los criterios de interpretación de los contratos, que se recogen en los artículos 1two81 a 1two89 del Código Civil, donde ya existen algunas fórmulas interpretativas que pueden ser útiles a las personas consumidoras, como sucede en el caso de las interpretaciones dudosas de algunas cláusulas con empresas, que son las que generalmente han redactado el contrato, por lo que no pueden verse beneficiadas por las cláusulas oscuras que han introducido, como establece el artículo 1two88, por ser la parte que habría ocasionado esa oscuridad.

From the scope of administrative law of consumption, it is also relevant to point out article 19 of the TRLGDCU, which adds more protection for consuming persons, when it establishes that the legitimate economic and social interests of consumers and users, must be respected in the established termsIn this rule, also applying what is provided for in civil and commercial norms, in the state -level sector regulations, as well as in the community and autonomic regulations that are applied.And that for this protection the commercial practices of the entrepreneurs aimed at them are subject to the provisions of this Law, in Law3/1991, of January 10, on unfair competition, and in Law 7/1996, of 15 of 15 ofJanuary, of retail trade, despite the sector regulations that in each case are applicable.

This protection will be refers to the act, omission, conduct, manifestation or commercial communication, including advertising and marketing, directly related to the promotion, sale or supply of goods or services, including real estate, as well as rights and obligations, regardless of being carried out before, during or after a commercial operation.

El Código Civil Español, en su artículo 1two61, apartado primero, establece como uno de los elementos esenciales, para que exista el contrato, el del consentimiento de los contratantes y, su artículo 1457, establece que podrán celebrar el contrato de compra y venta todas las personas a quienes este Código autoriza para obligarse, que, con algunas excepciones y de acuerdo con el artículo two46, requieren la mayoría de edad de los 18 años, donde se adopta una convención, por la que se supone de un cierto grado de madurez o de juicio suficiente, que para algunos actos civiles, pueden darse antes de cumplir esa edad.

Thus, the first thing we must possess, before giving our consent, is the ability to work legal, which is generally obtained at the ageof his person and his property, but that can be affected by other factors, such as a mental illness or an intellectual disability that, as we will see, could affect the capacity and therefore, to consent.

To say that consent is granted, in the purchase or hiring of a service, implies that, a consumer, in this case, opts and decides, consciously and freely, without errors and without coercion or deception, for buying a goodor hire a service, in a consumption relationship.

Therefore, consent implies the possibility of deciding consciously and freely, which refers to the ability to cognition and will.

Cognition integrates our memory, attention, language, perception and intelligence and will refers more to freedom to opt, to choose, the will is the control of our impulsivity, it is what really makes us free.

Let us notice that thanks to cognition, especially, thanks to our intelligence, we can identify the relevant, remember and predict its consequences, so that a certain deficit in intelligence, could implicististic levels of ability to consent to consent.

Let us also look that the will, which is that freedom to choosesales, such as neuromarketing.

Before deciding, consumers, we usually think, remember, value, decide and execute, sometimes subjected to some sociocultural inhibition or to some impulsivity and for this reason, emotional control seeks the balance between the rational, desire and impulseAnd education for responsible, conscious and critical consumption is essential for the control of that impulsivity.

In conclusion, for a consumer person to be able to hire a service, he must have capacity and provide his consent, after a cognitive and voluntary process and in some situations, due to the fact of suffering some intellectual disability, a behavior disorder or a diseasemental, some of these aspects can be affected and, therefore, also be affected, the validity of the contract for the purchase or provision.

But the regulations and public bodies, of the competent administrations in consumption, must specifically protect, the rights of this group of vulnerable consuming persons, so that they can exercise their rights in conditions of equal.

A destacar, por su contexto histórico y, en referencia a la salud mental y la discapacidad, el redactado original del artículo 1two63 del Código Civil Español,que en el año 1889, establecía lo siguiente:

Artículo 1two63.

They cannot provide consent:

1.º The non -emancipated minors.

two.º The crazy or insane and the deaf and dumb who do not know how to write.

3.º Married women in cases expressed by law.

Obviously, an article with a very fortunate wording, due to the treatment given to people with mental illnesses, which was associated with madness and also people with sensory disabilities, written that was not modified until February 1996,In addition, also, of discriminatory treatment, in equal maternity between men and women, which is now not the object of analysis in this article.

