PayPal fined $27.3 million by Polish watchdog for ambiguous clauses

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's antitrust and consumer protection watchdog imposed a fine of 106.6 million zlotys ($27.3 million) on PayPal Europe for failing to spell out to consumers in its contractual clauses activities for which they may be fined, UOKiK said on Monday.

UOKiK said that prohibited activities which could incur penalties were described in an unclear way and users may not understand exactly what was not allowed and what action the company could take in such cases.

"PayPal clauses are general, ambiguous and incomprehensible. When reading these provisions, a consumer cannot predict which of their actions may be considered prohibited, or what sanctions may be imposed on them by the entrepreneur," the head of UOKiK, Tomasz Chrostny, said in a statement.

"Therefore, PayPal has an unlimited possibility to decide at will whether the user has committed a prohibited act and what penalty they will face for it, which may be, for example, blocking money on the account."

The decision is not final and PayPal has the possibility to appeal to a court, UOKiK said.

"PayPal is committed to treating its customers fairly and giving them accurate, easy to understand and transparent information," the company said in an e-mailed comment.

"We have been working closely with UOKiK throughout its investigation, and we are reviewing today’s announcement. As UOKiK states, this decision is not final and there will be an opportunity to appeal," it added.

($1 = 3.9055 zlotys)

(Reporting by Anna Koper and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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