Can an inhaler purchased at the Medtekhnika store be returned?

Legislation of the Russian Federation

1. Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated July 11, 2020 No. 403 n regulates the rules for dispensing medications, which medical institutions, hospitals and pharmacies have no right to violate or fail to comply with.
2. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 19, 1998 No. 55 (as amended on May 30, 2018) interprets the specifics of the sale of medicines and medical devices.
3. Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 (as amended on 04/18/2018) establishes a list of goods that cannot be replaced.
4. Article 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation explains what is meant by a “quality product” and establishes a list of the seller’s responsibilities and the buyer’s rights.

Is it legal to return or exchange medical products?

Based on the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 785 dated December 14, 2005, it can be argued that it is not possible to return high-quality pharmaceutical products after purchase to a pharmacy. However, this does not apply to all cases.

Article 18 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 determines that the buyer has the right to return a product with any defects (expired expiration date, improper packaging of the product, etc.) and receive its full cost back .

Based on paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the above-mentioned law, it is known that the consumer, in the event of purchasing a low-quality medicinal product, may demand:

1. replace the purchased product with a similar one without the specified defects;
2. replace with a product of similar effect from another brand;
3. demand compensation, the difference between the previous product and its replacement;
4. demand a refund of the money spent on this product.

Non-returnable pharmacy assortment

If the consumer has no significant complaints about the quality of the product, then it will not be possible to return the product. The pharmacy employee has every reason not to accept the purchased product back.

There is a list of pharmacy products that are not subject to exchange or return . This list is legislated by the Government of the Russian Federation by Resolutions No. 55 of January 19, 1998 and No. 1222 of October 20, 1998. This list contains:

• medications used for home treatment;
• personal hygiene items (toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs);
• cosmetics and perfumes (skin creams, hair products);
• medical equipment, devices for monitoring health indicators;
• materials for one-time use (syringes, patches, etc.).

A detailed list of non-food products that are not subject to return or exchange can be found here.

Exchange and return of medicines by receipt

When purchasing goods or medical products, you must pick up a cash receipt. It will allow you to confirm the purchase of a specific item from the seller. The legislator provides for the buyer's right to refer to a witness if the payment document is lost.

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IMPORTANT : the basis for a return is the fault of the seller’s actions, as well as the presence of various defects on the packaging and the product itself, which makes it a low-quality product.

Is it possible to return

Medicines belong to a special category of goods that require special storage conditions. Pharmacies guarantee compliance with the rules for handling them.

By transferring drugs to the patient, pharmacists lose the opportunity to guarantee the safety of tablets, mixtures, and so on. The law describes situations when a person can return medications.

Which ones can be returned?

Pharmacy organizations are obliged to accept back pharmaceutical products of inadequate quality:

1. The medicine has expired on the date of purchase. It becomes dangerous to the life and health of the patient.
2. There is no information on the packaging about production time or shelf life. This includes cases when the text is erased, taped up, the packaging is torn in the place of the description, if some numbers are indicated on the box, and others on the bottle or ampoule. The latter situation requires the seizure of an entire batch of medicines.
3. After opening the package, it turned out that there was no information about the rules for using the purchased goods.
4. A difference was found between the description of the tablets and the contents of the box.
5. Chips, cracks, scratches on containers, allowing one to doubt the tightness. The same goes for cardboard boxes. Any defects indicate non-compliance with the conditions of transportation and storage.

Important : pharmacies are required to accept back low-quality drugs.

If a medicine is sold without a prescription and requires a doctor's prescription, it can be replaced, but the quality does not matter.

Which ones can be exchanged?

Any identified deficiencies are irreparable; using purchased substances is dangerous. The patient has the right to demand elimination of violations. If the pharmacy has the required product, an exchange takes place, otherwise the money will be returned.

How to return pills

Any deficiencies identified should be reported to the pharmacist.
If he refuses to accept low-quality goods, he will have to fight: write claims, complaints to supervisory authorities, the court. In any case, you must confirm the fact of purchase. This could be a check or a witness identifying the seller.

Expiration date

In this situation, the main thing is that the medicine is purchased after the expiration date. The buyer may discover a violation both at the pharmacy and at home. Confirmation of inadequate quality will be a receipt, which reflects all important information.

Unused medications should be donated. The original packaging must be retained.

The pharmacist sold the drug, which is sold with a prescription, without it

Here, proof of purchase will be a receipt or a witness. All prescriptions are taken into account, so it will not be difficult to confirm the fact of violation.

There is no number or date on the package

Such a violation is serious, raising doubts about the authenticity of the medicine. If pharmacy workers refuse to take back the drug, after a customer complaint, serious fines for poor quality service are possible. The box and receipt serve as confirmation.