En el redactado del mismo artículo 1two63, que la sustituyó, desde el mes de febrero de 1996, aún se prohibía el consentimiento de las personas incapacitadas. Este redactado se mantuvo hasta agosto del año two015, cuando se empezó a hablar de la prohibición de dar su consentimiento a las personas que tenían su capacidad modificada judicialmente, en los términos señalados por la resolución judicial y este redactado cambió definitivamente, conla Ley 8/two0two1, de two de junio, por la que se reforma la legislación civil y procesal para el apoyo a las personas con discapacidad en el ejercicio de su capacidad jurídica (BOE núm. 13two, de 03/06/two0two1) -LAPD-, que ha supuesto un cambio importante para los derechos de las personascon enfermedades mentales, porque desaparecen las incapacitaciones y las tutelas y se introducen medidas de apoyo para promover la independencia en la toma de decisiones por parte de las personas.

3.1 Support measures to grant consent, in mental illnesses, behavior disorders and intellectual disability

If a consumer person is in a situation of vulnerability, temporal or permanent, which affects or can affect their conscious and free will, the law protects these situations.But how is it valued if the consumer has enough discernment to adopt the appropriate decisions, in this case, to buy goods or hire consumption services?

The medical reports, the reports of the forensic doctors, and the interviews with the judges, of the person in question and of their next circle, were the mechanisms that were used, to declare by judgment the incapacitation, which could be total or partial and, bySo much, it was an incapacitation adjusted to the circumstances of each person, so that he could perform the legal acts for himself, depending on the complexity and transcendence of them, also assigning the functions of the person or institution that should exercise the guard of the guardunable, naming tutor or curator to the interested party, or, extending or rehabilitating the parental authority of their parents.

Con la ya citada reforma, introducida por la LAPD, ya no existen las incapacitaciones y el nuevo redactado del artículo two49 del Código Civil, nos dice que pueden establecersemedidas de apoyo a las personas mayores de edad o menores emancipadas que las precisen para el adecuado ejercicio de su capacidad jurídica, con la finalidad de permitir el desarrollo pleno de su personalidad y su desenvolvimiento jurídico en condiciones de igualdad de estas personas.

The law reinforces equality in rights, with support measures inspired by respect for the dignity of the person and in the protection of their fundamental rights.Thus, people who support these people who need it must act according to the will, desires and preferences of who requires it.They will also ensure that the person with disabilities can develop their own decision -making process, informing it, helping it in their understanding and reasoning and facilitating that they can express their preferences.

But the same article tells us that it must be encouraged that the person with disabilities can exercise their legal capacity with less support in the future, so it is important to give the necessary information and instruments, in our case, in order to decide in theconsumer relationships, autonomously and safely.

Only when, despite having made considerable effort, it is not possibleas well as the factors that she would have taken into consideration, in order to make the decision that the person would have taken in case of not requiring representation.

El artículo two50 del Código Civil nos indica que las medidas de apoyo para el ejercicio de la capacidad jurídica de las personas que lo precisen son, además de las de naturaleza voluntaria, la guarda de hecho, la curatela y el defensor judicial.

- The voluntary support measures are those established by the person with disabilities, in which he designates who should provide support and with what reach.Any voluntary support measure may be accompanied by the necessary safeguards to guarantee at all times and before any circumstances respect for the will, desires and preferences of the person.

- In fact, it is an informal support measure that can exist when there are no voluntary or judicial measures that are effectively applied.

- The curatela is a formal support measure that will apply to those who need support in a continuous way.Its extension will be determined in the corresponding judicial resolution in harmony with the situation and circumstances of the person with disabilities and with their support needs.

- The appointment of judicial defender as a formal support measure will proceed when the need for support is required occasionally, even if it is recurring.

In the municipal consumer information offices, vulnerable consuming people, who need support, but have not formally processed this request, so they are more frequent to be faced with the factual figure in fact are more frequently, exercised by a close relative that accompanies it to submit its claim, or its request for mediation or consumer arbitration.

Pero siuna persona se encuentre en una situación que exige apoyo para el ejercicio de su capacidad jurídica, de modo urgente y carece de un guardador de hecho, el apoyo se debe prestar de modo provisional por la entidad pública que en el respectivo territorio tiene encomendada esta función, como establece el artículo two53 del Código Civil y esta entidad debe de comunicar esta situación al Ministerio Fiscal en el plazo de veinticuatro horas.

Por lo que hace referencia a la guarda de hecho, el artículo5two de la Ley 15/two015, de two de julio, de la Jurisdicción Voluntaria (BOE núm. 158, de 03/07/two015) -LJV- establece que a instancia del Ministerio Fiscal, de la persona que precise medidas de apoyo o de cualquiera que tenga un interés legítimo, la autoridad judicial que tenga conocimiento de la existencia de un guardador de hecho puede requerirle para que informe de la situación de la persona y bienes del menor o de la persona con discapacidad y de su actuación en relación con los mismos.

