The UOKiK drew attention to the entity based on signals it received from consumers. The Office’s President has already filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office.
By March 2025, Panek, in addition to renting cars nationwide, also offered a car‑sharing service. This is nothing more than using a car by the minute. Complaints began to reach the office regarding irregularities in the return procedures for rented vehicles, specifically the charges applied.
What penalty can Panek expect?
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine of 3.7 million zlotys for failing to provide information during the investigative proceedings. But that’s not all. For each applied, prohibited clause, a penalty of up to 10% of turnover is threatened.
The Office paid particular attention to the fact that a vehicle could be collected from the consumer without a company employee present. There were situations where the client was charged a contractual penalty related to the vehicle’s condition. It was unilateral, with no chance for the renter to address the concerns.
The amount of the penalty – according to the current service regulations – depends solely on the class of the borrowed car, not on the type or size of the damage, and therefore can be disproportionately high. Meanwhile, the penalty should reflect the real value of the damage. As the UOKiK President notes, the company can burden consumers with inflated costs. - we read in the UOKiK statement.
UOKiK’s doubts also concern provisions imposing additional financial burdens on consumers that were in the car‑sharing terms. Based on them, the entrepreneur could charge customers for all damages and extra fees whose amounts were not precisely defined. As a result, car renters did not know the final cost of the service. The Office also questions Panek’s charging of an inflated amount for each missing liter of fuel upon vehicle return.
For each disputed clause, the company faces a penalty of up to 10% of turnover.
During the investigative proceedings, Panek repeatedly failed to provide the information demanded by the UOKiK President, hindering operations and delaying the filing of charges. Consequently, a fine of 3,741,165 zlotys was imposed on the entrepreneur.
Statement by President Tomasz Chróstny
Panek shifts the risk of its business onto its customers. It does this by default attributing blame for every vehicle damage to them. It expands consumer liability to all costs related to breakdowns, damage, theft, or any vehicle problem. The entrepreneur assumes from the outset that car renters are responsible for every situation and that they must prove otherwise. Contractual clauses that allow such actions may be prohibited. - commented UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
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