There are no instructions or they are incorrect

It is prohibited to violate the buyer's right to information. The patient's relatives can confirm this fact. If the package contains instructions from other tablets, this should also be used as evidence of poor quality of services.

Important : the pharmacist is required to report contraindications.

Chips or cracks in capsules or ampoules

Damage indicates improper storage or transportation of medications. Human health depends on them, so the legislator requires sellers to exchange or return money for such goods. It does not matter where the person discovered the violation - at home or in a pharmacy, they are subject to mandatory exchange.

Fake

It is difficult to identify drugs manufactured by criminals. You should carefully study the packaging and appearance of the tablets, comparing them with the description from the instructions. To confirm that the tablets do not meet the quality standards, an examination is required, which the legislator has entrusted to the seller. In this case, you will have to wait for the test results.

Other cases

If there is a difference in the information on the outer and inner packaging of the medicine, it must be returned to the pharmacy. A discrepancy indicates a manufacturer's error and does not guarantee that the container contains the correct drug.

You should keep the container and proof of purchase.

What can a buyer expect?

When wondering whether you can return your inhaler to the pharmacy, you need to be prepared for the following:

• According to current legislation, medical products cannot be returned.
• If the nebulizer is of poor quality, this must be proven. You should come to the pharmacy with a receipt. Pharmacists, in turn, will tell you where to go if it is broken or if it is not working well. The inhaler must be sent to a service center .
• Specialists determine the cause of the breakdown and correct it. During the 1 year warranty period, services are free. If there is a manufacturing defect, the damage cannot be repaired, the medical center will return the money or provide an exchange.
• If within 14 days after purchase it was possible to establish that the device is of inadequate quality, this is very easy to prove; you can make a claim orally or in writing.

What the buyer may require if the nebulizer is of poor quality:

Thus, if the device is simply not satisfactory, but still works properly, there is no chance of a return. If the nebulizer does not correspond to what was declared, a claim is made in duplicate. One is left at the pharmacy, the second is taken away with a note that the claim has been accepted. The issue must be resolved within 10 days. In this case, the buyer has the right to choose what to demand from the seller. You don’t have to wait for the specialists’ verdict after the examination.

Good quality

It is more difficult to exchange high-quality medicines, but the legislator has provided for such opportunities.

The buyer made a mistake with the name and wants to return what he purchased.

The client's inattention remains his problem.
The pharmacist will take the purchase back if he breaks the rules: does not inform about the interaction of the purchased drug with others, possible contraindications. This situation will have to be proven; a check will not be enough. You will need a doctor's opinion confirming the presence of diseases specified in the list of contraindications of the sold substance.

The responsibilities of a pharmacist include knowledge of the range and rules for using medicines. If tablets are sold that do not require a prescription, the pharmacist is obliged to warn about the negative effects on the body, listing ailments that preclude use. Deviations from the rules of sale entail severe penalties from supervisory authorities.

If the pharmacist sold the wrong thing

The seller's mistake obliges the pharmacy to accept the product back. Then you will need to show the receipt and the drug. The main thing is that the medication should not be used by the patient. An opened bottle or missing contents will make a return impossible. Not only the name, but also the form of the medicine is important here.

The dosage is wrong

The legislator has established a rule according to which a pharmacist can sell a medicine with a lower dosage than indicated in the prescription. If there is a drug in the pharmacy, but its dosage is more than prescribed by the doctor, dispensing the drug is prohibited. The doctor can decide on increasing the dosage by issuing a written prescription.

Important : the dosage of the drug is determined by the doctor; the pharmacist cannot change it.

Other situations

The rules for the sale of medicines significantly limit the rights of the buyer, so in cases other than those listed, it is unlikely that the money will be returned.

What are the conditions for return

The deadlines for detecting defects in sold medicines are not listed in the law. A reasonable period of time per day applies. This includes the time spent studying the packaging and instructions.

The specificity of pharmaceutical products is immediate use after purchase. Therefore, the more time passes from the moment of purchase to contacting the pharmacy, the more difficult it is to exchange the drug. It is almost impossible to prove after a week that the damage to the container was the fault of the seller.

Refunds and exchanges of medications may take longer after the investigation. If the consultant does not want to fulfill the legal requirements of the buyer voluntarily, the fact of contacting the seller with claims should be recorded:

• make an entry in the complaint book kept at the point of sale of medicines;
• indicate the date and time of request;
• describe the essence of the problem.

It would be useful to indicate the date of purchase and the name of the tablets.

Conducting quality assessments of sold products is the responsibility of the seller or manufacturer. The time allocated for this varies depending on the complexity of the research.