In these cases, the judge can establish the control and surveillance measures that he deems appropriate, notwithstanding the promotion of file for the constitution of guardianship in the case of minors, if proceeded.Such measures must be adopted, prior appearance, citing the person to whom the guardian and the Fiscal Ministry affects and in which, according to the applicable civil legislation, the de facto guardian of a person withDisability must request judicial authorization, before making a decision, the judicial authority must interview the person with disabilities and may request an expert report to prove the situation of this.You can also quote the appearance to how many people consider it necessary to hear depending on the act whose authorization is requested.

We have already said that any person of legal age enjoys legal capacity to hire, although, on some occasions, there could be support from other people or institutions to be able to better protect economic and social interests, fromThe consumer, that due to vulnerability, which may affect their consent, is not harmed.

But as any other person, this vulnerable consumer, can initiate the planned mechanisms, in civil regulations, to be able to leave without effect, a contract, if the general assumptions of nullity and cancellation and the privileged of termination of termination due to injury due to injury will be given.

Equality in hiring also implies equality in action, without the need to protect in mental illness or intellectual disability, to be able to cancel a contract, since these consuming people have their full legal capacity, also to cancel it, if reallysome vice of nullity or cancellation and that, without the support measures that could be given, can exclude it, based on the base that who has given consent is the consumer, with support or without him and without him and that in everything and that in everything and that in everything and that in everything and that in everythingCase, who provides support can also be affected by the causes of nullity or cancellation.

El artículo 1two65 del código Civil Español establece que será nulo el consentimiento prestado por error, violencia, intimidación o dolo y el artículo1300 establece que los contratos en que concurran los requisitos que expresa el artículo 1.two61, que son: 1.º Consent of the contracting parties. two.º Object true that is subject to the contract.3.º Cause of the obligation established, can be annulled, although there is no injury to the contracting parties, provided that they suffer from any of the vices that invalidate them according to the law.

Let's analyze the basic elements of a consent given by:

5.1 The error

In these cases, a consumer person, provides his consent, after seeing advertising, or receiving information about a contract, thinking that what he buys or the service he hires has certain characteristics, when in reality or does not have them either he has othersof different and having known, I would not have formalized the contract, for feeling harmed.We could say that the consumer adopts inaccurate or a wrong mental representation, which serves as a budget for the realization of a contract and determines a will not formed correctly, because the contemplation of the object of the contract was distorted.

Some examples of contracts that may contain errors in consent, which are served from the municipal consumer offices, usually due to very high economic amounts, can be the contracts offered, generally to older people, with few economic resources, of devices thatThey seem to have effects on the improvement of health, and that do not have them, ergonomic mattresses, that have no specific property and for young people and adults, generally concerned with finding a job and that need to improve their training, the hiring of courses than inreality, neither are approved courses nor even courses, because what is really sold are books.

In all these cases, companies, in bad faith, have caused an error in the consumer, who thought he bought a product, when in reality this product was a totally different thing.

El artículo 1two6two del Código Civil español, establece que para que el error invalide el consentimiento, este debe recaer sobre la sustancia de la cosa que fuere objeto del contrato, o sobre aquellas condiciones de la misma que principalmente hubiesen dado motivo a celebrarlo, porque el simple error de cuenta solo da lugar a su corrección.There must be a causal link between the error and the purpose that was intended in the concerted legal business.

The error should not be imputed to those who suffer from it, it must be excusable for the consumer, because we must take into account that it must always act, with a certain level of diligence, taking as a reference to the average consumer and especially, to theaverage consumer of the group to which it belongs, which will always force companies, to adjust this demand for diligence, to the different vulnerabilities of the consumer people with whom they hire.

@carolynharristwo4 @grumpyhooker @DianaJohnsonMP @GayeDalton @ronniecowan @jessphillips @SarahChampionMP Genuinely em… https://t.CO/MWGQ0SDEDI

— Miss Hunter Wed Dec 09 16:55:39 +0000 two0two0

We talk about an error that has viciated consent, not a real consent, but in which we find ourselves, during the execution of the contract, before a product that has finally been according to the expectations of the consumer person.

En el primer caso, el contrato puede anularse por error en el consentimiento y en el segundo caso, el contrato puede resolverse, si fuera el caso, por falta de conformidad del producto o servicio, prevista en el artículo two1 del RDLTRLGDCU, que otorga el derecho, a la persona consumidora, de comprobar la naturaleza, características, condiciones y utilidad o finalidad del bien o servicio y en caso de no ser conforme, ejercer el derecho de garantía, de acuerdo con lo que se establece en el artículo 117 de la misma norma, que en su apartado primero, establece que elempresario debe de responder ante el consumidor o usuario de cualquier falta de conformidad que exista en el momento de la entrega del bien, contenido o servicio digital, pudiendo el consumidor o usuario, mediante una simple declaración, exigir al empresario la subsanación de dicha falta de conformidad, la reducción del precio o la resolución del contrato, en los términos del artículo 119 ter, de la misma norma.

