Consumer Protection

Municipal Department 59 - Market Authority (MA 59) does not only ensure the respect of the Food and Consumer Protection Law (Lebensmittelsicherheits- und Verbraucherschutzgesetz - LMSVG) but also the respect of other consumer protection laws. The most important ones are:

  • Price Marking Law
    The prices for goods and services (for example commission fees of a theatre ticket agency) have to be clearly visible for consumers.
  • Measurement and Gauge Law
    Scales and other measurement devices have to be regularly gauged. Also, consumers need to see the measurement device while the product is being weighed.
  • Trade Register Act
    In order to ensure the protection of the consumers, all businesses are inspected to make sure they respect the trade regulations (protection of neighbours).
    Business licenses are checked to fight illegal businesses. Inspections are often held after betrayed or damaged consumers have filed a report.
  • Law on Categories of Quality
    Fruits and vegetables have to be labelled correctly according to the law. Yet the goods, species, origin and trading class also have to correspond to the quality labelling.
  • Product Safety Law
    Goods of everyday use are checked for potential health hazards. In the past there have been objections to certain types of braking devices of mountain bikes; different aromatic fruits made of wood or plastic that small children might accidentally swallow (danger of asphyxiation) have been confiscated. Ladders, different joke articles, laser pointers, hammocks or baby walkers are among the other products that are regularly checked.
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City of Vienna | Market Authority
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