Are children allowed to buy electronics? The regulations are clear about their purchases

Let’s imagine a determined twelve-year-old who dreams of a wireless controller for XBox. The boy saved money from his birthday and pocket money for two years and when he collected the necessary PLN 500, he went to an electronics store, chose a product and took it to the cash register.

A 12-year-old in an electronics store. Is everything OK?

There he encountered a strange situation, because the salesman asked him to show his school ID. The boy asked what it was for and was told that the seller wanted to check his age. When it turned out that the game fan was 12 years old, the seller informed him that unfortunately he could not sell such an expensive gadget. Like it or not, the boy had to return to the store with one of his parents and then there was no problem with the purchase.

Did the seller discriminate against the boy because of his age? NO. He knew the regulations and knew that selling expensive equipment to such a young customer would expose him to a situation in which a few days later the child’s parents would come to complain and demand a refund if they considered the purchase unnecessary. And they will have the right to do so.

Can a child make more expensive purchases?

Children under the age of 13 do not have legal capacity, so they cannot effectively incur obligations or acquire rights. In other words: they cannot validly enter into a contract. This is regulated by Art. 14 § 1 of the Civil Code: “A legal act performed by a person who does not have legal capacity is invalid.” If the purchase is invalid because it should not have been made at all, the buyer or his or her parent has the right to return it to the store, not through the complaint procedure, but to receive a refund.

Does this mean that you cannot send an eleven-year-old to a local store for small purchases and that thousands of parents who ask their children for such a favor every day are violating the law? An exception is made for small purchases. Article 14 § 2 of the Civil Code allows for the conclusion of contracts by persons who do not have legal capacity, i.e. children under 13 years of age – as long as it is “a contract belonging to contracts commonly concluded in minor, current matters of everyday life”.

Such contracts include small grocery purchases, bus tickets or ice cream. This does not result from regulations, but from case law, but when assessing “commonality”, it is taken into account whether the purchase is related to everyday matters or whether it constitutes something special from the child’s point of view.

Limited legal capacity. What shopping can a teenager do?

What about children and young people between 13 and 18 years of age? At this age, they have limited legal capacity (Articles 17 and 18 of the Civil Code) and may conclude contracts with the consent or after obtaining confirmation from their legal guardian. This means that a 13-year-old can buy e.g. expensive electronic equipment with the consent of his legal guardian. If such consent was not present at the time of purchase, the validity of the contract depends on confirmation by the legal guardian. The parent can therefore question the purchase, as in the case of a younger child, and expect a refund.

Article 20 of the Civil Code states that “A person with limited legal capacity may, without the consent of his legal representative, conclude contracts belonging to contracts commonly concluded in minor, current matters of everyday life.”

After the age of 13, a teenager can do small daily purchases (food, cheap school supplies). As for more expensive things: electronics, sports equipment, but also more expensive clothes (provided that it is impossible to determine in advance at what price an “expensive” sweatshirt starts. Is PLN 50 still an everyday purchase or something serious? This leads to to controversial situations): a teenager in the age range in question can buy them, but the parent can demand a refund from the store if he or she does not approve of his or her child’s decision.