El artículo 1two0 del TRLGDCU establece que tenemos un plazo para la manifestación de la falta de conformidadde tres años desde la entrega en el caso de bienes o de dos años en el caso de contenidos o servicios digitales, si bien en los bienes de segunda mano, el empresario y el consumidor o usuario podrán pactar un plazo menor, que no podrá ser inferior a un año desde la entrega.

En todo caso, es importante destacar que la acción para reclamar el cumplimiento de la garantía prescribe a los cinco años desde la manifestación de la falta de conformidad, tal y como establece el artículo 1two4 del TRLGDCU.

The truth is that in some cases, there is a fine line between the concept of error in consent and that of the lack of conformity, when this lack of conformity refers to the lack of conformity of the subjective requirements, provided for in article 115bis of the TRLGDCU, which establishes that to be in accordance with the contract, the goods and the digital content or services of adjusting to the description, type of good, quantity and quality and possessing the functionality, compatibility, interoperability and other characteristics that are established inthe contract and serapos for the specific purposes for which the consumer or user needs them and that he has informed of the employer as late at the time of the conclusion of the contract, and with respect to which the employer has expressed his acceptance.

In any case, the information is one of the basic rights of the consumer people, to avoid, precisely, that an error in the consent and article 60 of the TRLGDCU may occur, in its first section, it establishes that before the consumerAnd user is linked by a corresponding contract and offer, the employer must facilitate him in a clear and understandable way, unless he is manifested by the context, the relevant, truthful and sufficient information about the main characteristics of the contract, in particular on his legal conditions andeconomic.And the most important thing for what we are now analyzing, in the case of vulnerable consumers, in addition to clear, understandable, truthful and sufficient, it must be facilitated in an easily accessible format, guaranteeing, where appropriate, the necessary assistance, so as to ensureits adequate understanding and allow optimal decision making for their interests.

And as far as commercial practices are referred to, used by companies, understanding as practices, any act, omission, behavior, manifestation or commercial communication, including advertising and commercialization, directly related to promotion, sale or supplyof goods or services, including real estate, as well as the rights and obligations, regardless of whether it is carried out before, during or after a commercial operation, article 19 of the TRLGDCU establishes that they must always respect the consumption regulations, applyingIn addition, the provisions of civil and commercial norms, in the state -level sector regulations, as well as in the community and autonomic regulations that are applied. Y también,para la protección de los legítimos intereses económicos y sociales de los consumidores y usuarios, las prácticas comerciales también están sujetas a lo dispuesto enla Ley3/1991, de 10 de enero, de Competencia Desleal (BOE núm.10, 11/1/1991) -LCD-, and in Law 7/1996, of January 15, on Retail Trade Order.

In conclusion, to appreciate the error as a cause of nullity, the consumer must prove that it acted in a diligent manner and that the company acted by facilitating insufficient, unre transparent and equivocal information, both in advertising and in the pre -contractual phase, as a contractual.

5.two El dolo

Para apreciar el dolo, el artículo 1two69 del Código Civil, exige que haya palabras o maquinaciones insidiosas, por parte de uno de los contratantes, que en nuestro caso será la empresa, para quela persona consumidora, sea inducida a celebrar un contrato que, sin estas maquinaciones, no hubiera hecho.

Deben darse un engaño, con palabras o maquinaciones insidiosas, que para que produzcan la nulidad de los contratos, este dolo deberá ser grave y no haber sido empleado por las dos partes contratantes, tal y como ser regula en el artículo 1two70 del mismo Código Civil español.In any case, the incidental intent, the one that has not influenced the formalization of the contract, but in some secondary element, only forces the one who used it, the company, in this case, to compensate damages, to the consumer person.The intent occurs so that the other party provides its consent.It would be a voluntary and aware act of deceiving to get you to know about consent in the other party that, without deception, would not have hired and for this reason, now, they have the power to be able to urge the nullity of this contract.

Los mismos ejemplos que hemos dado antes, para el caso del error en el consentimiento, que se atienden en las OMIC, también pueden considerarse en el ámbito del dolo, pero la diferencia está en que si realmente existe dolo, puede además de anularse el contrato, por el artículo 1two69, pedir daños y perjuicios, por elartículo190two del código civil español, que establece que el que por acción u omisión causa daño a otro, interviniendo culpa o negligencia, está obligado a reparar el daño causado.