No room for error: returning goods to the pharmacy

One of the pharmacist's worst nightmares is when a customer returns a product to the pharmacy. When does the buyer have the right to do this? And how does the return procedure work?

According to the Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300–1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” (Articles 18 and 21), the buyer has the right to return goods of inadequate quality, as well as replace it with a similar one or demand a refund.

The most common shortcomings of pharmacy products:

• marriage;
• marking defects;
• expired;
• lack of instructions for use of the drug;
• any deviations of the drug from the description in the instructions;
• goods that do not meet the mandatory requirements of GOST and SanPin.

What buyer cannot return or exchange:

• medicines and other goods that do not have deficiencies and are included in the List (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 19, 1998 No. 55) of non-food products of good quality that cannot be returned or exchanged for a similar product of a different size, shape, dimension, style, color or configurations

Pharmacy products included in the List:

• sanitary and hygiene items;
• tools;
• medical devices and equipment;
• oral hygiene products;
• spectacle lenses;
• child care items;
• medications;
• perfumery and cosmetic products;
• sewing and knitted products (compression hosiery, prenatal bandages, etc.)

An exception

However, even the goods that are included in the List, the buyer has the right to return if he proves that the pharmaceutical worker did not inform him about the essential consumer properties of the product (Article 10.12 of the Law) and did not provide complete and reliable information about the product. For example, about the presence of contraindications when using over-the-counter medications.

It should be taken into account that Art. 10 of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300–1, clause 3 allows information to be brought to the attention of consumers in the technical documentation attached to the goods, on labels, markings or in another way. Therefore, it is better to make sure that instructions are included with each package!

Product return mechanism

1. The buyer writes a request for a refund, exchange or price reduction, indicating the reasons. A copy of the cash register or sales receipt confirming payment is attached to the application. N. _ B ! The absence of a document that certifies the fact and conditions of the purchase cannot be considered a basis for refusal to the buyer (paragraph 3, paragraph 1, article 25, Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1). In this case, the consumer has the right to refer to witness testimony.
2. It is necessary to satisfy the buyer's demands for a refund of the money paid or a commensurate reduction in the purchase price within 10 days from the date of their presentation. Or send a written refusal when there are no legal grounds to satisfy such a requirement (Article 22 of RF Law No. 2300-1).
3. Replacement of goods (if required by the buyer) must be made within 7 days from the date of presentation of the request.
4. If necessary, additionally check the quality of the product - within 20 days.
5. If the product is not available in the pharmacy at the time of submitting the request - within 30 days. (RF Law No. 2300–1, Art. 21).

N. _ B ! Violation of the return deadlines is punishable by payment of a penalty in the amount of 1% of the price of the goods for each day of delay (paragraph 1, paragraph 1, article 23, Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300–1).

Author of the article: Svetlana Shilkova

What to do if refused

If we couldn’t return it, we contact Roszdravnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, and the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights.
Consultation will help resolve and eliminate the identified error or violation. The period for consideration of complaints is strictly defined, but often the terms of the inspection are delayed or extended for a number of objective and subjective reasons.

If you contacted the authorities listed above and received a refusal, then you need to contact law enforcement agencies.

Verification of the message will take ten days; if necessary, the investigation time can be increased. The applicant will be notified of the results.

For proper control and execution of the complaint, it will not harm, and in some cases will give the necessary acceleration to the case, contacting the prosecutor's office.

The operating principles of organizations designed to protect and preserve the rights of citizens are structured in such a way that it is enough to come to the required address and identify the problem.

Next, employees are required to explain everything and provide assistance when filling out procedural forms.

CAUTION : Products of good quality purchased by mistake, by accident, without violating the rules for dispensing drugs by a pharmacist in a pharmacy, or a doctor in a hospital, cannot be returned.

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Procedural paperwork and deadlines

When filing a complaint, claim with the relevant authorities or with an application to law enforcement agencies, the employee of the organization must provide a list and samples of the necessary documents.

Currently, you can write and submit complaints without leaving your home. Neither the ministry nor the department has the right to refuse advice and legal services.

Thus, in accordance with Federal Law No. 59 dated May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation,” the total period for considering an appeal should not exceed 30 days from the date of its registration.

The time frame for processing appeals is regulated by law and directly depends on the complexity of the problem being solved, the workload and professionalism of the performers.

In exceptional cases, an official or an authorized person has the right to extend the period for consideration of an application by no more than 30 days, notifying the citizen who sent the application about the extension.

IMPORTANT : there is no specific pattern of actions in a given situation. Each case is individual and requires consideration in a new way. Success in resolving disputes depends on many components.