The Polish competition authority, UOKiK, has raised serious allegations against Autocentrum AAA Auto, a well-known used car dealer, for practices that may infringe on collective consumer interests. The company reportedly conditioned the approval of car loans on the purchase of additional services, such as a GPS locator, which was presented as a mandatory requirement.

Consumers have filed complaints stating that they were only able to finance their vehicle purchases through loans that included extra costs for services and products that were not essential for the operation of the car. These additional costs often inflated the total loan amount significantly, sometimes by several thousand PLN more than the car's actual price.

UOKiK's President, Tomasz Chróstny, highlighted that such practices could lead to penalties of up to 10% of the company's annual turnover. The authority also pointed out that consumers were not adequately informed about the GPS locator's details, including its model and subscription terms, which were misleading and could lead to unexpected charges.

This is not the first time UOKiK has acted against Autocentrum AAA Auto; a previous decision found the company guilty of misleading consumers regarding car prices, and that case is currently in court.