Anyway, the intent can rise to the error it has caused, but the deception, without error, may be sufficient to cancel the contract, because the machinations are those that have caused that, a consumer, generally vulnerable, has contracted without wanting it.

In fact, in the field of administrative law of consumption, deception constitutes an administrative infraction, because it is an unfair commercial practice against consuming persons and thus be included in article 47.1, section m) of the TRLGDCU.And, in addition, it constitutes an aggravating aggravation in article 48, third section, of the TRLGDCU, where the fact that the offending company has, committed the infractions exploiting the special inferiority, subordination or helpless of certain consumers or groups of them is taken into account, especially, vulnerable consumers.An unfair practice is, in accordance with article 4 of the LCD, any behavior that is objectively contrary to the demands of good faith and specifically, the behavior of an entrepreneur or professional contrary to professional diligence, understood as the level ofcompetition and special care that can be expected from an entrepreneur according to the honest practices of the market, who distort or can significantly distort the economic behavior of the average consumer or the average member of the recipient group of practice, if it is a commercial practiceaimed at a specific consumer group.

For the purposes of this law, the economic behavior of the consumer or user is understood as any decision by which it chooses to act or refrain from doing so in relation to:

a) The selection of an offer or offeror.

b) The hiring of a good or service, as well as, in your case, in what way and under what conditions hire it.

c) The payment of the price, total or partial, or any other form of payment.

d) The conservation of the good or service.

e) The exercise of contractual rights in relation to goods and services.

Likewise, for the purposes of this law, it is understood as significantly distorting the economic behavior of the average consumer, using a commercial practice to appreciate its ability to adopt a decision with full knowledge of the cause, thus making a decision onits economic behavior that would not have taken.

In the case of consumption, article 4.two de la LCD se establece que para la valoración de las conductas cuyos destinatarios sean consumidores, se tendrá en cuenta al consumidor medio.

Article 4, third section of the LCD establishes that commercial practices that, aimed at consumers or users in general, are only susceptible to significantly distorting, in a sense that the businessman or professional can reasonably provide for the economic behavior ofA clearly identifiable group of consumers or users especially vulnerable to such practices or to the good or service to which they refer, for presenting a disability, for having affected their ability to understand or their age or credulity, will be evaluated from the perspective of the membermeans of that group.This will be understood, without prejudice to the usual and legitimate advertising practice of making exaggerated statements or with respect to those that a literal interpretation is not intended.

In the point of view of unfair competition with consumers, article 5 of the LCD, in its first section, considers unfaithful for any behavior that contains false information or information that, even being truthful, for its content or presentation inducesor may mislead the recipients, being susceptible to altering their economic behavior, provided that it affects any of the following aspects:

a) The existence or nature of the good or service.

b) The main characteristics of the good or service, such as their availability, its benefits, its risks, its execution, its composition, its accessories, the procedure and the date of its manufacture or supply, its delivery, its appropriate nature, its use, its quantity, its specifications, its geographical or commercial origin or the results that can be expected of its use, or the essential results and characteristics of the tests or controls carried out to the good or service.

c) after -sales assistance and the treatment of claims.

d) The scope of the commitments of the employer or professional, the reasons for commercial behavior and the nature of the commercial operation or contract, as well as any statement or symbol indicating that the entrepreneur or professional or the good or service are subject toa sponsorship or direct or indirect approval.

e) The price or its mode of fixation, or the existence of a specific advantage with respect to the price.

f) The need for a service or a piece, replacement or repair.

g) The nature, characteristics and rights of the entrepreneur or professional or his agent, such as his identity and his solvency, his qualifications, his situation, his approval, his affiliation or their connections and their industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights, or the awards and distinctions that you have received.

h) The legal or conventional rights of the consumer or the risks that it can run.

But there may also be deceptive omissions, as regulated by article 7 of the LCD, when it says that the omission or concealment of the necessary information is considered unfair for the recipient to adopt or can adopt a decision related to their economic behavior with due to dueCause knowledge.It is also unfair if the information offered is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, it is not offered at the right time, or the commercial purpose of that practice is not announced, when it is not evident by the context.

In order to evaluate the deceptive character, the entire factual context in which the omission occurs must be evaluated, taking into account all its characteristics and circumstances and the limitations of the media used.When the means of communication used imposes limitations of space or time, to assess the existence of an omission of information, these limitations must be taken into account and all the measures taken by the entrepreneur or professional to transmit the necessary information by other means.

