There are general rules of conduct in the market which all suppliers of products and/or services must observe in order to eliminate information asymmetry that may exist between them and their consumers, and which may vary depending on the sector in which they develop their activities (health, entertainment, real estate, education, finance, insurance, among others).
All of those who carry out activities in establishments open to the public, whether it is in their own store, stand in a fair or shopping center, in coworking spaces presented as independent establishments, with their own RUC (Unified Taxpayer Registration) number and their own invoicing forms, even on e-commerce or marketplace.
You must have a claims book in each of your establishments, and you must also place a notice of its existence and state your consumers have the right to request it. If you provide services or sell products online, you must implement a virtual claims book and place the corresponding notice stating you have one on your website.
The Claims Book Regulation (Supreme Decree 011-2011-PCM) has formats for the claims book sheets and the notice sheet and contains the basic information and conditions that must be observed.
If you will have a physical claims book, you can purchase it from a bookstore. It contains claim forms, each in sets of 3 sheets, where 2 sheets are detachable and self-copying. The original form is for the consumer, the first copy stays with the supplier and the third sheet is for INDECOPI, if requested.
If you will have a virtual claims book in your physical store, you must have an easily accessible platform in your premises and assist the consumer when they register their complaint or claim, sending a copy of the claim/complaint to the corresponding email address, including time and date.
The notice in the claim book must be exactly the same as the one in the regulation’s appendix. You must not use alternative images.
It should be noted that the Claims Book Notice must have the minimum size of one A4 sheet. Likewise, each of the letters in the phrase “Complaints Book” must have a minimum font size of 1×1 centimeters and the letters in the phrase “In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Consumer Protection and Defense, this establishment has a physical or virtual Complaints Book at your disposal. Please, request it to register a complaint or claim” must have a minimum font size of 0.5 x 0.5 centimeters.
*Supplier shall indicate whether the Complaints Book of the establishment is physical or virtual.
If you receive a complaint or claim, you are obliged to provide a response within 15 calendar days, which cannot be extended, except for entities in the financial and insurance system supervised by the Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and AFP (SBS), since a special rule applies to them, which gives them a period of 30 calendar days to produce a response, but which may be extended exceptionally.
If you do not have a claims book or if you do not answer a complaint or claim within the legal term, your sanction may go from a reprimand to even a fine consisting of 10 UIT (UIT = Unidad Impositiva Tributaria, or Tax Unit, whose value as of 2024 is S/. 5,150.00), depending on the size of the company. Therefore, it is essential that the personnel in charge of dealing with the public are aware of its importance and help to take advantage of the claims book as a tool that benefits the business.