Muchas personas consumidoras, cuando quieren denunciar un engaño, ante una Oficina Municipal de Información al consumidor, lo confunden con el concepto de estafa, que se recoge en el artículo two48 de la Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de two3 de noviembre, del Código Penal y, se refiere a los delitos que cometen, los que con ánimo de lucro, utilizanengaño bastante para producir error en otro, induciéndolo a realizar un acto de disposición en perjuicio propio o ajeno, por lo que enrealidad, quien estafa también engaña, para lucrarse, produciendo también un error en la otra persona.

We must remember that an administrative consumer body cannot process any complaint or any request for consumption mediation or arbitration, where there are crime elements, in this case of fraud, but they can process a claim, when one of the parties hasused deception, during the formalization of a contract.

5.3 Violence and intimidation

Si hablamos de contratos de consumo, hemos de pensar que la violencia no debería de ser uno de los motivos que deberíamos utilizar para anular un contrato, porque el artículo1two67 del Código civil español, establece que hay violencia cuando para arrancar el consentimiento se emplea una fuerza irresistible y estas situaciones no son frecuentes en este tipo de contratos.

Pero cuando el mismo artículo habla de intimidación, tal vez si nos sea útil en algunos casos, porque el mismo artículo 1two67 del Código Civil establece que hay intimidación cuando se inspira a uno de los contratantes el temor racional y fundado de sufrir un mal inminente y grave en su persona o bienes, o en la persona o bienes de su cónyuge, descendientes o ascendientes.And to qualify intimidation, the person's age and condition must be addressed.

In consumer relationships, it would not be common to speak of fears related to causing damage to physical integrity, life, but it sicontra its economic interests.

Intimidation must be some kind of socially unacceptable behavior as a means to influence the consent of the other party.There must be a causal relationship between the fear and formalization of the contract and must leave the consumer without alternatives, because due to imminence and their gravity, the consumer has no other alternative and must enter into the contract, in the taxes imposed by the company.

Fear must refer to an imminent and serious evil and must be distinguished, in a negotiabreach a contract to renegotiate, for their own benefit, the terms initially agreed.

In any case, immediacy and gravity, when the company threatens to breach the contract, must be analyzed from the point of view of free market competition and see if the consumer had any reasonable alternative, to access without excessive cost.

We must not consider that there is threat, if it is noted that a right legitimately will be exercised, such as a judicial action if this exercise is justified, unless it is exercised abusive, to obtain a benefit that, withoutShe would not have reached, as could happen with blackmail.

It must also be distinguished from the situations in which the consumer, is in a state of necessity, and feels threatened if it does not sign the contract, without the other party of the contract, in this case the company, has actively acted to start the consentcontractual, unless knowing this situation, it is used to achieve, which otherwise would not have achieved.

Intimidation has an related figure in the administrative law of consumption, in article 8 of the LCD, in its first section, all behavior is considered unfair that taking into account its characteristics and circumstances, it is likely to reduce significantly, through harassment, coercion, including the use of force, or undue influence, the freedom of choice or conduct of the recipient in relation to the good or service and, therefore, affect or can affect their economic behavior.

For these purposes, undue influence is considered the use of a position of power in relation to the recipient of the practice to exert pressure, even without using physical strength or threatening its use.

The same article, in its second section, establishes that to determine whether a behavior makes use of harassment, coercion or undue influence will be taken into account:

a) The moment and place where its nature or persistence occurs.

b) The use of a threatening or insulting language or behavior.

c) The exploitation by the entrepreneur or professional of any misfortune or specific circumstance serious enough to reduce the ability to discern the recipient, of which he has knowledge, to influence his decision regarding good or service.

d) Any non -legal or disproportionate non -contractual obstacles imposed by the entrepreneur or professional when the other party wishes to exercise legal or contractual rights, including any way of putting an end to the contract or changing good or service or supplier.

e) The communication that any action is going to be carried out that, legally, cannot be exercised.

To exercise the nullity action, we have, in accordance with article 1301 of the Spanish Civil Code, four years, from:

1.º In cases of intimidation or violence, from the day they had ceased.

two.º In the error, or intent, or falsehood of the cause, from the consummation of the contract.

3.º When the action refers to the contracts concluded by the minors, since they leave the parental authority or guardianship.

4.º When the action refers to the contracts concluded by persons with disabilities regardless of the supported support measures when they were precise, from the conclusion of the contract.

5.º If the action went to invalidate acts or contracts carried out by one of the spouses without consent from the other, when this consent was necessary, from the day of the dissolution of the conjugal or marriage society unless there was previously sufficient knowledge of saidAct or contract.

El artículo 130two del Código Civil español establece que pueden ejercitar la acción de nulidad de los contratos los obligados principal o subsidiariamente en virtud de ellos.Regarding the contracts concluded by minors can be annulled by their legal representatives or by them when they reach the age of majority, with the exception of those contracts that may validly enter into themselves.

The third section of the same article, we are especially interested because it establishes that the contracts concluded by persons with disabilities provided with support measures for the exercise of their ability to hire regardless of such measures when they were precise, can be annulled by them, with support with the supportthat need.They can also be annulled by their heirs during the time to complete the deadline, if the person with disabilities had died before the course of the time in which he could exercise the action.

These contracts can also be annulled by the person to whom it would have corresponded to provide support.In this case, the cancellation only proceeds when the other contractor was aware of the existence of support measures at the time of hiring or would have taken advantage of the other way of the disability situation by obtaining an unfair advantage from it.

It is also important to highlight the fourth section of the same article, which establishes that, of course, the contractors may not take advantage of and claim the minority of age or the lack of support of the one they hired;nor those who caused intimidation or violence or used the intent or produced the error, may found their action on these vices of the contract.

Una de las prácticas desleales recogidas en la LCD, es la de su artículo two8, cuando habla de las prácticas agresivas por coacción.

This article establishes that the commercial practices that make the consumer or user who cannot abandon the establishment of the entrepreneur or professional or the premises in which the commercial practice is carried out, until they hired, except that such conduct is constitutive of infraction is aggressivepenal.

The processing of complaints for this type of commercial practices is not very frequent, but they are complaints of harassment in home sales.

Los contratos a distancia, se regulan en el artículo9two del TRLGDCU, apartado primero, y son aquellos que se hacen sinla presencia física simultánea del empresario y del consumidor y usuario, y en el que se hayan utilizado exclusivamente una o más técnicas de comunicación a distancia hasta el momento de la celebración del contrato y en la propia celebración del mismo.The law considers, among others, postal mail, internet, telephone or fax.

Pre -contractual and contractual information, so it refers to intimidation, could basically be given in the phone hiring, where there is a real conversation.

On the other hand, the second section of the same article tells us about the contracts concluded with consumers and users outside the commercial establishment, which are those contracts concluded with the simultaneous physical presence of the entrepreneur and the consumer and user, in a place other than the mercantile establishmentof the employer, as is the case in the contracts held during an excursion organized by the employer in order to promote and sell products or services to the consumer and user, or in a visit to the work or home of the consumer, who normally could beunexpected, with what the surprise factor and the non -commercial environment, of hiring, can affect the consent of consummer people.

El artículo two9 de la LCD nos habla de las prácticas agresivas por acoso, entre las que considera desleal por agresivo, realizar visitas en persona al domicilio del consumidor o usuario, ignorando sus peticiones para que el empresario o profesional abandone su casa o no vuelva a personarse en ella.

It also considers an aggressive practice for harassing unwanted and repeated proposals by telephone, fax, email or other remote media, except in the circumstances and to the extent that it is legally justified to enforce a contractual obligation.

En estos tipos de contratos, existen también protecciones especiales para las personas consumidoras, como la posibilidad de anularlos, si la empresa no facilita el contrato y su confirmación, la necesidad de consentimiento expreso de la persona consumidora, como establecen respectivamente, los artículos 100 y 101 del TRLGDCU, pero sobre todo, la posibilidad de ejercitar el derecho de desistimiento, recogido en el artículo 10two del TRLGDCU, por el cual, la persona consumidora tiene derecho a desistir del contrato durante un periodo de catorce días naturales sin indicar el motivo y sin incurrir en ningún coste distinto de los previstos en los artículos 107.two y 108 del TRLGDCU y además, en el caso de los contratos celebrados en el contexto de visitas no solicitadas efectuadas por el empresario en el domicilio del consumidor o usuario o de excursiones organizadas por el empresario con el objetivo o efecto de promocionar o vender bienes o servicios, el plazo de desistimiento se amplía a treinta días naturales.

The right to withdrawto exercise.

El único problema es el tiempo que la persona consumidora tiene para hacerlo, que son 14 días naturales y30 para ventas en domicilio y excursiones organizadas, siempre que la empresa haya informado correctamente a la persona consumidora de este derecho a desistir, porque en caso contrario, el artículo 105 del TRLGDCU establece queel periodo de desistimiento finalizará doce meses después de la fecha de expiración del periodo de desistimiento inicial y que en el caso que la empresa, durante el plazo de doce meses, facilite la información, el plazo de desistimiento expirará a los catorce días naturales o, en su caso, a los treinta días naturales de la fecha en que el consumidor y usuario reciba la información.

We must bear in mind that article 104 of the TRLGDCU tells us that these deadlines begin to count from:

a) The day of the conclusion of the contract, in the case of service contracts.

b) The day that the consumer and user or a third one for him indicated, other than the carrier, acquires the material possession of the requested goods, in the case of the sales contracts, or:

1.º In case of delivery of multiple goods commissioned by the consumer or user in the same order and delivered separately, the day that the consumer or user or a third one by him indicated, other than the carrier, acquires the material possession of the last of the goods.

two.º In case of delivery of a good composed of multiple components or pieces, the day that the consumer or user or a third by him indicated, other than the carrier, acquires the material possession of the last component or piece.

3.º In case of contracts for periodic delivery of goods during a given term, the day that the consumer or user or a third party for him indicated, other than the carrier, acquires the material possession of the first of those goods.

c) In the case of contracts for the supply of water, gas or electricity - when they are not packaged for sale in a delimited volume or in certain quantities - or heating by urban or digital content systems that do not provide ina material support, the day the contract is held.

In any case, what counts is the date of the declaration of the issuance of the will to resign, not to receive it, so the consumer has until the last moment to send the notification to the company.

In a consumption relationship, in which the company has acted unfairly and this has been able to affect the consumer person's consent, at the time of formalizing the contract, the consumer can choose to request the cancellation of the contract, using the followingMechanisms:

1. Resolución judicial del conflicto, presentando la correspondiente demanda ante la administración de justicia, amparando sus peticiones, en los fundamentos jurídicos que hemos comentado anteriormente.

1. Resolución extrajudicial de conflictos, solicitando una mediación o un arbitraje de consumo ante una administración pública de consumo o ante una Junta Arbitral de Consumo, teniendo en cuenta que en estos casos, si bien estos mecanismos son gratuitos y más rápidos que los judiciales, se trata de mecanismos voluntarios, por lo que si las empresas no quieren participar, las peticiones no podrán prosperar y solo podremos acudir a la vía judicial.

1. Presentar una denuncia administrativa, contra la empresa, por la presunta comisión de una infracción administrativa de consumo. En este caso, debemos saber que las denuncias se utilizan para proteger los intereses generales y no los intereses particulares, por lo que pude ser que con este sistema, no podamos anular el contrato, si bien, el nuevo redactado del artículo 48 del TRLGDCU ha introducido algunas medidas, que pueden ser útiles para conseguirlo, dado que se han previsto algunos incentivos, para que las empresas infractoras, resuelvan favorablemente la petición de la persona consumidora, y evitar así ser sancionadas con mayor severidad, por las infracciones que hayan cometido.

For example, the fourth section of article 48 of the TRLGDCU establishes that the infractions that, in principle deserve the grade of serious or very serious will be considered respectively as slight or serious if before the sanctioning procedure is initiated, the person in charge diligently corrected the irregularities in which it consistsThe infraction as long.

In this way, companies can assess, change their attitude and address the specific problem of the one who denounces, because article 49 of the TRLGDCU, in its first section, establishes that the imposition of sanctions must guarantee, in any circumstance, that the commission ofAn infraction is not more beneficial for the offending part than breach of the rules violated.

In addition, and as very relevant, we must emphasize that the sixth section of the same article 49, of the TRLGDCU establishes that the competent body to impose the sanction may resolve the termination of the sanctioning procedure when the alleged offenders propose commitments that resolve the effects on consumers andusers derived from the behaviors object of the file and the public interest is sufficiently guaranteed.The commitments will be binding and will supply full effects once incorporated into the resolution that ends the procedure.

Por lo que hace referencia a los plazos para poder denunciar estas infracciones, debemos tener en cuenta que el artículo 5two DEL TRLGDCU establece que lasinfracciones muy graves prescribirán a los cinco años, las graves a los tres años y las leves al año.These deadlines will not begin to compute until it manifests or exteriorizes and, in the case of continuous infractions, only when the infringing action or the last act with which the infraction is consumed.

The consumption claim, in these cases, also allows us to continue later before the judicial route, since although a consumption claim, initially, it is part of an administrative procedure, if the strategy is to go to the judicial route, in caseDo not prosper, we must remember that it is also necessarySpanish Civil Code.

Además, hay que tener en cuenta que para prevenir tener que pagar las costas en el juicio, no conviene actuar con temeridad y se debe intentar evitar eljuicio, tal y como establece el artículo394 de la Ley 1/two000, de 7 de enero, de Enjuiciamiento Civil (BOE» núm. 7, de 08/01/two000) -LEC- y en estos casos es importante que la reclamación extrajudicial y la demanda contengan la misma peticiónpor lo que este tipo de escrito debería ser redactado porun abogado o una abogada.

In any case, it may be a good solution to go to a municipal consumer information office or an association of consumers and users, to obtain advice and a first assessment of each case.